Family Traditions

 Family Traditions

    A family is a group of people that are related by birth, by marriage, or another reason, like foster care or adoption. There are other ways people can be included in a family. A person may be included if he or she is a lifelong friend to a member of the family. A person could be considered ‘family’ if he or she served together in the military with someone in the family. Families have mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more.

    Families often have traditions that help members of the family feel a stronger connection to the past, and to each other. Traditions include events, activities, a love of music, dancing, participating in sports and games, preparing meals or cultural foods, or celebrations in a religion that people in a family do together.

    Traditions can be things like eating a Thanksgiving dinner, opening presents on Christmas morning, or fifteen year-old girls wearing white dresses for their Quinceñeras. A family tradition can be snuggling up in lawn chairs watching fireworks on a Fourth of July evening, grinning children gathered around a picnic table singing, “Happy Birthday”, or grandchildren helping their abuelita make tamales. Other special occasions families might consider traditions are traveling to their home country during school holidays, young and old family members playing soccer or softball at the park, or eating pozole and buñuelos at an aunt and uncle’s house.

    Traditions can be wonderful when families participate in them, but they can be sad when members of a family can’t be there because they are not able to attend, are sick, or have passed away.

    Traditions like taking a family photo, or walking on the beach holding hands at sunset, are times we cherish and remember, and look forward to doing again and again. Honoring traditions, by keeping them going, is the responsibility of the older members of the family. Having fun, singing, dancing, playing, joking around, shaking hands, and giving kisses and hugs are everyone’s job.

©2016 Henry Anker

No More Mowing

 No More Mowing

    For Uncle Harry, the grass outside his home was becoming too much trouble to take care of. He lived in the desert of Las Vegas, Nevada. It was hot most of the year, and his water bill was becoming very expensive. In the summer, to keep it green, he had to water his lawn twice a day! In the winter, the grass would turn brown when the temperature got too cold. On top of all that, he thought, at seventy-five, he was getting too old to mow it himself. He decided to have his lawn dug out and removed, and put pampas grasses, cacti, and cool looking rocks and smooth stones in his yard instead.

    First, he hired some men who were looking for work, waiting outside the local home improvement store. Together, they dug out all the grass below the roots. Next, they removed all the sprinkler heads and capped them off, as the plants Harry would be putting in wouldn’t need much more than the occassional rainstorm to stay alive. The next step was to smooth out the dirt using rakes and make it flat. After that, they rolled out some thick plastic over the dirt to keep wild grasses and weeds from growing through. Finally, the men opened the bags of different colored smooth stones Harry had bought and spread them out by hand until the dirt was covered. They left open circles where the grasses and cacti would be planted next week.

    Harry was happy with his work and the work of the men he had hired. He gave them all an extra twenty dollars each over the one hundred dollars each he had promised to pay them for the day. In the next few weeks, after Harry had planted the grasses and cacti, neighbors were stopping by daily complimenting Harry on how nice his yard looked. Some people even asked him which landscape architecture company he had used, and ‘could they get the phone number?’

    Few people believed Harry and a few men looking for work on a Saturday could have done such a ‘professional job’. That gave Harry great satisfaction, along with the relief that he didn't have to mow anymore, and that his water bill would be cut in half.

©2016 Henry Anker

Making Popcorn

 Making Popcorn

    Fran asked her father to help her make popcorn. “There are some microwave pouches in the cabinet over the refrigerator,” her father said.

    “Dad,” Fran moaned softly. “I want to make real popcorn, with real kernels and oil in a pan. I’ll even get out all the things we need, and clean up after,” she said. The ‘clean up after’ part was the clincher. Her father agreed.

    Fran found a large pan with a cover, some vegetable oil, and the popping corn. First, her father turned on the burner and adjusted the flame. Then he poured oil in the pan. When the oil was hot enough, Fran poured some corn into the pan and carefully placed the cover on top. After a minute, the corn began to pop inside the pan. Then Fran said to her father, “Listen to all the noise! Now I know why it’s called popcorn. It smells fantastic!”

    Fran's father poured the popcorn into a bowl. He melted some butter and poured it on top. “See, this is the real stuff. Butter! Not like the fake stuff that they use in most movie theaters.” Fran rolled her eyes a bit, then smiled, and then added some salt.

    Fran and her father took the popcorn to the sofa and put the large bowl between them to share. Fran walked over to the shelf of DVDs and picked out her favorite movie, Matilda. Her dad smiled. He knew Fran had seen the movie about a hundred times, and he had watched it several times with her, too. Fran’s dad said, “You know, even though I’ve seen this movie a bunch of times, it’s still fun to watch, because every time I watch it, I notice things I didn’t before.”

    Fran smiled again. These were special times with her dad.

©2016 Henry Anker

The Velveteen Rabbit Or How Toys Become Real by Margery Williams

 The Velveteen Rabbit 

Or How Toys Become Real 

by Margery Williams

THERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.

    There were other things in the stocking, nuts and oranges and a toy engine, and chocolate almonds and a clockwork mouse, but the Rabbit was quite the best of all. For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten.

    Christmas Morning

    For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by the disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs and pretended he was connected with Government. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.

    The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

    "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

    "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

    "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

    "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

    "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

    "I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.

The Skin Horse Tells His Story

    "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."

    The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him.

 (C) 1922 Margery Williams

Ducks

     Ducks

    A duck is a bird that has webbed feet and waterproof feathers. Ducks have some features that geese and swans have. But the wings and the necks of ducks are shorter. Their bills are flatter, too. Ducks quack or whistle, but they don't honk. Male ducks are called drakes, and females are called ducks.

