THE BEST PAPER YOU CAN GET ON A MONDAY WRITTEN BY KIDS

Amita, age 8

Lucy looked up at her teacher. “Okay, the first thing I’m going to tell you is that bees are not scary,” said Mrs. Issy. Suddenly, Lucy didn’t want to be in this room with this bee. It felt like a plot twist had been planned, one where Mrs. Issy was evil and had to pretend she was the nicest bee ever.

“STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU EVIL SORCERESS!’’shouted Lucy at the top of her lungs in disbelief.

“You're totally right! I should be much nicer,” said Mrs. Issy in her nicest voice.

Lucy was astonished and very much embarrassed.

“Oh,” said Lucy back in a tiny voice.

“So as I was saying, you are here to learn that bees are not scary. We are just trying to help the world. That's just what we were meant for. Here I am going to tell you some facts about us. In fact, that is why Queen Zoey, the Queen bee, brought you here. Okay, let's see here…...duhdeedeeduh….. here we are…. let’s get on with the facts.”

“Number one: Bees are here to pollinate plants so humans can grow food and live. Number two: Bees collect pollen so they can make honey that humans sell. Number three: Only female bees sting, so not as many bees sting as you think. Number four: Not all kinds of bees can sting. Number five: Bees only sting if you bother them. So Lucy, I hope you have learned something,” explained Mrs. Issy.

“YES, I HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” said Lucy.

“Alright then. Go through this portal I made so you can get home.”

“Bye!” said Lucy who had already jumped from her seat and dived into the portal .

ZAP!!! Lucy was back home, and she rushed to the backyard where her Mom was sadly sitting on a bench.

“MOM!!” cried Lucy.

“LUCY!” shouted Tesla. “Where have you been? Are you hurt?”

“I am not hurt, and I was….. Ummmm…. in a beehive. I’ll explain when we get inside.”

Kavi, age 12

Amita is 8½ years old. She lives with her mom, dad, brother, and dog, Rosey. She is the author of Lucy’s Adventure (serialized in The Monday Times), The Lost Fairy (unpublished) and The Magic Pencil (Young Authors Award 2018-19). When not writing, she enjoys playing piano, roller skating, crafting, and reading. Her current favorite books are the Zita the Spacegirl series by Ben Hatke. She wants to become an actress when she grows up (but still will write stories), and is also filming a movie with her brother Kavi.

Dashiell, age 7

We made a mile high pie yesterday.

(It was only 4 inches tall. I wonder why they

call it mile high?)

Here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS: ¾ cup of sugar, 2 egg whites, 2 cups frozen raspberries, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 pinch salt, 1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, and a 9-inch pastry shell or crumb shell*.

INSTRUCTIONS: combine ¾ cup sugar, egg whites, raspberries (partly thawed), vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a large mixer bowl. Beat at high speed for about 15 minutes, until thick and voluminous (you might want a plastic-wrap collar around the top of the bowl to prevent splashing, because raspberries stain). In a separate bowl, whip the whipping cream and 3 tablespoons of sugar until fluffy. Fold the whipped cream into the raspberry mixture, and pile the mixture into the pie shell (see below). If there is extra, freeze in ramekins. Freeze for several hours. After pie is frozen, wrap in foil. To serve, remove it from freezer, remove the foil, slice, and serve at once. It will keep a few days in the freezer.

* for the pie shell, we made a Graham-cracker crust. Crush one packet of Graham crackers and mix with ⅓ cup of sugar, dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg, and 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix together well, then press into a greased 8- or 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 375 degrees for about 7-8 minutes. Cool before filling.

Yael, age 10

Do you like to rainbow loom? I do. I make bracelets. I do the fishtail design, the normal braid design, and the highest hope design. Rainbow looming is making bracelets with rubber bands. You do it in a certain way and it links the rubber bands together. After you link the rubber bands together, you add little plastic connectors, so the bracelet does not fall apart. The rubber bands are made of latex or silicone. The silicone ones are more stretchy than the latex ones. They come in many colors and in mixes of colors. I have some sparkly ones, some clear rainbow ones, and some plain rainbow ones. If you’ve never done rainbow looming before, it is very fun, and you make a lot of bracelets. You can give the bracelets to your friends or wear them.

Ari, age 5

The playground is open again because it’s phase 4. Go to Carle Park. You can do everything. You can swing, go on the merry-go-round, run around, swing on the big swings, slide on the little slide, and you can play on the big slide. Leave your mask on when you are near people. It helps people stay healthy. There are bugs that bite a lot when you are at Carle Park, so you should wear bug spray or my potion. My potion is made of bug spray, and water and soap.

Siggi, age 5

I like playing hockey in the basement with my dada and my brothers. Even Tobin, who is 2, likes to play. I got new sticks and an orange ball for my birthday. Tobin likes to play with that ball. We also use wiffle balls (not whistle balls). My dada has one old wooden stick that he got at a tournament in Quebec in the 1970s and it still isn’t broken! All of the other sticks are pretty new. These are all small sticks, perfect for indoors, not real, full-size hockey sticks that you use on the street or the ice.

Junie, age 10

Cooking and baking are very fun. You get to measure the ingredients. And you get to eat the things that you cook or bake. The only hard parts about baking and cooking are exactly following the recipe and putting the things in the oven or on the stove. If you do not set a timer for a cake or cupcakes or something like that, then you can take your thing out and stick a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, it is done. If it comes out with the batter on it, it is not done. You keep doing that until you get a clean toothpick (if you forget to set a timer).

Naya, age 11

On the 7th of June 2020 we got two guinea pigs. We named them Cucumber and Berry. They eat Timothy hay, guinea pig pellets, dandelion leaves, kale, carrots, and blueberrys. They like to be brushed. I feed them and hang out with them. Sometimes Barack helps. It’s fun to have pets. I have 16 pets. And that’s the end of my guinea pig presentation. I hope you had a Berry good time!

Theo, age 5

We got tested for the coronavirus. You go to a testing place in Champaign-Urbana. It is in a parking lot. You stay in the car when you get tested. You have to wear your masks when you open your window a little bit to get the sticks. They look cute. You put it in your nose. Kids only do it a little up your nose and grown ups do more up your nose. You spin it around 3 times and count to 15 and then do the other side. They are collecting your boogers to see if you have the virus or not. It didn’t hurt. I didn’t sneeze, but I thought I was going to. My daddy sneezed a lot. My baby sister even got tested. She thought it was funny and smiled. They called us the next day with the results and we found out we don’t have the virus. That felt good.

Clara K., age 7

This week I tuned my friend Theo’s bike. You might know him and he writes articles in the Monday times. It is a BMX bike that has 15” wheels and a 12” top tube which is the part of the bike that goes from the seat to the handlebars. It had a chain guard. I took it off. His bike chain was dirty so I cleaned it. Then I cleaned the entire bike. I raised his seat and made the wheels spin better. I adjusted his handlebars by moving them more forward so that his knees wouldn’t hit them anymore. Without the chain guard he can now go 2 miles per hour faster. He really likes it after I tuned it and he can do more tricks and he can go faster. I like tuning his bike. Whenever your bike needs to be tuned maybe you could give it to us.

Amita, age 8

That was probably Lucy’s worst night ever in the world. She could hear buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz because all the custodians and other guests were bees, unlike Lucy who was a human. She tried so hard to sleep, but she ended up going to bed at midnight when everyone else had fallen asleep.

In the morning she was awoken, startled by the queen bee’s guards who clutched her by the arms and pulled her outside onto the cobblestone street. They pulled her to a big building with thick words that read BeeHive Elementary. Lucy’s jaw dropped when she saw how many bees there were racing into the big school. “Room 342, private teaching. Go to that room and your teacher will teach you private lessons. Tonight you’re going home,” grunted a guard. Lucy slowly walked to the third floor of the school, and then walked quite quickly down the corridor into her classroom. She slammed the door behind her and looked inside the room. Lucy felt scared right away, her body filled up with fear as she was staring at a classroom full of bees

I must have got the wrong room number, whispered Lucy to herself. She ran out of the room and to the next where she saw a locker labeled ‘Lucy’. Because she didn’t have anything to put in it, she walked right in. There was only one bee, and Lucy could immediately tell it was her teacher. She sat down nervously, looked at her teacher, and gulped. Then the bee spoke in a soothing voice.

“Hello Lucy, this is your private lesson,” said the bee. “My name is Mrs. Isabell. Please call me Mrs.Izzy,'’ said Mrs. Izzy.

“Okay,’’ said Lucy confidently, and thought that this must be the best bee in the whole hive.

