How do cuts heal? What are bones? Why do I have to eat my vegetables?
            The answers to all these questions lie in one place: the human body!
Fun Facts about the human body:

• An adult has 206 bones in their body
• Hair grows about one ½ inch per month
• The air from a sneeze travels 100 miles per hour
• The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls memory
• An adult’s nerves would be 47 miles long if they were all strung together
• The spinal cord stops growing when you are five years old
• Kids should eat 2 ½ cups of vegetables and 1 ½ cups of fruits everyday

For more fun information and games about the body, check out these websites:
Your Gross and Cool Body
Kids Health for Kids
Systems Game
MyPyramid Blast Off Game

All families are unique. Maybe you are an only child or the youngest of six. Maybe your parents are still married or your parents got divorced. Maybe you were adopted as a baby or you are now living with a foster family. The most important thing about families is that they are all special.

Mommy is having a baby!
When your mom and dad tell you that they are having a new baby, you may have a lot of questions to ask them. Where will the baby sleep? What is the baby going to eat? When mommy goes to the hospital to have the baby, are you going with her or will you be going to someone else’s house? These are all questions you should ask your parents before the baby comes so you are more prepared to be a great big brother or sister.

When the baby first comes, it may not seem all that exciting. It will sleep most of the day and won’t be able to play with you. As the baby gets older, it will be able to do more and eventually will be able to play just like you! Until then, there are several other things you can do with the baby. If you are old enough and mommy and daddy are OK with it, you may be able to help feed the baby. When the baby comes, ask your parents what you can and can’t do. Even if your parents don’t want you to do a lot for the baby by yourself yet, there are so many other ways that you can help. You can get the baby’s clothes and diapers ready for mommy. You can answer the phone if daddy needs you to while he changes the baby’s diaper. You can even help by smiling and talking to the baby to make them stop crying. Reading to the baby may even help them go to sleep.

To some kids, a new sibling is the best news in the world. To other children, this news can be very upsetting. Both of these reactions to a new baby are normal. If you feel like you are being left out or feel like you need more attention, talk to your parents about how you feel.  This is especially important if you think the baby is making it hard for you to do your homework or you aren’t getting enough sleep because the baby was up late last night crying. There are going to be times when you can have all of your parents’ attention like when the baby is napping.

No matter how you feel initially about a new baby, it will get easier as you adjust to being an older sibling. Your parents will not love you any less just because there is a new baby, they just have given you someone else in your family to love!
For more information on welcoming a new baby, go visit the Kids Health website.

Can’t you and your brother stop fighting for one minute?!?
If you already have a brother or sister, you might find it very difficult to get along with them all the time. This is called sibling rivalry. It is normal to have a healthy rivalry between you and a sibling; a little competition will push you to try your best. But sometimes that rivalry may get to be a little extreme.

A rivalry is a competition between two or more groups of people. An example of rivalry would be Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Cinderella and her step-sisters would be an example of sibling rivalry, which is when there is competition between you and your brothers or sisters. There can be different things that you are competing for, such as who is going to score the most baskets in one-on-one, or who is going to get the bigger slice of cake after dinner. There can be several reasons why you fight with your sibling. Maybe your sister borrowed your favorite doll and when she returned it the hair was cut off. Maybe your older brother gets to stay up an extra half hour and that makes you angry. When you frequently get into fights with your sibling because you are angry it can lead to long periods of not speaking to each other or even years of resentment towards them, neither of which is good for your relationship.

There are several reasons that you may fight with your sister or brother, but sometimes it is not them you are angry at. You may be feeling jealousy because your sibling is better in school than you or you think he or she is getting all of your parents’ attention. Sometimes you may be angry with your parents for and you take your anger out on your siblings because it is easier to be angry at them than mom and dad.

When you are fighting with your sibling because of your jealousy or anger, try doing these things to prevent a big fight:

• Are you really angry with your sibling? Take a breath and take some time to think about it. Are you frustrated with them or with the situation?
• Separate yourself from your sibling and calm down so you don’t say something you don’t mean. Go write down how you feel in a journal or take a walk.
• Remember that you have special talents that your siblings don’t. Your sister may be an amazing flute player but you can score more soccer goals than her any day!
• When your siblings get awards for doing something, you should try to be happy for them and congratulate them on their achievements.
• Don’t focus on who started the fight. Try to resolve the fight calmly. Winning a fight isn’t the most important thing.

There are other reasons you might be fighting as well. You are changing as you are getting older and how you are changing maybe different than how your brother or sister is changing. Your individual temperaments may also have a huge impact. If you mood or disposition is the opposite of your siblings’, this may cause you to fight more often. If your parents fight a lot, your fighting may be a reflection of their relationship.