    Ducks live throughout the world in wetlands, including marshes (wet areas with long grasses) and areas near rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans. Ducks can live in cold and warmer parts of the world at any time of year. Many kinds of ducks migrate (travel long distances) annually (each year) between their breeding grounds (where they rest and raise their babies), and their wintering areas, where the water does not freeze. Some ducks migrate thousands of miles.

    Ducks spend a lot of time in the water, where their webbed feet help them paddle for swimming and diving. They are graceful on water, but waddle and look clumsy when they walk on land. This is because their legs are on the sides and toward the back of the body. Most common wild ducks weigh from 2 to 4 pounds (about the weight of your Math book), but some smaller ducks weigh less than 1 pound.

    Ducks get their food in different ways, depending on their body features. Some ducks stretch their long necks down through shallow water to pick food off the bottom. Others dive for food in deep water. Many ducks can get seeds, insects, and snails from the water. Some ocean water ducks have short bills that they use to pry barnacles from rocks or to grab clams. Others have long, narrow bills with sawlike edges for catching and holding fish.

    Ducks protect themselves from cold water by waterproofing their feathers. They use their bills to rub their feathers with a waxy oil from a place on their body near their tail. Under the oiled feathers, there are soft, fluffy feathers called "down". Down helps keep a duck's body warm because it traps air under the outside feathers.

    Some ducks have bright-colored feathers. Their colors include green, blue, red, and brown. Some ducks are mostly black and white. Most females (girl ducks) are brown, and can hide by blending in with the surroundings when incubating (sitting on) eggs or taking care of ducklings (baby ducks).

    Ducks seek mates during winter. (That means that boy ducks try to find girl ducks to live with.) The bright colors of the drakes (boy ducks) attract females (girl ducks). A female usually leads her drake to the breeding grounds (where she wants the male to live) during the spring migration, often coming back to the same place where she was hatched when she was born.

    The ability of ducks and other birds to return to the same places each year is called "homing behavior". Male ducks will defend a small territory from which he drives away (intimidates or fights) other males. The female builds a nest in a clump of grass or reeds, or in a hole in a tree.

    The female duck lays from 5 to 12 eggs. After she starts to sit on the eggs to warm and protect them, the drake leaves to join other males. The ducklings hatch from three weeks to four weeks later.

    Ducklings can run, swim, and find food for themselves within 3 days of hatching. A group of ducklings is called a "brood". A mother duck keeps her brood together so she can protect the ducklings from predators (other animals that want to eat them).

    Animals that prey on ducklings include turtles, raccoons, hawks, and large fish. Sometimes the ducklings in one brood mix with another. So, some females end up with broods of 15 to 25 ducklings. Ducklings have most of their feathers in about a month. They learn to fly in 5 to 8 weeks.

    Once the female duck has nested, the drake usually leaves her and joins other drakes to molt (lose their old feathers). The drakes lose their bright colors and for many weeks have a brown color like that of the females. During this molt, the drake also loses his flying feathers and cannot fly.

    Male ducks molt again in early fall and regain the male coloring. After a female's ducklings hatch, she also molts and replaces all her feathers.

    After growing new feathers and after the young learn to fly, the ducks gather in flocks (a group of ducks). They usually fly in long lines or "V" formations. Flocks go to the same summer and winter areas every year, even stopping to rest at the same places along the way.

© 2021 Henry Anker

Rats

 Rats

    When people think of rats, most of them will say words like, 'Yuck!, or 'Ick!', or they might use phrases like, 'Rats are disgusting!', 'Oh, rats are horrible!' They're dirty, filthy!, or 'They make my skin crawl!'

    Rats do have a history of causing harm, destruction, and even death to humans. Rats have often been portrayed as hideous vermin in stories and movies. When one person thinks badly about another person, he or she might even refer to him as a 'rat'.

    Some people hate rats. Other people think they're cool. Even though they're small compared to other animals, they have many abilities other animals don't have. What are these abilities? Let me tell you what I have learned about rats. 

    Rats have teeth that never stop growing. And with these teeth, rats have chewing power strong enough to chew through computer cables and even through cement!

    People should try to keep their distance from rats though, because with their powerful jaws come an extra danger. Rats carry diseases that can kill other animals, including humans. Sometimes tens of thousands of people at one time can be killed by rats who are carrying a disease.

    How can animals as small as rats get close enough to people and other large animals to hurt them? Rats are nocturnal, which means they are active at night, when most other animals are asleep. Rats have strong night vision which lets them see well in the dark. That means they can usually see better than animals they are sneaking up on, or are stealing from.

    Rats are also fast runners. Rats can run faster than most people can. You can imagine that this ability would help rats get away from people and other animals that are their natural predators.

    What do rats eat? Well, rats are omnivorous, which means they will eat plants like corn, and foods that come from plants, like breakfast cereal. But omnivores like rats also eat animals, including pigeons and even other rats!

    Where do rats live? Rats are found throughout North America. The brown rat originated in Asia. It is believed that these mammals came to the United States and its neighboring countries on ships that sailed from Asia hundreds of years ago.

    The rat population has increased rapidly. Female rats are able to produce between 100 and 200 young in their lifetimes. Rats live an average of two years. Despite the fact that people have tried to get rid of rats from their cities and farms, rats have used their survival skills to stay alive and grow in number.

    In cities, rats have been found living in sewer pipes, between walls, in attics, in basements, where boats dock, and in restaurants. Really, in any place where they can find food, and that includes trash dumpsters and dumps, where trash trucks are driven away from cities to bury their trash.

    Rats that live in cities are smart. While they try to stay hidden from humans to stay alive, they stay close enough to find, and live off, the food humans leave behind.

    Rats are destructive. It is estimated that rats destroy over $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) worth of food and property every year. Even though people spend lots of time and money trying to get rid of them, rats keep coming back.  