“All right. Let's get started.”

Junie, age 10

I make comics for The Monday Times. I make Rockhopper Penguin comics. I also trace comics drawn by others. Sometimes it is hard to trace comics. I trace them with a little computer. It has a special app for tracing stuff and drawing stuff. I take a picture and then I put it on the little computer and trace it. Then I send the new version of the comic to the big computer. I do the same thing with drawings. Last, I put them in The Monday Times.

Kavi, age 12 in 2 days

Many of you might have a Rubik’s Cube just lying around in your house, doing nothing and collecting dust, or you’re trying to solve it but don’t succeed at your attempts. Well, I am here to show you how to solve a Rubik’s Cube!! I am sure that you won’t be bored after this tutorial!

History

The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian architecture professor and sculptor Ernő Rubik. In 1975, Rubik received his patent for the “Magic Cube”. The first batches were released in 1977, and it soon became one of the most popular games around 1980. Its name was changed to the Rubik’s Cube. In 1981, Patrick Bossert published the first Rubik’s Cube book called “You Can Do The Cube”. It taught people how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. In 1982, the first Rubik’s Cube World Championship was held in Budapest. The champion was Minh Thai from America. In 1997, Jessica Fridrich created the Fridrich method (or CFOP). It is the fastest method existing. In 2004, Tyson Mao and Ron van Bruchem founded the World Cubing Association. The Rubik’s Cube celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2014.

Obtaining a Cube

There are so many types of cubes! To name a few, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, all the way to 33x33; pyraminx, megaminx, all the way to Yottaminx; Square 1, Rubik’s Clock and Skewb. The 3x3 is the main cube. Some of you might not have a Rubik’s Cube at home, but that’s okay! Generic Rubik’s Cubes are available at stores for about $8. If you want a speed cube that speed solvers like me use, goto https://www.thecubicle.com.

How a Cube Works

You probably know that a Rubik’s Cube has six faces. Each face pivots around a center; you cannot move the centers, so you solve around them. Each face pivot is called a turn. I will be explaining everything in Cubing Notation, so go to https://ruwix.com/the-rubiks-cube/notation/ to learn. A cube is made up of 26 pieces, 8 corners, 12 edges, and 4 centers. Think of the cube as pieces, not individual colors. When we start solving, remember the opposite colors, Red and Orange, Green and Blue, and White and Yellow. You want to remember that there will never be an edge with any of these pairs.

The Method

Although we will not be solving this week, we will briefly go over the Beginner’s Method. The first step is to make a white cross---pretty easy, right? The next step is to use an algorithm* to insert the white corners. Now we have our first layer! Next, insert the edges, and the second layer is done! I will tell you how to make the yellow cross: permute edges, permute corners, orient corners in a few simple algorithms, make the last turns, and you are DONE!

*Algorithms (or algs) are a series of moves represented in Cube Notation. An example of an algorithm is a PLL alg like the T Permutation: R U R’ U’ R’ F R2 U’ R’ U’ R U R’ F. If you're looking for a new hobby, learn the Rubik’s Cube! Please stay tuned for Part 2 next week where I will teach you how to solve a cube!

Yael, age 10

Do you have a bird feeder? I have a few. We have a finch sock filled with thistle, a “squirrel be-gone” bird feeder that closes up when a squirrel gets on it, and we have just a normal bird feeder. We also have a suet bird feeder, but it is better in the winter because the suet gets gross and melty and sticky in the summer. We have them hanging on shepherd’s crooks and the suet one is on the fence. We have Bird feeders so we can entertain our cats and feed the birds. For cats, it’s the ultimate TV show because they get to watch the birds and squirrels on the bird feeders. I recommend that you get a bird feeder, especially if you have an indoor cat, because outdoor cats might bother the birds. Indoor cats like watching the bird show.

Junie, age 10

July 1st was Canada day. On July 1, 1867, Canada was formed from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada (parts of what are now the provinces of Ontario and Quebec). They were British colonies, but they became an independent country, without a war, unlike the 13 colonies that turned into the US a few years before. Until 1982, the holiday was called “Dominion Day.” Because my father is Canadian, we celebrated, with watermelon shaped like maple leaves, because on Canada’s flag there is a maple leaf.

Some good things about Canada are that they have beavertails, which are really doughnuts that look big and flat like a beaver’s tail and they have cinnamon and sugar and sometimes lemon juice. When I go to Canada I like to visit my family. Once we went to Penticton and rented a big house with all of my family and my grandparents and we got to swim in the lake together.

Clara K, age 7

This week went to our cottage in Wisconsin and it is in Waupaca and we saw some frogs. They were Bullfrogs. How you catch them is you put a net over them and push down. Then you grab them while they are in the net and it is upside down. Then while you have the frog in the net holding it you flip the net around, keep holding the frog and then put it in a bucket of water with a top on and look at it for a few minutes. Do not keep it as a pet. Just observe it and let it go. We only kept the frogs we caught for one minute so that they don’t get too stressed out and you don’t want to catch the same frog too many times because it might freak out. If you hold them they pee on you sometimes which is fun. How you release them is you put the bucket right next to the water on land and you take the top off and it might jump onto the side of the bucket and then jump out into the water. If you go to a cottage on the lake try catching frogs. While we were at our cottage we went kayaking, swimming, biking, and we saw lots of turtles, ducks, deer, water, herons, and fish. It was fun going there.

Siggi, age 5

I got a flower presser for my birthday. Here is how it works. First, you pick some flowers, but just the part that doesn’t have green. Next, you unscrew the presser and take the top part off. Then you put the flowers in between paper and cardboard. Then you put the paper under the wooden board, put it back on, and screw it tight. Then you wait. I’m not sure how long you wait, but the flower has to be totally dried, it said in the rules. Maybe years? Oh yeah, it was a few weeks. I put some flowers in a few days after my birthday, but they aren’t ready yet. So no photo this time.

Ari, age 5

I like putting stickers in a book. I have two sticker books. I have a chocolate cake in the first one and a vanilla cake in the second one. I have PJ Mask Stickers. I get my stickers from mom. I have four balloons. I trade stickers with mommy and Yael but she doesn’t trade all her good stuff. I didn’t count all of the stickers yet, but I have a lot of stickers.

Dashiell, age 7

3 days ago, we did a neighborhood Capture the Flag, with social distance. Players tagged each other by shooting water cannons from a fort. It was 3 games, because all the flags were taken so quickly. Lillian and Felix, Amita and Kavi, Clara and Pablo, Barack and Naya, Willa and Miles, and my family all had flags, which meant there were a lot of flags to steal (and a lot of people to steal flags!) Capture the Flag was a lot of fun.

Kavi, age 11

If you’re reading this, it probably means that you’ve read my article last week, if not, I advise you to read it. If you read last week's article, I assume you want to know more about those big planes that I mentioned. This week I will talk more in depth about those planes. We are going to start from smallest to biggest, the first plane that I will talk about is the Airbus A340. It is a 4 engine plane but it only has one deck. I have been on one of these planes and it actually has a secret second floor on the bottom where they keep the bathrooms. On the ground this plane is very easy to distinguish. If you see a plane with four engines, check how many rows of windows it has. If it has two whole lines, it is not an A340, if it has a hump, it is also not an A340, if it has only one line, like the common planes you see, then it is an A340. You will not see any big planes like this in Urbana because we have a small town and large commercial planes don't usually fly here. If you are at a large commercial airport in a large city like San Francisco or Chicago, you will probably see a few of these. If you are close to an airport and you see a plane flying in the sky and it has four engines, then check with maybe binoculars or just your eyes to see if it has just one floor. Next we will talk about the Boeing 747. Earlier when I talked about the Airbus A320, I told you about the plane with a hump. this is the Boeing 747 and it is probably the most easy to distinguish because if its big huge hump. The Boeing 747 is now mainly used in cargo planes, so you might see “Air China Cargo” or “Lufthansa Cargo” on it. Finally, this brings us to the best airplane (in my opinion), the Airbus A380!! This monster has 2 whole floors, which makes this plane pretty easy to spot, just don’t get it confused with the Airbus A340, it only has one floor. If you look at the specifications below, then you can see why this jumbo needs two floors.

Dashiell, age 7

We are growing a lot of food in our garden this year. We’re growing: squash, corn, zucchini, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon, peas, bush beans (Which are more like peas.), radishes, arugula, basil, cilantro, and mint. Only bush beans and peas have grown so far, but I know a lot more stuff will grow. Planting stuff is a good way to get food without going to the store. I’m looking forward to everything except cilantro, arugula, and basil.