If you feel like your parents are playing favorites, you need to tell them how you feel about that. A way to tell your parents how you feel with out blaming them is to use “I-messages”. Instead of saying “You always spend more time with Jenny!” try saying, “I feel sad when we don’t get to spend a lot of time together because I like playing basketball with you”. Here is a worksheet to help you figure out how to write “I-messages” (I-message worksheet).

You may also feel that your parents are always comparing you to your siblings. You need to tell them how you feel about this and point out your own special talents and interests too. Remind them that you and your siblings are not the same people and should not be treated the exact same way. You want your parents to be fair in how they treat you, not 100 percent equal. 

If you and your siblings’ fighting gets out of control or physical, talk to your parents or a trusted adult. You and your sibling may need to go see a counselor to help you work out your problems.

Sibling rivalry can be a good thing if you use it the right way. You can use your brother or sister’s talents to motivate you to get better at the ones you have. Remember, too much rivalry is not good for your relationship with your sibling so make sure to incorporate cooperation and teamwork into your interactions with your siblings.

For more information on how to help control sibling rivalry, check out these websites:
Sibling Rivalry
PBS's Sibling Rivalry

“Mommy and Daddy just don’t want to be married anymore…”
It’s hard to be a kid whose parents are going through a divorce. A divorce is what happens when your parents decide to no longer live together and sign papers from the court saying they are no longer married. A lot of parents try to solve their problems without getting a divorce but they may decide that their marriage cannot be fixed so they need to get a divorce. Even though you parents may decide that they don’t love each other any more, it doesn’t mean they love you any less.

Parents decide to get divorced on their own. KIDS DON’T CAUSE DIVORCE. Kids also can’t force their parents to get back together so it is best if you try to stay out of the situation as much as possible and let mom and dad settle everything themselves. If one of your parents is trying to get you to deliver messages or asking you questions about the other and it makes you uncomfortable, you need to tell that parent to stop putting you in the middle of their divorce

You may find yourself feeling emotions when you find out your parents aren’t staying together. . You may live with one parent and see the other parent once or twice a week and it may be hard for you to not see that parent as much. You may feel upset, angry, or be afraid of what is going to happen to you now that your mom and dad have split up. It is normal to feel this way and there are things you can do to make yourself feel better about the situation. If you are mad, try to use exercise as a way to express yourself so you don’t take it out on someone else. Try punching your pillow or hitting a baseball as hard as you can. If you are feeling scared because it feels like your world has fallen apart, just remember that it will get better. Your life may be a little different, but in time you will be able to feel good again.

On the other hand, you may be relieved, even happy that your parents have gotten a divorce. If your parents had been fighting a lot or being mean to one another, it may have made you stressed or upset. Now that they are separating, you don’t feel the tension you used to and now you can begin to feel better about everything.

If you are having trouble coping with the divorce, talk to your parents, a friend, or someone you trust, like your counselor or teacher. Because of the emotions you are feeling it may be harder for you to concentrate on anything other than the divorce, including your school work. If this is the case, you need to make sure you get help so you don’t fall behind in school. There may be special groups for kids whose parents got divorced and will give you a place to talk about your feelings with other kids who are going through the same things and may be feeling the way you do too.

For more information about divorce, check out this website:
Divorce

“Mommy, where did I come from?”
Not all kids live with the moms and dads who gave birth to them. Sometimes birth parents have to give their babies to other people to raise. By birth parents giving their babies to other parents, it creates a new family. This is a legal process that is called adoption. There are different reasons why parents have to put their babies up for adoption. Sometimes a mother is too young to take care of the baby the way it should be. Sometimes parents don’t have enough money or have a problem with drugs or alcohol and the state has decided it is not safe for the child to live with that parent anymore. Children may also have been born in other countries that have laws about children or are very poor. Sometimes it is possible to still have your birth parents in your life. Some kids see their birth parents once or twice a year, exchange photographs, or even write letters. Other times though, the child doesn’t get to see their birth parents because their parents live in a different country or the birth parents aren’t allowed to see their children.

There are also several reasons why your parents may have adopted you. Some parents may have not been able to have their own children because of medical problems. Some parents may not be married or have a partner but still want to have children. There are also some families who want more kids but don’t want to have any more of their own. For whatever reason your parents decided to adopt you, it took them a long time to be able to do it. It can often take years for parents to adopt a new child.  There are two different types of ways to adopt a child: through a government agency or through a private adoption service.  Once a family decided which type of group they want to work with, that group investigates them to make sure they will make good parents and be able to support the child. Parents usually then have to meet with a social worker to tell them why they want to be parents and how they would handle different situations as the child grows up.