© 2021 Henry Anker

Raccoons

 Raccoons

    Raccoons are amazing animals. They are able to do lots of things we would not expect them to do. They can do a lot of things humans can do. With their large brains, they can figure out how to unlock gates, open covered trash cans, and make nests almost everywhere.

    Raccoons are clever. Some raccoons can control their paws as well as some people can use their hands. Some raccoons can untie knots on trash bags to get food, or open closed doors to get into buildings.

    Raccoons are strong and sneaky. They can move heavy things, climb into small spaces, or up high. Raccoons can dig well. They also have powerful jaws and sharp teeth.

    Raccoons will eat smaller living things they find in nature, or food left behind or thrown away by humans. Raccoons that live in cities will eat beetles, fish, or even kittens! They will eat cereal, crackers, or even yogurt! Can you believe it?

    Raccoons live in trees and other places outside cities, but they also like to live behind the walls or above the ceilings in buildings, in the sewer, or in garages and shacks.

    Raccoons are animals that have found many ways to adapt and survive in the city. Raccoons are a lot like people!

(c) 2021 Henry Anker

Shopping at Costco

 Shopping at Costco

    The first time I went shopping at Costco, I couldn’t believe what I saw. A lot of people say the same thing. Big. The sheer size of the store is gargantuan. It has to be that big to hold all the items they have for sale, in the quantities they sell things, and the number of people who pass through their aisles a couple times a month.

    You might think that two visits, on average, for a family isn’t much, but it takes a while for a household to consume a package of over one hundred granola bars, or use a plastic-wrapped bushel of toilet paper that contains thirty rolls. If a family includes a diaper-wearing baby, the parents love the prices, but they have to buy a box of Huggies so big, that if lined with blankets itself, the future empty cardboard prism could nearly serve as a crib. Costco sells cribs, too.

    Some people complain that there isn’t much choice among the products Costco sells, and it’s true that they only carry about ten varieties of cereal. But where else can you buy a twelve pack of tube socks, four tires for your car, a set of patio furniture, a sixty inch flat screen television, and a bouquet of roses in the same store?

    Costco has the pulse of the American consumer. Well, most of them. This company’s products, soon to be for sale, keep laden cargo ships crossing the Pacific Ocean from China, long freight trains traversing the rails over our states’ mountains and deserts, and full eighteen-wheel tractor trailers daily backing down into their loading docks. Costco uses their club card technology to keep tabs on what people want to buy, when, and how much of it to stack on those towering orange warehouse pallet racks customers see as shelves.

    Did I say Costco goes big? Think about it: the small package of eggs contains eighteen, a box of milk has two gallons, and a tub of margarine weighs five pounds! Have you seen the size of a jar of mayonnaise? A sandwich shop could easily lather the slices of fifty loaves of bread with one jar. How about a jug of laundry detergent? One is enough for one hundred forty-four loads. A bottle of vitamins from Costco could last one person about two years! The shopping carts have to be able to carry a lot of stuff, and get pretty hard to push by the time a shopper gets to the check out line. The family car needs to have an empty trunk upon arrival, or passengers will need to hold stuff on their laps on the way home. Like I said…. Costco is big.

(C)2016 Henry Anker

Proofread 9/16/26

Get Well, Nick!

 Get Well, Nick!

    Nick did not come to school this week. On Friday, our teacher, Mrs. White, told us that Nick was home sick. She said he would be out of school for another week as well. She did not tell us why he had been absent.

    Mrs. White thought we should each make a card for Nick to cheer him up. Everyone thought that was a good idea. So she passed out crayons, glue bottles, and colored paper. I drew pictures of trains and pasted them on the front of the card. Sarah drew a picture with teddy bears. Andy put stickers of stars and planets on the back of his card. On the inside of my card, I wrote, "Get yourself on the right track, Nick! Get well!"

    A week went by, but Nick was still not back at school. Some of the other students started to worry and asked Mrs. White if she could call his house and ask how Nick was doing, and when he was coming back. Mrs. White told us not to worry, that she would call Nick’s home in the evening, and would let us know tomorrow how he was doing. We were relieved that she would find out for us.

    The next morning we met our teacher at the door and one student after the other began pestering Mrs. White with questions about Nick. She told each of them that she would tell the whole class at once, once we were all inside and settled.

Mrs. White began by reminding us that we were all mature young ladies and gentlemen, and that we needed to listen carefully to what she was going to tell us, so that misinformation, what we called ‘rumors’, would not spread false information around our campus and neighborhood. She told us that Nick recently went to a regular doctor’s appointment, and that during the examination, the doctor discovered a tumor on Nick’s skin and would need to run additional tests to determine whether it was benign or malignant. Mrs. White explained to us that benign was generally not serious, whereas malignant was. Fortunately, she said, Nick’s tumor was benign, and that he was going to be okay. That was great news!

Proofread 9/16/26 

Waiting for Mom

 Waiting for Mom

    Jim had been waiting a long time for his mother to arrive. She would come and pick him up each day after school. Sometimes Jim's mom would be waiting outside the school, at the curb with the motor running, when Jim came out of the school building. Other times she would be a few minutes late, but never more than ten.

    It had now been more than half an hour, and Jim was getting worried. Had his mother gotten into an accident? Did she forget it was a school day? No, Jim thought, after all, she had dropped him off at school that morning.

    Just then, Jim's mother pulled up. As he got in the car and closed the door, Jim's mom explained that she had taken his little sister, Susie to the doctor for an appointment. She said that his sister Susie had panicked when the nurse told her that she needed to get a scheduled vaccination. Jim said, "But mom, Susie doesn't even know what a vaccination is."

    "I know that, honey," Jim's mom said. "It wasn't the word vaccination that freaked her out. It was the sight of the needle!"

    "Well, did she cry?" Jim asked.