Ari, age 5

To take care of a cat you have to pet it gently, so it purrs. You have to pat it on the head, scratch its ears and rub his belly. You have to pet him head to tail. You should just wait for the cat to come to you. Because they are so cute, people want to chase cats. You should calm down. Cats don’t like to be chased. Cats like cat treats. They love catnip toys. They love fuzzy mice. They love yarn balls. My cat likes ice cubes in her water dish because they are so cold. My cat Gladys likes to play with wands and sit on the window. My cat Homer likes to go on the porch and sit on the windowsill.

Amita, age 8

“Oh, my gosh! I’ve to call a beekeeper!!” Tesla ran inside so she could get to the phone. But before she got there, she had a very strange and craaaaazy thought. What if Lucy is in that hive? Tesla ran as fast as she could and grabbed a stick. Using the sharp, flat edge of the stick, she poked the beehive, and a bee fell out. “Oh,” she said relieved, “It’s a regular beehive. I should’ve known. Well, I guess I’ll just get a good night’s sleep and try to find Lucy tomorrow……”

*Stay tuned for Chapter 6 next week!

Kavi, age 11

I bet that all of you have seen a plane flying in the sky, but do you want to be able to know what kind of plane it is? If so, this may help you learn the basics of plane spotting.

I am guessing that all of you know what a plane is and what it looks like, so let’s get started. You can divide planes into categories, our first category group is Characteristic Categories, which include T-Tails, 2 engines, and 4 engines. I have divided the common airliners into these categories as shown on the table below ↓ . T-Tails are planes that have the engines on the tail (the thing that sticks up on the back of the plane). The engines (the round things that are usually hanging off the wings) are where the stabilizers (the things that are like miniature wings on the tail) would usually be, causing the stabilizers to move up to the top of the tail, which makes a T shape. 2 engines are (you guessed it) planes with two engines on the wings, one on each side. These types of planes make up the majority of civil airliners, so they are the most common. 4 engines are planes that have four engines. Now this is the category where you get into double decker planes! But first, let's start with the basics. These planes need four engines because they have such a huge fuselage (the body of a plane)! There are only three types of planes as you can see below. One has only one floor, another has a hump, and one has two whole floors!! (I would recommend to google these planes, see pictures of them, and learn as much as you can.) The second category group is Size Categories. The names of the categories are pretty self explanatory, so I’ll let you figure them out. They are Small Fuselage, Regular Size, and Wide Bodies. If you need help with sizing up these planes in real life, I have included a picture for a reference. Finally, our third category of airplanes are Manufacturer Categories. For those who don’t know what a manufacturer is, it is basically the brand of the airplane. The major manufacturers that I have included are Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Embraer, and McDonnel Douglas. Look at some pictures of these planes and you can have some fun plane spotting!!

Junie, age 10

Marbles is an easy and fun game. You only need a lot of small marbles, a few big marbles, and a circle with a cross in it. To play, you put all the little marbles on the cross and put all the big marbles on the edge of the circle. You try to knock the little marbles outside of the circle using the big marbles. If you knock out a little marble, then you get to keep it. If you stay in the circle and knock a marble out, then you get another turn and get to keep the marble. If you don’t knock any marble out and are stuck in the middle, then you stay there and if anyone knocks you out then you have to give them all of your marbles. Marbles is a fun game. You should try it sometime!

Yael, age 10

Do you like making people happy? Well, my family and I have been writing “Happy Mail.” Happy mail is where you send fun stuff in the mail to people such as washi tape, stickers, or really nice letters. You can send happy mail to relatives, friends, and teachers. To send happy mail you need stamps, cards, and envelopes. First write a good letter. Next put it in the envelope and address and stamp the envelope.

Sticker bomb or washi tape the envelope to make it extra fun. Then take it to the post office or put it in

the mailbox. You will make people very, very happy.

Siggi, age 4

I turn five on July 2. I have had almost a year of being four. Here are some nice things that happened when I was four: getting a Nintendo Switch from the Easter Bunny; my birthday party in Spain; pre-school with Miss Joana and Miss Soraya; playing hockey in the basement with Dashiell and Dada and sometimes Tobin. Here are some things I want to happen when I’m five: to play outside a lot this summer; to play ice hockey in the fall and winter; to play outside in the snow, if it snows, and I hope it does; next spring, to play in the sun; making cookies and cakes.

Willa, age 8

On Tuesday and Wednesday my family set up our new tent for the first time in our backyard. It was super fun!

Under the tent we put a tarp down to avoid poking holes in our tent. We always set up sleeping bags inside our tent. We also set up crash pads and an air mattress under the sleeping bags.

When we camp out we usually toast marshmallows and hotdogs ( if you are vegetarian like me you can buy vegetarian hot dogs) above a campfire with a roasting stick. We made homemade roasting sticks by whittling the tips of sticks (have an adult help with the whittling!). It’s helpful to have a pointy tip.

It’s good when you’re camping to find the coolest nights if possible because it gets hot and sticky inside the tent. The nights that we camped out there was lots of noise that you don’t hear inside your house like fireworks and birds and motorcycles. You might not sleep very well but it’s a very fun experience!

You should try it! If you don’t have a tent maybe you could borrow one from a friend! You can also get camping supplies and chairs from a friend.

Felix, age 6

Today, on June 26th, I went on boats with my family and the Nardie family. Pablo, Clara and Lillian went on a kayak and the rest of us went in canoes. The adults had metal paddles with some black. Pablo and Clara and Lillian had double metal paddles and Oliver had a not-shiny wooden paddle with a red thing and a hole at the top. He dropped his paddle in the middle of the river and we went back and got it. I had a shiny wooden paddle. Gabe caught a fish. It was a large-mouth bass. He found two birds. They were a Baltimore Oriole and a Belted Kingfisher. It was fun at Kickapoo State Park.

Theo, age 5

I’ve been babysitted by my babysitter Julian. He is 19. He and his mom started a food pantry. It is in our neighborhood outside his house. It is a place where you can get food if you don’t have any food. It is important to have food so you can stay healthy. It has a tray holder thingy to hold food. It is called the “Little Free Food Pantry.” It has lots of food in it including my favorite cereal. If you want to donate food you can take it to the pantry. You can bike there. The address is: ______.

(Additional info: Food & personal care products are welcomed. In particular: pasta sauce, canned soup, tuna & beans. You can leave donations in the pantry or on the porch).

Siggi, age 4

My mama is making a marble fence for our play structure. But you could make it for a fence for your garden. You need wood and you need marbles. You need to make holes in the wood to fit the marbles in. We got out all of our marbles and we saw if they fitted and I put away the pretty ones because I didn’t them to be in the marble fence. We put the not pretty ones and tried if they would fit. We put a special glue to make them stick in. It isn’t done yet but it looks pretty.

Junie, age 10

I have a pet bunny. Her name is Hopscotch. If you read last issue, then you might know a little about her. She likes to get lettuce treats and her bunny food. She does not like to eat hay a lot because she does not like hay as much as she likes her other food. Hay is good for bunnies. Every day Hopscotch gets to run around in an area with bunny safe stuff. Also bunnies need ⅛ cup of food. My bunny is very smart. She knows when food is coming.

Amita, age 8

“Stop!!” wailed Lucy, her voice was weak from the guard's sharp bee claw-like fingers. She was weakening even more because of the very, very firm grip that the guards were using to hold her. Suddenly the guards stopped.

“We’re here.” said one of the guards. Lucy looked up.

“But this isn't Beehive Elementary,” she replied.

“We've brought you to a hotel for the night because it's evening time already.” Lucy shook her watch, and it turned on. Sure enough it was 7:30. “Go,” said one of the guards bossly. So Lucy slowly walked in the bright lit doors into the large bee hotel.

Meanwhile Lucy’s Mom,Tesla, was really worried about Lucy. She knew that Lucy went for a long bike ride and yet she was still worried (Why you ask? Well, now Lucy had been gone for hours and hadn’t come back). She was amazingly confident that Lucy would tell her if she was going to go and not come back for hours. So Tesla called her friends and her family, and she went with them for a night time search.

They looked everywhere. They even went to the end of town and they still didn’t find her. But when Tesla was checking in the garage to see if Lucy’s bike and helmet were there, she saw a bee hive that was shaking and getting bigger and bigger. . . .

*Stay tuned! Chapter 5 is coming next week!

