Tippy Canoe and Water Safety

I love the water.  When we went camping last weekend, I spent a lot of time in the water.  Our campsite was right on the lake.  It was wonderful!

Mom and Dad brought my blow-up swimming pool to keep me cool.  

We also brought our canoe.  A canoe is a boat with pointed ends.  You use paddles to make it go.  

Mom and Dad have a rule.  When anyone uses their canoe, they must wear a life jacket.  In fact, every person in the boat must wear a life jacket.    

Why is it important to wear a life jacket?  Canoes are very tippy.  If the canoe tips over, you will get very wet.  A life jacket will help to keep your head above water.

It is important to learn about water safety.  Just click here for some great activities about water safety:

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation/fishing/fin/coloringbook.pdf

http://www.teamtacklebox.com/teamtacklebox.com/flipchart-1.pdf

http://www.uwhealth.org/files/uwhealth/docs/pdf/pvg_AFCH_SafeKids_waterquizkids.pdf

My Seatbelt and Your Seatbelt

 Every time we ride in a car, we need to wear a seatbelt.  Do you remember to wear your seat belt?  I do! 

Because I am a dog, I wear a special seatbelt.  It is called a safety harness.  The harness goes between my front legs, up my chest, and around my shoulders.  Mom clips my harness to the car's seatbelt.

Here are two photos of me in my harness.

There are many kinds of seat belts for dogs.  Little dogs normally ride in pet carriers.  Medium size dogs and big dogs need to use a harness.  

I am a very big dog.  I weigh nearly 100 pounds!  A harness is the safest seat belt for me. 

The same is true for children.  If you are very little, then you need to ride in a car seat.  When you get a little bigger, you can use a booster seat.  When you get to be a "big kid," then you can ride in the car with a regular seat belt.

If you would like to learn more about seat belt safety, we found some great activities and coloring books.  Just click on one and start to have fun!

http://kidssafetyfirst.org/pdf/Coloringbook.pdf 

http://www.dps.state.ia.us/kids/hugscb.pdf 

http://depts.washington.edu/booster/pdf/TedEBear.pdf

Road Trip!

This coming weekend we are going camping.  I am very happy.  We will be camping with two of my favorite people in the whole world, Alex and Derek.  Alex and I are the same age.  Derek is just two years older.

We are going to sleep in our little camper.  We are going to go fishing in our canoe.  I know that Alex and Derek will also play ball with me.  It will be so much fun!

Since it is already very hot in Texas, Mom and Dad want to make sure that I am safe when we camp.  I have a very heavy fur coat.  We must be careful that I don't get too hot.

They will bring my blow-up swimming pool.  Sometimes they even put ice in the water to keep me cool.  The ice makes me cool down fast!

If it is too hot at night, they put an ice pack on my tummy to help me cool down when we sleep.

They have a special pouch that they fill with ice.  They put the ice pack on my belly because that is where my fur is the most thin.

I need to drink lots of water when it is hot.  So Mom and Dad pack a big jug of water just for me.  They bring my food, my bed, and a toy for me.  They also bring my leash.  When we go to parks, I must always be on my leash.

They also make sure that I am safe when we travel.

When I ride in the car, I wear a safety belt.  A dog seat belt is different than people seat belts.  I wear a special harness.  Then Mom clips my harness to the seat belt.

Cars get very hot in the sun, so Mom and Dad never leave me in the car alone.  If we drive a long time, they stop every few hours so I can get out and stretch.

Do you travel with your dog or cat?  Here are some great activities to help you learn more about traveling safely with your pet:

http://www.motel6.com/i/cobrand/akc_brochure.pdf

http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/pdfs/pets.pdf

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/~/media/files/pet-care/images-misc-sizes/rdtrip_edu.pdf

Swim Party

It is already hot in Texas.  Since I am a water dog, Mom and Dad got me a new swimming pool to help keep me cool.  Yesterday, I had my first swim party.  It was so much fun!

I love to lay down in my pool.  I also like to dive for my golf ball.  I can even dunk my head under water.  Can you do that?

I wanted Mom and Dad to join me.  They think the pool is too small.  What do you think?

Spiders are Orbiting the Earth!

There are spiders circling the earth!  REALLY!!!

When space shuttle Endeavour launched yesterday, it carried some very special cargo.  Two young spiders were on board.  NASA calls them spidernauts.

The golden orb spiders (Nephilia clavipes) will be part of an experiment.  The human astronauts want to know how the spiders will spin their webs in microgravity (little to no gravity).

Golden orb spiders build very beautiful webs.  Will their webs look the same in space?

The spiders live in special boxes on the shuttle.  Once the astronauts dock with the space station, they will transfer the spiders and their habitat boxes onto the space station.

Part of Endeavour's cargo also includes food for the spiders.  They will eat fruit flies.  Fruit flies don't sound very tasty to me, but my spider friends love to eat them!

If you would like to learn more about the spidernauts, just click here:  http://solarsystem.jpl.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=2378

By the end of the week, you can see the spiders in their new home on the space station.  Just click here:   BioEd Online 




The BioEd site also has lessons and other activities for you to use.

Space Shuttle News!

Dear Friends,

Today the space shuttle Endeavor launched into space.  It was so exciting to see it go!

If you would like to watch the video, just click here:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=88591351

The Endeavour astronauts have lots to do.  During this mission, they will bring spare parts for the space station.

They will also install a new scientific tool.  It is called an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.  It will help us to study cosmic rays and other kinds of matter.

If you would like to follow Endeavour's mission, just click here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

It is hard to believe that the United States will only have one more space shuttle launch.  Atlantis is scheduled to launch in July.  I am trying not to be sad.  I wanted to be the first dog on the space shuttle!

NASA has some very fun space shuttle activities for you.  Just click on one of the links below and have fun!

Space Shuttle Activity Book:

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/156665main_Color_and_Learn.pdf

Space Shuttle Fact Sheet:  http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/167751main_FS_SpaceShuttle508c.pdf

Space Shuttle Glider Kit: 

http://www.aiaa.org/kidsplace/kidsplacepdfs/Space_Shuttle_Glider.pdf

Sad Day

We have had a very sad day.  We lost one of our favorite trees.  He was a red oak that was nearly two stories tall and about two feet across.  Mom always called him our "grandpa tree."

Over the past few years, he has been losing limbs.  When spring came around this year, the entire middle was bare.  We called in a tree doctor.  The doctor said that our old red oak had a canker, which is kind of like cancer in people.  He said that trees are like people.  They get old and sick and die.

The tree doctor said that we needed to take the tree down.  He was afraid that if a hurricane came that the tree would fall on our house.  Today some men came and cut down our old friend.  Mom cried.

Already the squirrels are playing on the stump.  But it isn't the same as having our old friend.  The back yard looks so empty without him.

Dad says that we'll plant a new tree this fall.  We will plant it behind the stump.

We have been reading about how trees age and why they die.  If you would like to learn more about trees and why they are important, just visit one of the following sites.

http://www.dnr.state.il.us/education/classrm/kids_for_trees/pdf/Unit1_3.pdf

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/MT/www/about/treepub.pdf

http://www.opalexplorenature.org/sites/default/files/7/file/TreeAge2.pdf

http://www.projectplantit.com/Site_Downloads/Teachers_Downloads/Classroom_Poster.pdf