    "Yes, she was crying even before the nurse cleaned her arm with rubbing alcohol. She asked me to hug her and talk to her about butterflies until it was over."

    Jim followed up, "Did that work?"

    "Yes. It wasn't easy though. She squirmed a lot so it was tough for the nurse to get the needle in the area of her arm she was aiming for. But after it was done, the nurse told her that she had done a great job, and that she was brave for doing it."

    "I'm glad everything worked out okay," Jim said. "You know, Mom. You're a great mom."

(c) 2016 Henry Anker

Proofread 9/16/26

The Play

 The Play

    Our teacher told us that our class was going to put on a play. The play would be performed in the auditorium, a month from now, but we would be rehearsing together in the classroom. Once a week we would practice for an hour after school. Each student in the class would be responsible for practicing his or her own lines at home.

    The play would be a story of how the some Pilgrims came to this country. It would show how they worked hard to make homes for their families. It would also show how some American Indians living nearby helped the Pilgrims survive the long winter, and how they could grow their own food. Because part of the audience for the show would be little kids, the 'realities' of disease, land theft, violence, and warfare during the time period would be left out.

    Our parents would be helping out by making the costumes, and the Art teacher would have her students paint the sets. Little by little, things came together. The student actors were becoming fluent in delivering their lines. The sets began to make the scenes more realistic with backgrounds of forests, cabins, and Native American villages. Students were also taught how to operate the stage lights and the spotlights so the audience could feel like the action was taking place at different times of the day or night, in different places, and long ago.

    The night of the play arrived and all the seats were filled. Some people were even standing in the back. The house lights dimmed and the curtain went up. The first scene showed a group of Pilgrim settlers rowing a small wooden boat to shore. The next showed Pilgrims building their houses as fake snow was sprinkled from above by students on ladders backstage.

    Things continued to go well until one of the actors bumped into a cardboard tree which caused a domino effect of trees falling across the stage. Everyone pitched in to get things back in order and the play continued. The actors remembered almost all of their lines. The sets were changed each time the curtain closed between scenes. The ending of the play brought a standing ovation from the audience, and a curtain call from the cast.

Proofread 9/16/26

The SmartPhone

 The SmartPhone

    Jennifer had a panicked look on her face. Her eyes were wide, her heart was racing, her breathing quickened, and her head turned left and right, and up and down rapidly. She lifted her backpack off the seat of her desk, checked in all of the pouches, looked under the chair, and all around the floor. She patted her pants pockets and squeezed the fabric of her sweatshirt. All the students in the class had made their way into the hallway upon hearing the dismissal bell. Her teacher, Mr. Johnson, walked over to where Jennifer was standing with a puzzled, worried look on her face.

    “What’s the matter, Jennifer?”

    “Mr. Johnson, I think somebody took my phone!”

    Just then, Jennifer’s friend Ashley entered the room. “Jennifer, what’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?”

    "My phone! I can't find my phone!" Jennifer complained.

    "I have it," Ashley reassured her friend. "Don't you remember that you had asked me to charge it for you while I was in the Computer Lab?"

    "Oh, yeah. Thanks." Jennifer sighed, relieved to see her nearly new phone again. Mr. Johnson went back to his teacher's desk to turn off the LCD projector.

    "Look, I got your phone back up to eighty-seven percent charged," Ashley said proudly.

    "Thanks," said Jennifer. Her heart and breathing were near normal again, and her voice had calmed, too.

    Jennifer checked to see if she had received any text messages from her friends or her mom, and then tucked her phone carefully into her back pocket, making sure the headphone cord was coming out the top and wasn't tangled. Jennifer and Ashley walked toward the door and said goodbye to Mr. Johnson who waved and smiled and returned to his work. He was not surprised by what had happened. It was a normal occurrence.

Proofread 9/16/26

Making Pancakes

 Making Pancakes

    As Connie was getting dressed, she could hear Debra doing something down in the kitchen. Oh, no, Connie thought, Debra must be fixing breakfast again. My sister does many things well, but cooking breakfast isn’t one of them. Connie sniffed the air to see if she could tell what her sister was trying to make.

    When Connie got to the kitchen, she discovered that Debra was making pancakes. She was also making a mess! Flour, eggshells, and puddles of milk were all over the counter and on the floor. The flame on the stove was very high, and the pancakes were burning on the skillet.

    Connie didn’t want to hurt Debra’s feelings, so she sat down and tried to eat. Suddenly Connie didn’t feel well. “Maybe you’re coming down with something,” Debra said.

    Connie nodded. She just couldn’t tell Debra that she thought the pancakes were making her sick. “I’m okay,” Connie said weakly. “Maybe I’m still full from dinner last night.”

    “Have some more,” Debra offered.

    “No, thank you, really. One is just enough for me. By the way, did you add any special ingredients to the batter that were not part of the cooking instructions?”

    “Oh, yes, I did. Just a little leftover chopped celery from the fridge and some chili powder. Can you taste that?”

    Connie’s eyes opened wide, she let out a gasp, put her hand over her mouth, and ran to the bathroom as fast as she could.

Proofread 9/16/26

Autism Awareness

 Autism Awareness

What is Autism?

    Autism is a neurological condition (having to do with brain development), that starts in early childhood, where toddlers have difficulty in talking to and playing with others. Autism affects the ability of a person to communicate their needs and learn. It is a condition that is now showing up in children at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.), autism may occur in as many as 1 in every 68 children. Psychologists and pediatricians are looking for answers as to why so many people now have autism, and what can be done about it. They have been looking for signs of autism in young people for more than 30 years. There is no cure, but there is a lot that can be done. To understand more about autism, experts studying this disease first look for symptoms. What are some of the symptoms you might see in a person diagnosed with Autism?