Junie, age 10

I just got a pet bunny. If I had got it when coronavirus didn’t exist, then it would be very different to get it. First, I went to a pet store. If you want to get into the pet store, then you have to wear a mask. We knew that they were bunnies in the pet store because my Mama went in and looked. Then when we were in the pet store we went and saw the bunnies. There were 2 bunnies. They were both Dwarf Holland Lop bunnies.When my Dada went to get the supplies, I chose which bunny to take home. Choosing which bunny to take home was very hard. They both went in their hiding spot. When one of them came out, she went to the front of her cage. I chose the one that went to the front of her cage since she came out first and seemed friendlier. We took the bunny home in her carrier. When we got home I got to hold my pet bunny. Bunnies and rabbits eat hay, rabbit food, and treats. They can also eat mint leaves. On my bunny’s 2nd day living with me, I found out what I wanted to name her. I named her Hopscotch after Hopscotch Bakery.

Ari, age 5

Robots are electric and useful. Sometimes they have vacuums inside them that pop out of their hands. Dot the Robot can talk. Dot the Robot can change ear and eye color. Smile can drive. I have x-rayed them. I have built Robot City on my porch. Robot City is made of Boxes. It is made of my old big boxes. Some places in Robot City are a restaurant. It is called Robot Special Metal Food. The grocery store is called Grocer-Robot Gears. We also have a robot fire station and Robot Free Library. If you want to make a city on your porch, make it out of boxes. And if you want to make a Robot Space for your robots to float in, you have to make it out of plastic that’s really expensive and also invent a space suit.

Amita, age 8

Lucy spun around to face the Queen Bee who was sitting upon her bright red throne knitting a blanket. Feeling scared, she looked up at the bee bravely, “Bring me home now!’’ Lucy demanded very firmly.“Not until you learn, Lucy,’’ replied the Queen Bee's calm, cold voice. Clink, clink, continued the sound of the knitting needles tapping together in the silent room.

“W-w-wha-what what do you mean--- I have to learn?’’ asked Lucy, trying to sound brave and very, very confident because she had no idea what the bee was talking about.

“Lucy, you are going to bee school. Follow me to go to your first private bee lesson,’’said the Queen Bee in a more wicked voice now.

“No I will never come with you!’’ shouted Lucy. “Guards!” shouted the Queen Bee. And just like that Lucy was being dragged out of the castle and to Beehive Elementary.

*Stay tuned! Chapter 4 is coming next week!

Theo, age 5

We did puddle jumping and I very did like it. Also, we measured how deep it was by putting the stick in the water. We went to all the puddles that were in (Amita's article) and also we found a new puddle.

It was really fun. My boots got was really wet and it was really hard to run. It was fun to get wet on the deepest puddles. We were soaked at the very end. Here's one more reason we got very soaked: the puddles, and it was raining.

The new puddle was very deep. It was almost as deep as the puddle on the other side of the Park. Also we like the other big ones. They were so cool and they were amazing.

My favorite puddle is the puddle by our house but diagonal, on the same block as Howard and Megan and the dog named Jet the Dog. And my other favorite is the new puddle.

Clara K., age 7

Half very ripe banana or use the whole banana and double the recipe

Quarter teaspoon vanilla

Two tablespoons all-purpose flour

One teaspoon sugar

Quarter teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

You can also add chocolate chips, sprinkles or nuts if you want.

Mash the banana on a plate with a fork.

In one coffee mug, combine mashed banana with the oil and vanilla and mix super well.

In another coffee mug, make sure the baking powder and flour are super duper mixed.

Then put the salt and mix it super good.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix them super well together.

Then put in the microwave for 60 seconds.

And then check on it. If it is still a little mushy put it in for another 20 seconds.

All together you would have microwaved it for 90 seconds if it was a little bit mushy.

Let it cool for about one minute before eating.

It will look yellow, not brown. Its like all banana not like a normal muffin with chunks of banana in it. If it’s yellow don’t think its not done yet because it’s supposed to be yellow.

That’s how you make a microwaveable banana muffin.

Kavi, age 11

Today I am interviewing my sister (Amita) about a homemade library that she made.

Kavi: What did you build?

Amita: A library with lots of books and a reference desk.

Kavi: What did you build it out of?

Amita: Well, the reference desk is made out of cardboard with a little wooden table outside it, and the rest of the library is the living room which is filled with different kinds of books.

Kavi: What was your inspiration to build it?

Amita: I had an empty cardboard box just sitting around, so I decided to build a library out of the box. It was a library because I couldn’t go to the Library, so I decided to make it at home!

Kavi: How does it work?

Amita: People can come into the living room to look around for books and when they want to check out a book, they come to the reference desk and I check it out for them.

Kavi: How long did it take you to build it, and how much is built?

Amita: It took a few days to build because I had to design it so I knew what I wanted it to be. Then, I had to get everything in order and put the books where they needed to be.

Kavi: What problems occurred?

Amita: Well, I had one big problem, I didn’t know how to design it, and I designed it over and over again to add new things and make it better.

Kavi: How did you end up with your current design?

Amita: I tried a design where I had a cardboard bookshelf, and then one where I had a tunnel. That gave me an idea for the reference desk.

Kavi: How do people return books?

Amita: There is a return flap that people can stick their books through.

Kavi: Thanks for letting me interview you!

Amita: You’re welcome!

Siggi, age 4

This week I’m making a gardening puzzle. Here’s how you do it: you do it like you try to guess what letters are above the lines.

F_ _ _ _ _ _ S (smells nice)

F_ _ _ _ S (tastes great)

W_ _ _ S (pull them)

W _ _ _ S (wiggle)

T _ _ _ _ O (in salads)

My mama is building a playhouse. We’re still at the beginning of building the playhouse. My mama found a rock while she was digging holes for the playhouse and she gave it to me. I washed the rock but then I lost it.

Amita, age 8

Lucy looked around, “Hmmmmmmmmmmm…. Where could I be?” thought Lucy. It looked to her like she was in a park. Then finally she saw a sign by the entrance of the grassy area. It read: WELCOME TO BEE CENTRAL PARK! (in all caps). That name made Lucy shiver. “Bee Central Park,” Lucy slowly read over in her head. Then suddenly Lucy knew where she was; she was in a beehive.

Lucy hopped on her bike and rode until she saw a big castle. She parked her bike, terrified of how many bees might be in the building because she was going to talk to the queen bee. Lucy walked in through the gigantic round door into the big castle. It was amazing!!! There was a big throne in the middle of the room and a red carpet made from only wild strawberries that was growing from the edge of the throne. There were 20 guard bees---10 on each side of the room.

Suddenly, someone spoke in a stern, cold voice. “It’s time you’ve come…..”

*Stay tuned! Chapter 3 is coming next week!

Naya, age 11

Here's a list of good books to read.

1. Harry potter.

2. Hello universe.

3. Charlotte's web.

4. The tale of despereaux.

5. My side of the mountain.

Siggi, age 4

In our Animal Crossing games that we have you can garden. You can buy seeds and plant them. They look kind of like the real flowers. You can grow tulips, pansies, roses, mums, and hyacinths. You can grow bushes, but I don’t know how to. If you plant flowers next to each other and you water them they’ll make new flowers because they cross pollinate. I don’t really know how to say what that means but real flowers do it too. It looks like a lot of work but the bees do it their selves.

Dominic, age 6

We went to the Arboretum and we went through a garden. One day when we were there, it rained. We took shelter in a special place under the Japan House roof. We walked through the garden and we realized it is a rock garden just like our back yard. It's up by the stream, and there are little gazebos that you can sit down in if you want to take a break. There are special little paths that take you to the other parts of the Arboretum. There's a bridge that takes you over the pond - we saw a big orange fish when we crossed. We had a picnic there and one of the ducks that was part of a family was interested in our food and almost ate it!

Kavi, age 11

Do you know what happened one hundred and two years ago that is a lot like what is happening now? One hundred and two years ago, in 1918, there was an outbreak of Spanish Flu. Spanish Flu (H1N1) was an epidemic that infected around 500 million people and killed about 50 million people. It was the most recent big epidemic. It was like Covid-19, except we do not know how the Spanish Flu started or where it started, but it infected one-third of the world’s population in two years! Some people didn’t care what the doctors said about it, so Spanish Flu spread more easily. The average life expectancy before the Spanish Flu was 48 years for a man, and 54 years for a woman, which is pretty low already. In 1918 when Spanish Flu hit, the life expectancy dropped 12 years for both, making it 36 years for a man, and 42 years for a woman! Spanish Flu came back in 2009 and the CDC estimated that about 151,700 to 575,400 people died worldwide.

If you want to stay safe from Covid-19, please remember to wash your hands for twenty seconds, do not touch your face, wear a mask to protect other people, and stay six to eight feet apart. We still do not have a vaccine.

