KONO is a brand-new martial arts magazine for kids ages 5–12. My article about nutrition tips for healthy bones, “Bones of Steel,” appeared in their May 2007 premier issue!
Laurie Ann Thompson
WeeOnes — Extreme Treasue Hunting
Extreme Treasure Hunting, which introduces kids to the fun of geocaching, was the first article I wrote for children. It was accepted way back in April 2006, but finally made its appearance in the May/June 2007 online issue of Wee Ones Children’s Magazine for ages 4–10.
FACES Magazine — Riders for Health article
FACES: People, Places, and Cultures is a Cobblestone Publication for kids ages 9–14. I profiled an organization called Riders for Health for their March 2007 global health issue. By using fairly simple machines, Riders for Health has solved a complex problem. They use motorcycles to deliver medical supplies and services to regions of Africa with little or no infrastructure. Simply elegant.
Put those kids to work
You certainly can’t tell by looking, but our kids love to help clean the house. Unfortunately, this is one thing I’m sure they didn’t learn by example. If I enjoyed it even half as much as they do, we could probably do something crazy like invite people over for dinner once in awhile. Maybe someday they’ll be able to do it all by themselves, but until then, here are some helpful techniques.
Choosing age-appropriate chores, ParentMap, January 2007
Unprecedented victory against measles
Here’s some encouraging news. The Measles Initiative partnership recently announced that worldwide measles deaths fell 60% from 1999 to 2005, from 873,000 down to 345,000 deaths per year. That’s 528,000 lives saved every year.
“One of the clearest messages from this achievement is that with the right strategies and a strong partnership of committed governments and organizations, you can rapidly reduce child deaths in developing countries,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
We’ve seen that it can be done. What’s next?
Get talking, America!
Doctors Without Borders recently released a list of the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2006, which they say “accounted for just 7.2 minutes of the 14,512 minutes on the three major U.S. television networks’ nightly newscasts for 2006.”
- Central African Republic
- Tuberculosis
- Chechnya
- Sri Lanka
- Malnutrition
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Somalia
- Columbia
- Haiti
- Central India
KNOW Magazine — Spot the spots
Scientists at ECOCEAN are using pattern-recognition software developed for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope program to recognize individual whale sharks, which are covered with small, white spots on a dark background similar to a starry night sky. I wrote a short news piece about it for the May/June 2007 issue of KNOW–The Science Magazine for Curious Kids.
Kids Making a Difference
This was a fun assignment — find out what local elementary schools and teachers are doing to teach philanthropy and community to their students. There were some great ideas, and the enthusiam behind the projects was truly inspirational!
“Little kids can make a big difference,” ParentMap, December 2006
Newborn screening tests
This short article, about newborn screening tests, was the second half of BabyMap’s Decision Digest column for the Fall/Winter 2006 issue.
“Prenatal and newborn screening tests,” BabyMap, Fall/Winter 2006
Prenatal testing decisions
This short article, about the pros and cons of various prenatal tests, was the first half of BabyMap’s Decision Digest column for the Fall/Winter 2006 issue.
“Prenatal and newborn screening tests,” BabyMap, Fall/Winter 2006