Symptoms of Autism

    If you were to point out an object across the room, would a child with autism look at it? (For example, if you point at a toy or an animal, would the child look in the direction of the toy or animal?) The child may not. Children with autism can show a lack of focused attention on toys and others. Some children with autism at times even behave in a way that makes them appear to be deaf to others. Would a child with autism respond when you call his or her name? (For example, would he or she look up at the person who is talking?) The child may not. Children with autism can have difficulty responding to others. Would such a child play pretend or make-believe? (For example, would the child pretend to drink from an empty cup, pretend to talk on a phone, or pretend to feed a doll or stuffed animal?) Children with autism frequently show a lack of imaginative play. Sometimes children with autism make unusual wiggling finger movements near their face.

    Many children with autism show a lack of interaction with others. Does a child with autism show an interest in other children? Does the child watch other children, smile at them, or go to them? Instead of interacting, children with autism might separate themselves from others. Does the child get upset by everyday noises? (For example, does the child scream or cry when hearing loud noises such as a vacuum cleaner or loud music?) Many children with autism have a hypersensitivity to loud sounds like an ambulance siren or a school bell. Does the child look you in the eye when you are talking to him, playing with him, or dressing him? Children with autism might not make eye contact with people speaking to them. Children with autism might show an avoidance to touch, closeness, or contact with water. A child with autism may avoid hugs, touches like 'high-fives' or 'fist bumps', or take steps to avoid contact with water, such as a sidewalk that is made wet from lawn sprinklers. Some children with autism frequently walk on tiptoes, others pull on their earlobes, and many like to spin in circles. These are not the only symptoms children with autism may show, and not all children with autism will display all of these symptoms. But these are signs, that often help psychologists make an early, preliminary diagnosis of autism.

    There are other signs of autism seen during pediatric psychological evaluations that specialists refer to as 'indicators' of autism. These include lining up toy cars instead of the child making them go, "Vroom, vroom", or using blocks to make slender towers instead of a more elaborate 'house' or other creation. Speech delay, where the child has few or no words in his vocabulary, long after the time when most typical 1 and 2 year olds begin talking, is the most telling symptom of autism in children. Many children with mild autism don't begin to speak until they are three or four years old. And even then, the number of words the child will use is limited to just a few dozen. Children with severe autism may never speak at all.

    In older children, teens, and young adults, some symptoms that manifest themselves are 'self-talk' (talking to self in a low voice that others nearby can hear), scratching their skin, biting skin on hands and fingernails, and a habit of tearing bits of paper and saving the scraps. These are generally indicators of stress that the child feels about school, social situations, or concern about being punished for secretly damaging something in the home. Many young people with autism can have food allergies and serious issues with digesting certain kinds of foods.

The Autism Spectrum

    What does the word Spectrum mean in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (A.S.D.)? Spectrum, as we know from art, describes the range of a color tint mixed in, to make a light, mild shade of a color, or with a larger amount of tint mixed in, making the color more 'severely' visible. Spectrum, as it applies to a diagnosis of autism, means that a person can have mild autism with few symptoms, or more severe autism with numerous, obvious symptoms. Therefore, the more severe the autism, the more difficult it is for a child to communicate with siblings, parents, and teachers. Children with severe autism have more pronounced symptoms, are more distractible, and create greater challenges for their parents and teachers in raising and working with them. Regardless of the severity of the autism a child has, providing what is called "Early Intervention" is critically important in helping a child with autism overcome these challenges, learn to make friends, take care of their personal needs, and learn in school.

Early Intervention

    What are some practices that teachers and parents can use to help a student diagnosed with autism? Teachers and parents should always try to be kind and patient. They should show an enthusiastic love of learning. They can encourage a child to take up a musical instrument, interact with animals, or play a sport with peers, like youth soccer. Teachers and parents need to give clear instructions on how to do something, like brushing their teeth, putting toys away, or using their Google Drive account, one step at a time. Parents can help their child overcome a hypersensitivity to sound by helping the child himself learn to operate a blender, juicer, a vacuum or the volume control on a computer. Children with autism should be given opportunities to participate in art activities with their 'typical' peers. Here they can explore a variety of textures, using paint, shaving cream, clay, or glue with dried goods like beans and pasta shells when creating their art. They should have the chance to create pictures and describe them to others. People with autism are often 'visual' thinkers and learners. Many children with autism enjoy drawing, and they can use their drawings to communicate their likes and wants.

    There are many more techniques teachers and parents can use to help children with autism improve their social, communication, and academic skills. They can make good use of travel time by reading with, or talking with the child in the car. Families can carry toys and activities with them when they are out of the house, at the doctor's office, or at a restaurant. These games might include picture flash cards, mini board games, and puzzles. Note that this does not include the use of video games, which only serve to restrict social interaction and speech with others, which are what children with autism need most.

    Establishing daily routines and following them (like doing chores and keeping a calendar) can lower a child's anxiety level and increase participation in activities at school and home. Children with autism often act out when faced with a surprise of change in routine. Helping children cope with these changes is important, but requires tremendous patience on the part of the caregivers. Knowing what activities are upcoming helps a child with autism mentally prepare him or herself. Teachers and parents can help find 'playbuddies' and ‘studybuddies' for their children and make sure they have a lot of time to be together. Teaching with manipulatives like Lego™ and other toys fosters the imagination. A good prompt to promote communication is to ask the child to 'describe' the building product or scene with characters she has set up. Taking swimming lessons has proven to help children with autism gain self confidence and become more comfortable with water, touch, and unusual textures. Self confidence and independence can also increase as children learn how to ride a bike, ride a horse, skate, or learn tumbling or martial arts moves.