Ari, age 5

We picked a really ripe strawberry. It was so good and sweet. It got ripe on Monday. The strawberry was red. It was the first one to get ripe. Me and mommy picked it. Me, Yael, and mommy ate it. We ate little pieces. It was the only strawberry in the garden. It was the first thing ever to get ripe this summer. The garden is in our backyard of our house. We planted those strawberries last year. They grow on green plants. Strawberries start as flowers. Then you get strawberries, but they are green, and then they turn red, and then they’re ripe. And then you pick them! And then you eat them. You need a lot of strawberries to make jam. And you also need to squish them and put them on the stove. You cook them with sugar. You put pectin in it. You put it in jars and then you put it on bread and taste it.

Junie, age 10

Most campers go to summer camp for some hours. But the Coronavirus made going to summer camp hard. There are usually lots of kids in summer camp so it is hard to stay 6 feet away. This year summer camps will be on Zoom or Google Meets or something like that. Some Zoom camps are spelling, book groups, art, and an invention camp. Zoom camp is a bit hard because you have to bring your own materials. In art camp you need to bring water colors, water, a pencil, and paper. Also Zoom is sometimes blurry and echoey. Zoom summer camps are very fun Even though Covid 19 made the year very different, you can still do summer camps!

Ollie, age 2

There are caterpillars, ladybugs, tarantulas and spiders. They crawl and move and live in the holes. They eat birdseed and live in Africa and drink coffee. Yaya and Dada (my grandparents) eat bugs. Their favorite is tarantulas.

Felix, age 6

My new glasses are blue. I like them because they are blue. They came with dog stickers, cleaning spray and a cleaning cloth. It came with a case that felt like elephant skin and was orange which I really like. I wear glasses because if I don’t, I won’t see as well. They help me write better because I can see my work. They also help me play soccer so I can see the ball. My glasses help me see close up.

Dashiell, age 7

INSTRUCTIONS: Match the letter to the number in the sentence. When you finish, you will know what it says.

A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4 E=5 F=6 G=7 H=8 I=9 J=10 K=11 L=12 M=13 N=14 O=15 P=16 Q=17 R=18 S=19 T=20 U=21 V=22 W=23 X=24 Y=25 Z=26

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ___ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

1 9 2 0 1 2 5 9 1 4 7 1 2 0 8 15 13 5 1 1 9 2 1 5 18 9 1 9 7

Yael, age 10

Do you like collecting things? I do. I collect stickers. My family and I have a sticker club and we trade and collect more stickers. I organize my collection in a sticker book. It has clear plastic sleeves and I can see what topic of stickers is in each sleeve. Here are some of my topics: I have a fairy tale topic, under the sea, and the front of my book is all sorts of food stickers. Right now my biggest group of stickers is the Mrs. Grossman’s brand. I have about 30 sheets. I get most of my stickers from Pipsticks which is a sticker club I am in.

In the past, I have collected shell, rocks, and Beanie Boos. Some kids like to collect dolls, trading cards, toy cars, lego mini figures, and other things. If you want to start a collection, find a topic that you like. Find things of that topic. Use a box, book, or other container to organize your collection. Kids in Urbana can display their collections at the Urbana Free Library in the children’s department. They will give you a space in the glass case. You organize it in there with signs telling what it is. I have displayed shells and shell animals I made. Collections are fun because they are special to you and you can share and trade with people.

Lillian, age 8

I like camping because you get to sleep with your whole family. Last week, my dad saw the tent he ordered had arrived. Two days later, we camped out in our backyard. Oliver (my brother) slept inside the house with my mom. The next day we camped out again and it started pouring rain and it dripped into the tent. My mom, who had switched with my dad from the night before, woke us up and said we had to go inside. Then Felix (my other brother) was half awake and he didn’t want to leave the tent because he sleep-walked back into the tent and tried to go back to sleep. We went to sleep in out beds that night and when we woke up we felt really disappointed that we couldn’t camp in the yard. That afternoon my mom was giving us haircuts and then she called REI (the place where we got the tent) and asked if we could return the tent. I’m not sure what happened then. I would love to camp out again if we get a tent that doesn’t leak.

Naya, age 11

Wednesday last week was the last day of school. We went to school because I was in fifth grade. We got the 5th grade t-shirt, a bag of seeds, a lollipop, a diploma, and pictures. It was fun but not as fun as it would have been if there was no coronavirus. I do not like the coronavirus. Also I got to see my teacher and some kids from my class. It was fun.

The end.

Junie, age 9

School just ended. The virus made the whole school year very different. Online learning was a way that teachers used to do school. If you do not know how to type or can’t type very fast, then you might not like online learning very much. Online learning is not like real school because at real school you have worksheets and when you do online school you type using the computer. When you do online school you might use Google Classroom. Google Classroom works well for writing assignments but does not work well for math worksheets. Instead I used Zearn for math. The biggest difference though is that you cannot see anyone except your family and it’s lonely.

Amita, age 8

“YAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!” said nine year old Lucy who loved to ride her bike. She was about to go on an EPIC bike ride. That is why she is right now going to get her blue bike with an orange and yellow stripe bell! But when Lucy was walking her bike away from the shed, she noticed something scary…. A bee had come out from behind the shed and she was afraid of bees (because they might sting you or chase you so they can sting you).

A second later, Lucy got even more worried. In fact, she was at the max of how worried she could get because there was a whole colony of bees fluttering her way! Lucy closed her eyes to think, but when she opened them---”AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” shrieked Lucy. She was standing with her bike and her helmet in a dome full of bees! Lucy looked up at the queen bee and saw a weird, blue streak of light coming from the queen bee. ZAP!!!!! Lucy opened her eyes but she was no longer next to her shed…….

*Stay tuned! Chapter 2 coming next week!

Clara K, age 7

Go for a bike or a hike at Kickapoo.

Go for a walk at Homer Lake.

Go to the Arboretum and do stuff in nature.

On hot days, play in a swimming pool. It could be real pool in your backyard or an inflatable pool or a plastic pool. You can still play in it.

If you have a slip ‘n slide you should play in it.

On hot days you might want a popsicle. Here’s how to make a really healthy one. Put a banana on the end of a chopstick or popsicle stick and freeze. Then Bananas can be cold and very good.

You can also make ice cream in an ice cream maker if you have one.

Try doing some of these things they might be fun.

Barack, age 7

Last night we had s'mores. They were very yummy. Daddy worked hard setting the fire and keeping it not too big and not too small. We would poke the marshmallow into the stick and hold it over the fire. Then it would be gooey on the inside. Mama did the chocolate and graham crackers. Mama put the chocolate on two graham crackers, then put the marshmallow inside. Then it was a s'more!

Theo, age 5 and his dad, a grownup

Theo: What was it like when you were a little boy and lived in this neighborhood?

Ben: It was fun! I loved hanging out with my friends and my family in the neighborhood and I have really good memories of it.

T: So, also, I have a few questions for you. Did you make any friends there?

B: I did. A lot of my friends lived in the neighborhood. I lived on Washington Street, but I had a friend who lived on Nevada, and a friend who lived on Indiana, and a friend who lived on Ohio. I had lots of friends who lived in this neighborhood.

T: I have a question for you. I was wondering if you had a playground really close to your house.

B: When I wanted to play, there were a couple places I could go. When I was your age, I lived on Pennsylvania right by Blair Park. And they had a little playground but they also had baseball fields and tennis courts and I would play there with my family and especially my dad. When I was 6, I moved to Washington St. And then I was closer to Leal and Carle Park. So I would often go to Leal and play at the playground. Or they used to have basketball hoops there. I would also sometimes go to Carle Park and play on the playground there, or play on the grass.

T: Was Leal different when you played there?

B: I went to school at Leal and there were parts that were really similar but there were also parts that were different. Since I went there, they built on to it, and they also have a grass area that wasn't there when I was a student. Basically the whole playground was almost all concrete, but now there's a special grass area where people can play soccer.

Kavi, age 11

Do you love music? Then listen to this. A composition is a piece of music. If you are bored, try composing your own piece on Musescore. Musescore is a completely free composition software. You can print out the pieces and play them on any instrument. The link to the download is https://musescore.org/en/download. There are new versions every month or so. They have many different instruments and types of ensembles. (Note: composing music will not happen overnight, it requires practice.)

Ari, age 5

Cheerios with milk is the best cereal ever because it has milk in it. The cheerios get soft. Cocoa puffs are also good. Put milk on Cocoa Puffs. It turns into chocolate milk. Buy cereal at Schnucks or another store. Schnucks has the best cereal because it’s so good. They have Cocoa Puffs and Cheerios. And they also have some bad cereals made of burnt marshmallows. There’s a lot of choices.