If you have questions about your adoption, talk to your parents, a counselor, or another relative like an aunt or uncle.
For more information on adoption, check out this website:
Adoption

“This is your new foster family…”
Some kids don’t live with their real families and haven’t been adopted yet. These kids are called foster children. They live with foster families who take care of children for a little while. These people are not the child’s birth parents, but people who the state has decided are fit to give children a safe, caring home. These people may be single, married, or even have kids of their own. In the state of Delaware, foster parents must fit all of the following requirements:

• Can be single, married, divorced or widowed.
• Can rent or own their home.
• Must be at least 21 years of age and no older than 65.
• Needs to have participated in nine weeks of pre-service training.
• Must have had a criminal background check and be fingerprinted.
• Can be any race or religion.
• Needs to have had a home, health, and safety study.
• Needs to be economically stable.
• Needs to provide references.

Kids can live with foster families for several different reasons. Sometimes the child’s mom, dad, or both parents had a lot of trouble with alcohol or drugs. Some parents abused their child or neglected them. Other times the kid’s birth parents may be in jail, sick, or be in some other trouble. The hope is to limit the amount of time that a child spends in foster care, but this is not always possible. Once parents can show that they can be good, responsible parents, the children may be allowed to return to their original home. The state tries to keep families together as often as possible, so you may go into foster care with your siblings.

If you have just moved into a foster family’s house, you may have trouble adjusting to your new surroundings at times. You may be feeling secure in your new home but worried about your mom or dad. You also may be feeling a lot of different feelings about the situation, especially if you had to change schools because of the move into the foster family’s house. If you are feeling stressed, you may want to talk to your social worker. Social workers are the people who help the court decide when to give the child back to their families, where they should live, and a general plan to help make the kid’s life as happy as possible. They may be able to help you find ways to feel more at home with your new family, but if you are worried about your foster family you need to tell your social worker right away.
For more information about foster care, check out these websites:
Foster Care
Foster Care in Delaware

“What happens when you die?”
It can be very hard to understand what happens to people when they die. When you are very young, you assume that death is reversible and that the person you love will be coming back one day. As you get older, you start to understand death the way adults do but you don’t think it can happen to you or anyone you know.

There are different ways that kids react to death. Sometimes you may become more physical when you are playing with other kids, become more irritable, start having nightmares, or even get angrier with the people who are still alive. If one of your parents has died, you may start to want to be treated like a younger kid. You may want more attention, want to cuddle more, and start talking like a baby.

It takes time to get over somebody dying. It is OK to feel sad for a little while, but after a certain amount of time, you should start to feel better. You will know if you are having a lot of trouble dealing with grief if you are having some of these signs:

Some Study Tips:
It is important to make sure that you get good grades in school at any level. Here are some ways that you can make sure that you are getting ahead in school!

• It can be hard to turn off your favorite after school TV show but you should have the TV off when you study. If you like having something on in the background, turn on the radio instead.
• Designate an area to be your study space where there won’t be too many distractions. Make sure that your area has enough room for all of your homework supplies such as books, paper, pencils, and pens.
• Put up a bulletin board in your room to post important school information and assignment dates. You can even decorate it yourself.
• Have an assignment book to write assignments in class when the teacher assigns them. Don’t forget to ask questions if you aren’t sure about the assignment or the due date!
• Make sure you always have enough of your supplies on hand to use during homework or study time.
• Make sure your study schedule is regular. If you come home and do your homework first, do that everyday. If you prefer doing it after dinner, always do your homework after dinner.
• Take short break in between assignments so you will be able to focus more once you get back to work.
• Get organized and stay organized.
• Have your parents check over your homework. Let them make sure that on your paper you wrote that two plus two equals four, not five, and that the brown dog caught the ball, not the dog brown ball caught.

For more study tips, check out this website:
Study Tips
Learning Enrichment:
There are several ways to enrich your learning experience. One option is taking optional summer school classes or enrichment programs.

• Sanford School in Hockessin offers fun and helpful classes for kids of all ages. For more information, contact Todd Helmecki at (302)239-5263 ext. 402 or at Helmeckit@SanforSchool.org or visit Sanford’s website, http://www.sanfordschool.org/home.php.

Looking for some help for the DSTP’s? Check out the Kaplan website, for more information on their test preparation programs.
Use a tutoring center if you are struggling in school or if you are looking to get ahead. Here are some helpful hints from Sylvan Learning Center:

• Sylvan's Kindergarten-5th Grade Math Cheat Sheet
• Sylvan's Kindergarten-3rd Grade Reading and Writing Connection
• Sylvan’s 4th-8th Probability and Statistics Cheat Sheet
• Sylvan's 4th-8th Reading and Writing Connection
• Sylvan's 6th-8th Grade Math Cheat Sheet
• Sylvan's Perimeter and Area Helpful Hints

For more information for Sylvan or more helpful hints, visit the Sylvan Learning Center website.

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