    Using plastic props to pretend they are running a store, a school, or a medical clinic can help children with autism take part in group dramatic play activities and improve their communication. Getting down on the floor with children with autism, making efforts to gain eye contact and initiate conversation, as outlined in the writings of psychologist, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, has also proven effective. Here, adults get down to floor level, one on one, and help the child to focus on the adult and the task before him. This could include naming objects, choosing among objects based on a question like, "Which animal has a shell and can swim?" This is sustained time, repeated, ideally on a daily basis, that children with autism recognize as time dedicated to communicating their learning.

    Another pioneer in developing methods to help children with autism is an adult who was born with autism himself. Ruan Kauffman, the original focus of the Son-Rise™ program was taught from early childhood with dedicated techniques developed by his parents to emerge from his confining autistic world. Basically, in the Son-Rise™ program, a windowless room with little visual simulation is first used where the child learns to focus on a family member or therapist. The child is encouraged to use whatever language he or she has to get needs met. This includes getting the adult to retrieve a toy down from a high shelf, share in imaginative play with a stuffed animal, make silly facial expressions, talk about Thomas the Train™, or whatever the child wants. Once some interaction with the adult is achieved, the adult responds with positive reinforcement, and gradually seeks to get the child to extend the activity or begin to follow the adult's prompt for further communication or play. In this way, the child begins to trust the adult, follow social cues like conversational turn-taking, head nodding, smiling, and sharing. Little by little, the child can begin to interact with other people, showing what activities interest him, including playing with age-group peers, using these same skills. Once this happens with regularity within the confined space, the child can begin to function successfully with others, trained or untrained, in the real world of school, stores, restaurants, hospitals, amusement parks, at a sporting event, or other places in the community.

    What can these peers do to help a child with autism? They can make eye contact and smile. They can talk together about what interests the child. If the child with autism cannot yet speak, the typical peer can point at objects, use the Picture Exchange System (P.E.C.s), or use sign language gestures to communicate. Age group peers can make an effort to always include a peer with autism in their clique. Adults can help to foster these relationships, meaning teachers and parents can try to group kids together for playdates and schoolwork. Having patience and a positive attitude while socializing with a child can lead to many positive outcomes. With the right people using the right approaches, children with autism often can be nurtured to become the most friendly, affectionate, positive, and social people you will ever meet.

Conclusion

    Really, there is no 'conclusion' to the commitment of assisting in the social growth and development of a child with autism. This is an ongoing, never-ending dedication to helping the child grow into a happy, social, successful, independent adult. The early intervention methods discussed here begin with the diagnosis of autism in a toddler and continue through consistent, creative support in the elementary years. Next will come the middle school and high school years, with puberty and awkwardness arriving along the way. Every new experience that approaches is a challenge and a potential learning experience that the child should be prepared for, whenever possible. Every difficulty or failure becomes an opportunity to learn to do better next time. This includes the child, the parents, and other adults the child knows. Much of the learning of children with autism is aided by repetition, until the skill is mastered. People who work with the child should expect plenty of bumps and some unforgettable high points on this journey, ideally with a community of supporters eager to cheer the child on. Ruan Kauffman, the child of the Son-Rise™ program mentioned earlier, was at one time, a child who was diagnosed with autism, who grew into a college graduate of Brown University, and later became a best-selling author and engaging public speaker. His own experiences and early intervention advocacy have influenced millions of parents and teachers of children with autism, and led to outstanding results for their children and students. What Raun's parents, therapists, and teachers attained shows what early intervention, research, insight, patience, and dedication can achieve. More and more children diagnosed with autism today are making strides forward and realizing achievements as Raun did, that years ago were not thought of as possible. With early intervention, children diagnosed with autism can have a bright future.

Henry Anker and his wife Barbara are public school teachers and parents of a college student with autism who realized great success using the methods presented here. Ms. Anker is a teacher of elementary students with autism. Mr. Anker is also an educational technology web site author.

Work Cited

Greenspan, Stanley I., and Serena Wieder. Engaging Autism: Using the Floortime Approach to Help Children Relate, Communicate, and Think. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Lifelong, 2006. Print.

Kaufman, Raun Kahlil. Autism Breakthrough: The Groundbreaking Method That Has Helped Families All over the World. 2014 Print.

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‌© Henry Anker

Proofread 9/16/26

Animals

 Animals

    Animals can come in all shapes and sizes. There are very small animals like ants, flies, and spiders. There are small animals like snails, mice, and rabbits. Animals that are very heavy are animals like elephants and hippos. Some animals are very tall, like giraffes.

    Animals can live on land or in the water. Some animals that live on land are deer, bears, and moose. Some animals that live in the water are whales, dolphins, and sharks. Those animals live in the ocean. They are called marine animals.

    Animals that live in lakes and rivers include trout, bass, and turtles. These are called fresh water animals. Some animals, like birds, can fly. Some birds that you might know are falcons, eagles, and hawks.

    Some animals can live in water, on land, and can fly. A good example of this is the duck. Ducks can do all three. Ducks can look for food on land and in the water, and they can fly places they want to go pretty fast.

    The world is filled with interesting animals that are amazing to see. It is fun to learn about what they do and how they live. You can learn about animals at school, in books from the library, and by looking for information about them on the Internet.

Works Cited

“Animals.” Https://Www.Henryanker.Com, www.henryanker.com/Language/Reading_Fluency/13_Animals.pdf. Accessed 30 May 2026.

Proofread 7/24/26

A Generous Person

 A Generous Person

    Kimberly, a generous person, had 36 new, unsharpened Power-Glow-Girls pencils. She wanted to share them equally among three friends. She gathered her friends together. As they huddled around Kimberly, the girls wondered if they would each receive the same number of pencils. Luckily, Kimberly knew how to divide. She informed the friends that they would each get the same amount. Kimberly knew that if she gave one of her friends more than the others, the ones who got fewer might be jealous. Without using a calculator, Kimberly was able to solve the division equation ‘thirty-six divided by three.’ Each of her friends received a dozen pencils from their generous friend.