Yael, age 10

Clubs are really fun. You can start one with your siblings or your family for almost anything. I have tried out sticker club and cartoon club. In sticker club you can trade stickers with your family. In cartoon club, we watch cartoons. We watch cartoons we have never seen before and eat a snack. The cartoons are funny. The president of cartoon club is my dad. He picks some of the cartoons. They are cartoons from his childhood, like Danger Mouse. If you want to start a club, come up with a topic. Ask your parents and siblings if they will do a club with you.

Siggi, age 4

I went to the arboretum with my little brother to look at the fish and some turtles. The bridge is the best place to see them. When I was going home I saw irises. I didn’t know what kind of flower they were, but my mama told me. And I like them but we don’t have any. If anyone wants to trade, I will trade them daffodils for irises. I wanted them to be seeds but my mama says they come from bulbs. But I have daffodil bulbs and I can trade. I want purple irises like the ones at the arboretum. My neighbor gave me columbine.

Dashiell, age 7

Hockey is starting again, but it will be really different. Only 24 of the 31 teams are resuming play. The ones not playing are the four worst teams in the East and the three worst teams in the West. Detroit is the worst team and it is in the East. The playoffs will be really different, too. Eight teams are sure to make the second round of the playoffs. The second round will have 16 teams instead of 8. There will be no audience at the games but they will be on TV. There’s a list of cities they might play in and they will choose 2, but there are some it definitely won’t be because there are too many tourists in Las Vegas and Los Angeles I’m really happy hockey will be on again.

Dominic, age 6

It feels different to be 6. A lot of things change on your birthday. Everything feels new to you. You get a lot taller. You spend most of your time playing with the toys you got. You see a lot of the number that you turned. I had the candles in the shape of a 6 on my birthday cake. I also got candy in the shape of a 6 on my birthday cake. I had a chocolate vanilla cake. Being 6 is great!

Kavi, age 11

Attention all young chefs! Puff pastry dough is a dough that can be used to make quiches, tarts, galettes, pies, and other pastries. This dough makes a flaky, buttery crust for a delicious pastry. This recipe has been made many times and is perfected.

To begin, first take out a measuring cup, a food processor, a silicone or ziplock bag (if storing it), and some measuring spoons. You will need:

1½ cups flour

1 Stick + 2 tablespoons butter (total 10 tbsp)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup of cold water

1 tablespoon sugar (if using dough for sweets)

First, blend all of the butter with flour, salt, and sugar (optional) in a food processor. Cut the butter up so it is in medium-small chucks.

Then, add the water and blend until it turns into dough. Use it right away or the butter will melt. If not, store it in the freezer in a ziplock bag until you use it.

Lani, age 10

This recipe is pretty self explanatory. It’s also really good.

First make some scrambled eggs. About half-way, add your desired amount of cheese and cook the rest of the way. Enjoy!!!

Ari, age 5

I like my sprinkler. It’s called hydroswirl. It spin and spin and spin all around. It sprays water very nice. The spinning tubes spin all over the place and squirt all over the place and it gets the whole backyard wet. It’s good to use a sprinkler during coronavirus because they are so fun. You can’t go to the pool this summer because of coronavirus. You can always use a sprinkler for playing. If you cool off in the sprinkler, you can be really good. The sprinkler spins cold water because the summer is so hot. The sprinkler that we have is only for the summer. Order a sprinkler from the internet. Or maybe you could get one from the store.

Junie, age 9

Penguins are my favorite animal, so stories about penguins are very interesting to me. People can’t go to museums or aquariums because of the coronavirus, but penguins can! Some penguins are waddling through an empty art museum in Kansas City! Since the museum is not open to people a group of Humboldt penguins can appreciate the art without being disturbed. Wandering through an empty art museum while people are in quarantine sounds like something some penguins might enjoy!

Another penguin, this time a Rockhopper in Chicago, visited a beluga whale exhibit. Penguins and beluga whales live nowhere near each other so it is very unlikely that they would meet in the wild. But it seems like the penguin and beluga got along. The penguin did not swim with the beluga whale, but instead it watched the beluga sort of like people watch animals in a zoo or aquarium.

Daehyun, age 9

Doing the laundry can be very supportive in these times, because there are probably more house chores. To make your parents happy, doing the laundry is pretty easy and helpful. Here's how:

1. Collect dirty laundry

These are the places in our house:

Hamper in the basement at the bottom of the laundry chute, bedroom hampers, bathroom and kitchen for towels and napkins.

2. Separate the clothes into three categories

Delicate (ask your parents about this, set to cold and low spin), Light (set to hot), Dark (set to warm)

3. Turn the washer on and put in soap

For a normal load, we fill the soap to 1 ½ in the cup. Put soap in the soap drawer (for us, top left in the main wash compartment). Adjust the settings for heat and spin

4. Start it and wash your hands

Click the start button

Wash your hands

5. Drying

Once the load is done, put the clothes in the dryer. Ask your parents if there are any clothes that shouldn’t go in the dryer. Put a dryer sheet in. Clear the lint trap. Set the heat and time and start it.

6. Fold and put away

For this step it depends on how your family does it. I can't really tell you a specific way to fold and put the clothes away, but one suggestion is to sort the clothes out so each person has their clothes and have them fold and put them away. I like doing laundry because it makes everyone happy!

Theo, age 5

Pinatas are so fun. Recently we did a penguin piñata to have fun. Me and Grandma ordered it. To open a piñata you have to bang it really hard. At first nobody could get the piñata open. Finally, my new stuffed animal Sharkie broke it and I got the rest of the candy out. And then I got to eat one thing before dinner. Then we had dinner. And then I got to have another thing. Then Daddy put all the candy in a bag because he didn’t want me to eat it. Keep your kids away from the candy or else the kids will eat it all! Kids love candy.

Siggi, age 4

One of my favorite kinds of flowers is snapdragons but I don’t really know about this kind of flower. Today I watered my grass with a Slip n’ Slide. You attach it to a hose, then you pump it up first. I turned on the hose and the water went into the Slip n’ Slide and then it comes out through the holes. You should slip on it. The water goes on the grass and it waters the grass. The grass needs water to grow. This is kind of the best way to water the grass. It is good for kids, but not grownups or teenagers because they might make holes in the Slip ‘n Slide.

Barack, age 7

We planted some cherry trees. We did it a few days ago. We dug a hole, put the plant in the hole, covered it with dirt, and watered it. Daddy, Naya, Ashlynn, and I did it. I don’t know where the cherry trees came from. I’m excited for when they grow cherries because I like cherries.

Ollie, age 10

To save trees and toilet paper my family purchased a bidet. It is a European toilet that instead of using toilet paper it squirts you with water. It also does not use very much water. Only one eighth of a gallon (bidet.org “How much water does a bidet really use?") ! The good thing about having a bidet right now is there is a toilet paper shortage. It also helps because if you have sensitive skin like me it is less irritating than getting a rash from wiping so many times. I would highly recommend one if you are interested. Our bidet is not a whole different toilet but an add-on to our regular toilet. We got it from a company called tushy. It has two settings. One to clean the nozzle and one to actually spray you.

Tips:

-Don't turn the dial to wash unless you're sitting there.

-It feels kind of weird the first time but you will get used to it.

-You will need a towel to wipe the water (not poop) off your bum.

Willa, age 8

We have not been able to go to the library since the beginning of March because of the Coronavirus. But I just found out that there are two way that you can get books and other things from the library!

I spoke with Joel Spencer from the Urbana Free Library. He said the library building is closed but there are two ways to use the library. The first way is they have Curbside Pickup. It started Friday, May 15, 2020. The Curbside Pickup hours are Monday – Thursday at 3:00pm – 7:00 p.m. and Friday – Sunday at 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. To place requests you can do it with the library website or to call the library by the number 217-367-4405. Either fill out the form or Email curbside@urbanafree.org, or call the library number above. You are not supposed to come to the library until your pick-up appointment has been confirmed. He also said you cannot return the books you already have to be safe.

Mr. Spencer said the second way to use the library is to go online and you get access to music, audio books, and ebooks. To get more information go to urbanafreelibrary.org and look at Curbside Pickup.

Clara N, age 7

Las personas afuera que yo he visto son Liliana, Felix, Ollie, Pablo, Junie, Dashiell, Siggi, Tobin, Theo, Kavi, Amita, Clara K, Dominic y Jo-jo. Todos estaban en la calle Iowa. Muchas de las personas estaban en bicicleta, patines del diablo, patines de ruedas, o patines en línea. Otras personas estaban caminando o andando en patineta. Unas personas estaban brincando en bici. Otras estaban brincando en patín del diablo. Algunos jugaban juegos como Cops & Robbers. Otros pasaban a saludar. A mí me gusta jugar afuera.

Clara N, age 7

The people outside that I have seen are Lillian, Felix, Ollie, Pablo, Junie, Dashiell, Siggi, Tobin, Theo, Kavi, Amita, Clara K, Dominic, y Jo-jo. All of them were on Iowa Street. Many of the people were on bikes, scooters, rollerskates or rollerblades. Other people were walking or skateboarding. Some were playing games like Cops and Robbers. Others came by to say hello. I like playing outside.

Felix, age 5

You need…

5 T. (Tablespoons) butter

1 cup sugar

4 handfuls chocolate chips

7 T. flour

Melt butter, chocolate chips and sugar for 2 minutes on power 5 in the microwave. Stir together and add flour until there are no streaks. Shape into balls and flatten onto a plastic plate. Spread peanut butter on top (or not if you are allergic). Add chocolate chips and marshmallows on top (optional). Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Makes 7-8 cookies

Theo, age 5

Having a baby sister is fun. The best thing is her grabbing noses. I think it’s funny. It feels ticklish. I like to play peekaboo with her. When she plays peek poo it is too cute - especially when she does it by herself. Having a baby sister is hard because she always wants to be fed. She does not like her socks. She takes them off every day. She also doesn't like to stop in the stroller. She wants you to keep moving. She always wants to try to crawl. If you play with a baby you should gently play with the baby. You should also know how to help babies swim. Make sure they don’t get water in their eyes. You should know how to help babies stand up and go down without falling and help them go to sleep quickly. After they start to crawl really good they start riding tricycles when they are age 1. When a baby has a poop in the house I high five the grown up who doesn’t have to change the diaper.

Junie, age 9

Animal Crossing New Horizons is a Nintendo Switch game. Each player controls a person who interacts with animals that speak. Players can catch fish or bugs or collect fruit (to eat or plant) on their own islands or when visiting the islands of others, if invited. Many people have been hosting birthday parties on their own islands, inviting friends to come do some games and have birthday fun. Some fun birthday games are musical stumps, fishing or bug-catching competitions, and hide-and-seek. If your birthday is on a Saturday and your island has gotten a good rating then K.K. Slider (a musical dog) can come and perform concerts, and you can request songs that you and your friends like. Sometimes other animals who live on the island come to the concerts too. If you have a Nintendo Switch and the game Animal Crossing New Horizons then you can still host a really fun birthday party even in quarantine.

Miles, age 12

Have you seen the excavator tearing up Green St. in front of the library? MCORE or Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project is currently working on their 5th project. They will redo Green from Race to Busey. When finished, it will have bus platforms, bus shelters, and live bus info. It will also have bike facilities and road drainage improvements. MCORE is also putting in new signage for people trying to find specific places such as Urbana’s architecture, restaurants, and entertainment. It is funded by MTD, U of I, City of Urbana, and City of Champaign. They plan to complete the project by December 2020. For more information go to:

https://www.mcoreproject.com/

Barack, age 7

We got baby chicks three days ago. Their names are Cinnamon, Cherry, and Race Car. We pet them today. We have to pet them with two fingers because they are babies. We go down to the basement and see them sometimes. We keep them in the basement so the cats don’t eat them. We have to shut the door. They can’t go outside yet because they are very little. They need to grow feathers first. Their box is called a brooder. It has a heater, water, grit, food, and a pad to catch their poop.

Dashiell, age 7

I’m in a Scrabble club. In case you don’t know what Scrabble is, it is a board game with lots of words and tiles. The Scrabble club is at 6:00-9:00 on Thursdays (except in quarantine).

I am the only kid there. Otherwise, it’s only old people there. The Scrabble club is at Barnes and Noble at the Starbucks café. My dad plays Scrabble with me while the rest of my family looks at books. Doing Scrabble club is really fun.If you try it and like it, there are kids’ Scrabble competitions.

Siggi, age 4

I am growing plants in a tiny greenhouse. I am growing radishes, beans, spinach, and I think maybe carrots. There are other plants but I don’t remember. They need a greenhouse to stay warm. You should protect them from squirrels. I protect them from my baby brother because he dumps the dirt. He likes gardening we know because he walks around a lot with a shovel. He’s kind of a good gardener and kind of a bad gardener. Middle. He pulls the leaves on plants sometimes. He doesn’t know what weeds are. His name is Tobin.

Maybe if you have plants in a greenhouse you can plant them outside now. You put a fence around them so squirrels can’t get them.

Theo, age 5

My drum set is awesome. I made it out of boxes. It is a big set. It makes lots of noise. I just added a few things to it today. I added a xylophone and a real drum. I love to play with it. My parents don't really like it, but I think it is fun. It is also too loud for my sister. When my sister blinks her eyes it means it is too loud for her. It is pretty loud. For Christmas, I want a real drum with cymbals where you can really bang on it. I want it to be red. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Dashiell, age 7

Did you see the picture of The Monday Times in The News Gazette yesterday? Did you see the picture of me, Junie [my sister], Siggi [my younger brother], and Tobin [the baby] in The News Gazette? Well here’s what happened. First me and Junie interviewed The News Gazette editor.

We answered his questions. Then he put the answers in the newspaper. My dad finished the phone call while we played. The Monday Times also got in The Washington Post!! So The Monday Times is famous! How cool is that?

Kavi, age 11

Do you enjoy chocolate and mysteries? If so, this is the book for you! This mouth-watering story is about Logan, Miles, Daisy, and Phillip, four contestants who are competing in a candy competition. To each other they seem like normal kids, but each of them holds a secret. Soon, the characters’ backstories unfold, misconceptions are made, and problems arise. Read to see what happens to them! Make sure to have a bag of candy nearby because this book will make you crave sweets more than ever!

Clara K, age 7

Have you seen the museum? It has wood, sweet gums, bones, rocks, geodes, seeds, seed pods feathers, and shells. First I wanted to make a museum because museums aren’t open. I also got inspired to make a museum from Theo. You might have seen the article about it last Monday. If you want to see the museum, take a walk down Iowa St. It was fun making the museum.

Ollie, almost 10

Are you excited for your birthday? Are you sad it is in quarantine? Well, here are some tips and tricks on how to have an amazing birthday in your own home.

• Zoom party-Set up a zoom meeting for you and your friends.

• The great outdoors-have a picnic with your housemates and enjoy the great outdoors!

• Movie marathon-watch a movie with friends at a netflix party.

• Pen Pals- Write letters to people. You can do it alone or with friends on video chat

• Catch up on sleep- Oh who cares? It's your birthday! Take as many naps as you want!

• Have fun with pets- Try to teach your pet to do some tricks!

• Spend time with your housemates- Spend time with the people you're stuck with. If you have a good time with your prison mates it makes it less likely for you to lose your mind.

Barack, age 7

We have a ninja course. We got it a few days ago. It’s fun. There’s a lot of things to swing on. There’s a rope ladder that can turn into monkey bars, and this thing that goes up at a diagonal angle. It’s really hard doing it on the hardest part. I like the ninja course because it’s fun and gives us good exercise. Daddy bought it for us because it’s a good activity for the summer when we can’t just go outside and visit Carle Park and swing on the monkey bars.

Ashlynn, age 4

My ninja line is a purple one. My ninja line is a pink one. Daddy can hang it up yesterday. Then we start the game. We grab the handles and hold on! When I let go, I fall. Then Mama catches me. I am not a ball.

Theo, age 5

Outside is a wonderful place. I see lots of cardinals. Lots of animals come to my bird feeder including the squirrels. They love my bird feeder. They eat eat eat. I scare them away. One time I saw a really big squirrel who was pretty fat. I have a squirrel friend named Squirrley. Outside is a nature-y place. The nature outside is beautiful.

Inside: I bet you know my baby sister Lucy, but I don’t know if you know Lamont, the cat. I don’t know if you know my imaginary friends Ginny and Michael. Speaking of Lucy, she is a big hit of scooting. She’s trying to scoot everywhere.

I am about to turn five. My birthday is in the coronavirus. When this newspaper comes out I will be five years old and one day because my birthday is on Sunday, May 10. This year is mother’s day on my birthday. That means me and mommy get to sleep in. Hooray! Daddy (his real name is Ben) and Lucy will make waffles.