    At home, Kimberly was just as generous with members of her family. She would always share her pillows and stuffed animals when her little sister Rebecca had trouble sleeping. When her older brother Francisco needed help with his math homework, Kimberly would stop working on her assignments and help him until he understood his.

    Kimberly’s grandmother Maria recently arrived from the Philippines to live with her family. If she wanted to practice her English, Kimberly would stop whatever she was doing and help her learn words for things around the house, like ‘refrigerator’, and verbs for things people do, like ‘vacuuming’. Kimberly often served as a language translator for parents and teachers at her school, even if it meant leaving her friends at recess to do it.

“A Generous Person.” Mr. Anker Tests Reading Fluency Masters, www.henryanker.com/FluencyMasters.html. Accessed 30 May 2026.

Proofread 7/24/26

The Birthday Party

 The Birthday Party

    Mike's family had a birthday party for his little brother Steven at CHUCK E CHEESE. All the kids in Steven's second grade class were invited. Seven of Steven's classmates came. Four of their cousins came all the way from the state of Texas. In all, 23 people were at the party.

    Everyone ate pizza, salad, and ate a slice of the birthday cake. Only one person did not eat the cake, which was chocolate, and had superheroes on top. Everyone had a good time. Steven was happy that so many people were there to celebrate his birthday.

    After everyone ate, the kids played in the tubes, slid down into the ballpit, screamed, and generally had a lot of fun. Some of the kids, and even some of the adults, played the games that spat out tickets the kids could use to get cheap stuff like candy, stickers, erasers, and those gooey rubbery figures that can be stretched out of shape.

    Steven opened his presents after he blew out the candles on the chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Steven got the slice with his favorite character, Spiderman, on it. The present Steven liked best was the one he got from his Uncle Howard, which was a soccer ball that glowed in the dark. Mike was so happy that his brother enjoyed the party, which Steven said was the best one he ever had!

www.henryanker.com

Proofread 7/24/26

Basketball Practice

 Basketball Practice

    Roger and Gary are brothers. Roger has basketball practice with his team, the Rockets, every day after school. All the kids on the team are between nine and eleven years old. After Roger's mom picks his younger brother Gary up from school, they go to the park to watch Roger practice.

    Roger is tall and is good at passing the ball to his teammates. He is also good at shooting free throws. He hopes to play on his high school team someday. Gary is only seven years old, and is too young to play, but he enjoys watching his brother. Gary is proud of his brother and hopes to play basketball like him when he gets older.

    At home, Roger always seems to have a basketball close by, under his arm, or next to his bed while he sleeps. He even has one of those plastic toy basketball hoops attached to the top of the door to his bedroom. At night, before he goes to sleep, he and Gary throw balled-up socks toward the rim and count how many 'baskets' each one of them makes.

    Roger sometimes watches basketball games on TV with his dad, but he would rather just play 'b-ball' (as he and his friends call it), with his friends at the park, or in his driveway with other kids who live on his street. Roger recently started practicing dribbling with his left hand and between his legs. He isn't learning how to do these things to show off, but rather to be able to outmaneuver players who are guarding him in a game. Roger is dedicated to the game of basketball!

www.henryanker.com 

Proofread 7/24/26

The Dental Exam

 The Dental Exam

    Jerry sat nervously in the dentist chair. The clock on the wall showed 9:13 am. The dentist came in and told Jerry that the first thing they would do would be to take x-rays of his teeth. Next, she started poking around Jerry’s mouth with her sharp, shiny metal instruments. Dr. Gonzalez told him that it would take just a few minutes to check and clean his teeth.

    Jerry’s mind started to race as he felt the tapping and scraping on his molars, which are the teeth in the back of the mouth. Was Dr. Gonzalez going to find any cavities? Jerry wondered if he had been eating too many foods with too much sugar. Jerry thought about what his dad told him about drinking soda, and how bad it was for his teeth. Jerry started to sweat in the dentist chair as the assistant came back in the room with his x-rays. Jerry tried to remember if he had been brushing his teeth every morning before going to school, and every night before going to bed.

    To Jerry, it seemed like it took forever. He had to keep his mouth open for a long time. He felt drool leaking out of the sides of his mouth. The paste Dr. Gonzalez used to clean his teeth tasted really bad, like medicine. “That’s it”, Dr. Gonzalez finally said with a smile, “No cavities.”

    Relieved it was over, Jerry looked up at the clock again. It was 10:02 am. It seemed like the appointment had taken all day. He thought he’d be going back home now, but as he got in the car with his mom, she said, “Great! I can get you back to school in time for you to take your spelling test,” "Jerry groaned."

(c)2016 Henry Anker

Proofread 7/24/26

Water

 Water

    Water is life. Without water, humans, other animals, and plants cannot live. Humans need water everyday, and we use water in many ways that are important to our health and comfort.

    In the United States, we are lucky to have clean water most of the time. We use this water to drink, to cook with, to clean our bodies, our dishes, and our clothes. Farmers spray water on crops like corn, tomatoes, strawberries, and hundreds more foods in their fields that we eat. Ranchers give water to their animals and use water to grow grasses that animals like cows, pigs, and chickens feed on. Water is used to clean foods like lettuce, carrots, and radishes.

    Besides providing us food, water is used for human enjoyment. Water fills swimming pools, hot tubs, and water parks. Water is used in fountains at parks and public places. Water is used to clean cars. Water is used to keep car engines running cool.

    Water keeps our lawns green and helps the flowers and other plants grow. Without water, people would not be able to decorate the outside of homes, schools, and libraries with green and colorful plants.