Amita, age 8

Rosey Posey went to the park

Rosey Posey bark bark barked

Rosey Posey barked some more

Then decided she was bored

Siggi, age 4

Today I want to talk about goutweed. It is a kind of weed that grows in gardens. My mama and I have been digging it up because they are so nasty. They spread all over. You should use a shovel to dig it up. When I dig it up I do an annoyed face and I almost close my eyes. I pulled one up yesterday and I got dirt in my mouth because I just dug it up too hard. If you dig up goutweeds you should close your mouth. You have to dig up all the roots because I think it will grow back if you don’t get them all.

Lillian, age 8

Last week I made a nest. My brother, Oliver, found a robin's egg in front of our house. The next day I made a nest for it and decorated it with flowers. We tried to find a nest close by before I made a nest, but didn't fine one. Also my brother Felix made a nest for fun. My nest is made out of sticks, daffodil stems, leaves, flowers, and mulch. But then, the next day, Oliver broke the egg and I was really, really upset. Inside the egg, there was a yolk. It looked kind of like a chicken's egg from the inside. The yolk got all over Oliver's pants.

Naya, age 11

Next week we're getting 3 new chicks next week. Here's the types we're getting: a blackastropulp, a golden comet, and a cherry egger. They will live in a box in the basement. At first the box will have: a type of shavings at the bottom, a water bottle, a type of feeder and a heater. Chicks are very fragile at first so you have to be gentle and pet them with 2 fingers. When they get really big you can pet them with your whole hand.

Chicks are a lot of fun!

Lani, age 10

There are many ways to make this, depending on what you like. You will need toothpicks or something similar.

Cut up cheese into cubes a little bigger than dice, and apples into small wedges. You can also use grapes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries or other berries, pieces of celery or peppers, and lunch meats or vegetarian versions of lunch meat. You can even cut up bread into small cubes.

Arrange these things on a plate or in little bowls. People can pick what they want and stick different things on a toothpick. Some good combinations are apples, cheese, and grapes, or cheese, bread, and some of the lunch meat.

This is a fun way to prepare food if you’re bored of simple sandwiches.

Felix, age 6

I made cakes for my family’s birthdays. I didn’t actually make them, I just interviewed my family members and I drew their cakes. I put the cakes on my wall. The biggest cake was a German chocolate cake. It was four layers. Some people did three layers. Some did two. Not very many did one.

My grandma and I made the famous brownies. They taste good.

Lucy, Age 6

Dashiell, age 7

In 1919 like this year, the Stanley cup had no winner. Even though the Stanley cup might be given out this year, it surely wasn’t in 1919!!!!! They were NOT as careful with the Spanish flu!!!! They played the whole season (plus Spanish flu was more serious than Covid 19/Coronavirus!) So they were NOT at all careful! I said they played the whole season? Yep! But they didn’t play all the playoffs! They played all but 1 game!!!!!!! Montreal players got sick and they were in the finals. Montreal quit because their players were in the hospital. I wonder if there will be a virus in 2121.! That will keep 101 year streak.! And then probably not 2222! 2222 would be disappointing.

Felix, age 6

Today it's hot outside. Tomorrow it's rainy. Kids should splash in puddles. When it's sunny you should play outside. In the spring it’s usually rainy or sunny. In the summer it’s usually hot. In the winter it’s usually snowy. In the fall it’s usually rainy. My favorite season is spring.

Theo, age 4

I have two cousins that live in New York City. Rowan is age 7 and Mark is age 4. Whenever I visit we play soccer in the street and it is really fun. During the coronavirus they like playing hockey in the street and on weekends they go far, far away and they go on bike rides and go hiking. Rowan is making a model of the Brooklyn Bridge. They go to school on the computer. Rowan says that his little brother who is younger than him has more fun at his school on the computer. They learn with their teacher who Theo doesn’t know. They get to go to their Dad’s studio and they like it. They are making hockey sticks there. When they go outside and play in the street they wear a special helmet so when they fall they don’t get hurt. They wear knee guards and elbow guards so they stay safe when they fall so a bone doesn’t get broken. And it’s fun. Rowan likes soccer player cards. Because of coronavirus they also wear masks when they go outside. And Theo loves pirates. THE END.

Lani, age 10

The following is my Grandma’s brownie recipe. It’s good for parties, or just making to snack on daily. The recipe is pretty easy to make and my parents say they keep well in the freezer.

Grandma Sissi’s Famous Brownies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt over low heat:

4 ounces chocolate (semisweet or a mix of semisweet and unsweetened) 2 sticks of butter (1 cup)

Add:

1 cup flour

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

A pinch salt

1 bag of chocolate chips (optional) Mix well.

Grease (or spray with nonstick spray) a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour mixture into pan and scrape the pot with a rubber spatula to get it all.

Bake for 25 minutes. Test by sticking a toothpick in the center of the pan. Bake until the toothpick comes out clean. You can also use a butter knife or a fork. Cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!!!!!!

Naya, age 11

People should pay attention. The coronavirus is deadly. No joke about that, but here's some jokes to remind you what to do to stay safe:

Knock knock. Who's there? Lettuce. Lettuce who? Lettuce wash our hands.

Here's another joke:

Knock knock. Who's there? Harry. Harry who? Harry up and social distance.

Okay all done remember 6 feet away, wash your hands and stay safe. Also it may be different to talk on cameras but we’ll live and now you have some jokes to help you. Even this penguin thinks they're silly.

Junie, age 9

School just got cancelled for the rest of the school year because of the Covid 19 epidemic. Some kids might argue with me, but I like school and I don’t want it to be cancelled. I’m really going to miss seeing my friends at school. It isn’t just school that’s cancelled-it is all the activities that are around school. Some of the activities are the Fun Fair, the school choir, Battle of the Books (which I practiced for a lot), and popsicle day the park.

Now that school is cancelled for the rest of the school year kids are going to need to do school at home. School at home is nothing like real school. At real school I do reading routines and I’m not able to do that at home because I don’t have my notebook. Recess at home is running outside. Also, I’m the only girl at home school, which annoys me. I wish I could go back to real school.

I’m doing a lot of stuff on Zoom, which is a program you can use to video chat with more than one person at once. I think it is fine except for the echos.

Lillian, age 8

27 April 2020

This is what it's like to get a dog. First me and my family looked at pictures of the dog on the internet. We were supposed to meet the dog but because of corona virus we didn't. One week later, me, my mom, and my dad went to get the dog in Normal, IL while my brothers played at Pablo and Clara's house. You can't bring your whole family to get the dog because it will make the dog more nervous. When we got back home we let Felix, Oliver, Clara, Liz, and Gabe in the yard one by one. Like one hour later we let Iris (the dog) in the house. We won't let her upstairs until she is house trained. It's awesome having a puppy. They're soft, cute, and playful. But if they're not house trained they might pee on the floor.

Kavi, age 11

27 April 2020

Are you bored? Me too. It can be very boring to stay at your house away from your friends. Here are some fun activity ideas to keep yourself occupied.

Play Board Games. Board games are a good way to spend time with your family.

Build with Blocks. Have any Legos or building blocks? You and your family can create anything.

Cook. You can make meals for your family.

Read. If you want peace and quiet, read a book!

Write a Story. Make an adventure for your characters and your reader.

Go for a walk. It is important to stay healthy, go outside and take a walk.

Arts and Crafts. Make art to display throughout your house.

Set up Camp. You can set up a tent and sleeping bags in your yard.

Play Outside. There are so many things you can do outside, ride your bike, go for a run, even set up an obstacle course.

Interact with Nature. Since things are so quiet, it is the perfect time to go birdwatching, you can also garden and play with your pets.

Draw. Make your ideas come to life. All you need is a pencil.

Puzzle Yourself. Build a puzzle and try out some brainteasers.

Keep a Diary. Record each day in a diary. After a long time, you can look back on what you did.

Make Music. Have musical instruments in your house? Make some music!

Clara, age 7

There is a book called A boy called Bat. Written by Elana K. Arnold. Illustrated by Charles Santosa. Bat is a boy. His mama is a vet and one day she brings home a skunk.

I like the book because it is interesting also to read it. Bat has a sister who also likes animals. His favorite food is vanilla yogurt.

A Boy Called Bat: reseña del libro

Hay un libro nombrado A Boy Called Bat. Escrito por Elana K. Arnold. Ilustrado por Charles Santosa. Bat es un niño. Su mamá es un vet y un día su mamá trae un animal a casa es un zorillo.

Me gusta el libro porque es interesante también en leer lo. Bat tiene una hermana tambien le gusta los animales. Su comida favorita es el vanilla yogur.