    The United States is fortunate to have so much rain and snow that gives us our clean water each year. Not every place on Earth has this gift. Many countries have little water, or very little clean water. We need to protect the water we have and conserve it so it will always be around us for the thousands of ways we use it.

Www.henryanker.com

Proofread 7/24/26

Why People Love Dogs

 Why People Love Dogs

    People love dogs for many reasons. Some people like dogs because they can be friends to people. Dogs can pick things up, like a newspaper or a pair of slippers, and bring them to a person. Dogs can play with kids. Dogs can play fetch with a stick. Some dogs can catch a ball or a frisbee. There are dogs that can jump into a river or do other tricks.

    Dogs can be friends to people who are lonely. Dogs can help older people feel younger. Dogs can wag their tails and show a person that they are happy to see them.

    Dogs can help blind people walk safely to work, the library, or to the store. Dogs can help police officers get criminals. Dogs can use their sense of smell to help find a lost child.

    Dogs can do so many things to help people or make them happy. It is great that we live in a world with dogs.

    www.henryanker.com

Proofread 7/24/26

Dinosaurs

 Dinosaurs

    Brandon likes dinosaurs. He is a five year old boy who has lots of toys and books about dinosaurs. He often watches television programs about dinosaurs, and is even starting to look for information about dinosaurs using the Internet. Lots of kids and adults are fascinated with dinosaurs. People who are interested in dinosaurs want to learn the names of the dinosaurs, what they look like, what they ate, and when they lived.

    Dinosaurs are creatures that have names like tyrannosaurus, stegosaurus, brontosaurus, and pterodactyl. That last one is really hard to spell because the ‘p’ at the beginning is silent. Some dinosaurs are very large, but some are small. Some can swim, and some, like the pterodactyl, can fly. A large number of dinosaurs walked the Earth. Some dinosaurs were carnivores, which means they ate meat, others were herbivores, which means they ate mostly plants, and still others were omnivores, which means they ate both plants and animals in their diets.

    Even after more than 100 years of study, there are still differences in the theories about how dinosaurs became extinct. Most paleontologists, which are experts on dinosaurs, believe dinosaurs died out because of a change in climate which killed them quickly, or affected the food supply available to them, which led to their starvation and death. Even though dinosaurs have been extinct for tens of millions of years, people continue to be fascinated by them.

Proofread 7/24/26

Maria Gets Better

 Maria Gets Better

    Maria is as smart as anyone. She can do most of her school work by herself. She can learn a song by heart really fast. Maria also keeps her backpack clean and her desk organized. Once in a while, she will even help other students in her class with their math.

    Reading is Maria’s harder subject. She knows all her letter sounds, but sometimes gets mixed up when reading a word like “read” out loud, which sometimes can sound like the tall grass plant called a “reed”, and other times sounds like the color ‘red’. There are many other examples of tough words like that in English.

    English is not the first language that Maria learned to speak. Before she came to the United States when she was seven, Maria lived in Mexico with her family. Her Spanish was perfect, but now she had to learn a whole new language. Maria was nervous coming to a new school, and sometimes she didn’t understand what her teacher was saying, but she didn’t give up. She tries hard in class and does all of her homework.

    Maria goes to the library at night to study with her sister Elena, who is in high school. Little by little, Maria is learning to read bigger words, understand what they mean, and is able to handle words like “to”, “too”, and “two”, even when they all sound the same. She now knows that each has a different meaning. Maria is proud of herself for being patient and trying her best.

Proofread 7/24/26

Ants

 Ants

    What do you know about ants? Did you say that ants are small? You are right. Are there different kinds of ants? Yes. You might know about red and black ants. There are thousands of other types of ants all over the world.

    Ants have large heads and six legs. Ants are very strong. Ants can carry things that are much heavier than they are. An ant can carry a leaf, a crumb of food, a small piece of wood, or another ant. Together, many ants can lift a dead insect that is much larger than they are. Later, they can eat it.

    Ants live in groups called colonies. Like bees, the leader of the colony is the queen ant. Ants can live in lots of different places. They can live under the ground, in what is called an ant hill. They can live in tree stumps, in cracks in the sidewalk, under large stones, or in a garden.

Proofread 7/24/26

At the Park

 At the Park

    I like to go up and down. Can you do that? It is fun to play that way. At the park, I can go on the swings. At first, I could not swing by myself, but now I can.

    My mom said, “Please do not go too high!” She is afraid I will get hurt. After I stop, my mom said I can play for two more minutes.

    I really don’t know how long two minutes is, so I just play until she says it’s time to go.

I do not own or write any of the stories on this blog. I copy the stories from passages I find on the internet.

Proofread 7/24/26

The Farm

     The Farm

    Let us take a trip to a country farm. What things will we see? Look over there in that field. Mice play in the tall grass. The farmer’s barn is bright red. The doors are white. Inside the hay is stacked up high. "See the cow grazing in the field? There is a calf nearby." The sheep sleep in the shade under the tree. Soon they will wake and take a drink in the pond. There is a duck swimming in the pond. Her babies stay close behind. Hello, duck! Say quack, quack, quack. The pig is in his pen. He is muddy. He is happy. The pig enjoys rolling in the dirt. Chickens peck the ground looking for seeds. The rooster struts on by. Past the fence, do you see that horse? He is saddled and ready to ride. Will he gallop over the hill? Will he trot nice and slow? The farm is full of life!

The Farm Comprehension Questions

1. Fill in the blanks.
1. The _________ play in the tall grass.
2. The ___________ sleep in the shade under the tree.
3. The ____________ is in his pen.
2. What will the sheep do after they sleep under the tree?
1. Get a drink in the pond.
2. Go and eat dinner.
3. Go swimming in the pond.
3. Name 5 animals you could find on this farm.
1. _____________
2. ______________
3. ______________
4. ______________
5. _______________

Proofread 7/24/26