Go Play Outside  

            What would it take to get your family hiking and bicycling this spring and summer?  How about five great ideas for family friendly hikes and bicycle rides within a reasonable driving distance of Boise, an REI Passport to Adventure Journal with fun activities for the kids, and a little motivation in the form of a prize for completing hikes and/or bicycle rides?  Pick up an REI Passport to Adventure Journal along with suggestions for five hikes and five bicycle rides at REI.  Return the card in the back of the Journal after completing one hike or ride and receive a Certificate of Completion and a great prize in the mail. 

        A few of the local hikes, recommended by REI staff, include:

• Oregon Trail Reserve, an easy family hike with great views and historical interpretation
• Table Rock Trail #15 or Castle Rock Loop #19, located near the Old Idaho Penitentiary and steeped in history and beauty
• Hulls Gulch Trail, a classic family hike with gradual grades and interpretive signs explaining the role of fire in our environment

        For more information on the REI Passport to Adventure program and a list of the five recommended kid-friendly hikes and bicycle rides in the Boise area, contact REI Customer Service at 322-1141 or visit the store at 8300 W. Emerald St. in Boise.

                For more ideas about how to spend time with your children outside, visit Be Outside Idaho (www.beoutsideidaho.org), connecting children with nature in Idaho, from backyards to mountaintops. 

Celebrate Teachers       

            In 1984, PTA established Teacher Appreciation Week-the first full week in May-to  honor the dedicated men and women who lend their passion and skills to educating children. 

        Here are a few Teacher Appreciation Week activity ideas from PTA, www.pta.org.

• Host a special breakfast or lunch for your school's teachers and staff.
• Plant trees or flowers in public areas or on school ground in honor of teachers.
• Coordinate a car wash and invite the school staff and teachers to get their vehicles washed for free.
• Have the students in each class create their own posters thanking their teacher. Take a picture of each student holding his or her sign. Then, put together small photo albums of the thank-you messages for the teachers.
• Encourage parents to use Teacher Appreciation Week as a launching point for developing stronger partnerships with teachers. Expressions of appreciation can build mutual respect and open the door to better communication about expectations, student performance, and more.
• Organize student contests that will help kids get to know their teachers better. Post teachers' baby pictures and have students guess whose pictures they are. Put together a list of interesting facts about your teachers and have students match the teacher to the fact. Award prizes to the students who get the most correct, and to the teachers who stump the most students.
• Nominate teachers for awards and other types of recognition at the state and national level.

National Bike Safety Month 

        May is National Bicycle Safety Month.  Here are a few tips, provided by Idaho Bicycling Street Smarts, for riding confidently, legally, and safely.

• Wear a helmet for every ride.
• Wear bright-colored clothing during the day, such as white or yellow.
• Use lights and wear reflective clothing at night.
• Be predictable so other vehicle operators can anticipate your actions.
• Wave and/or nod your head while making eye contact with other road users when you need to make sure they see you. If they don't react, there is a strong chance they didn't see you.
• Ride with the traffic flow and allow motorists to pass when they can do so safely.
• At intersections, position yourself in a through lane when going straight, or in a dedicated turn lane when turning.
• Have at least one hand in control of your bicycle at all times.
• Be alert, continually scanning ahead for hazards such as debris, potholes, opening car doors, or vehicles moving into your path.
• Sometimes a little courtesy or a simple thank-you wave can go a long way in improving a motorist's attitude toward sharing the road with bicyclists.

Boise Bike Week, May 11-16, is a week promoting cycling in every form.  The events highlight our great cycling community by promoting bicycling to work, providing resources for commuting, and having fun.  The final event is the Pedal Power Parade, and it will be fun for all riders. The parade will begin at 5pm on May 16 at Capitol Park on 6^th St. between Jefferson & Bannock Streets in Boise.  For more information about Boise Bike Week, visit www.boisebikeweek.org.

Volunteer Opportunities for Teens 

        Teens today are looking for ways to become involved in their community and in their country.  They are looking for opportunities that will allow for personal growth, as well as to support an organization or individual.  At Family Magazine & Media, we want to help!  Our new website, treasure valleyteen.com, is updated with teen resources, news, contacts, and much more. 

        There is a specific link to volunteer opportunities. Listings include ideas from Boise Parks & Recreation, Idaho Foodbank, Habitat for Humanity, YMCA, local libraries and hospitals, and many more.  There is also a link that allows organizations to list their opportunities and events for teens.  Visit www.reasurevalleyteen.com to discover ways teens can become involved. 

Local Students Attend National Science Bowl

        Students from the Treasure Valley Mathematics and Science Center (TVMSC) competed with 28 other teams from across Idaho on science and math knowledge to vie for the title of the 19^th Annual INL Scholastic Tournament.  The TVMSC team is now representing Idaho in the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl in Washington D.C. from April 30 through May 5, with all expenses paid by the U.S. Department of Energy.  The National Science Bowl is a "Jeopardy" style competition expected to attract more than 13,000 high school participants.

        Good luck and congratulations to the following TVMSC students: Ivan Yanev, Alex Baca, Kevin Brown, Kevin Hou, and William Gee.               

        For further information about the U.S. Department of Energy's National Science Bowl, visit scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/default.htm.

Happy Music 

        Making rock and roll family music since 1998 has led Daddy A Go Go to produce a "Best of" CD.  In Come On, Get Happy, infectious tunes from all six previous albums will keep listeners singing and dancing.  Sing-alongs with silly puns and upbeat messages will have kids asking for the album over and over again.  If you need a new CD to pop in for that spring road trip, this one is worth a listen.

Children's Literature & Science  

        Oobleck, Slime and Dancing Spaghetti: Twenty Terrific at Home Science Experiments Inspired by Favorite Children's Books by Jennifer Williams (Bright Sky Press) combines classic children's literature with fun kitchen science experiments. 

        This handbook is an ideal resource for parents or teachers who want to instill a cross-curricular approach to educating their children. A wide range of experiments are featured, including how to make the green goo found in Dr. Seuss's Bartholomew and the Oobleck as well as making pasta dance as shown in Tomie dePaola's Strega Nona. Each chapter contains a detailed summary of the story, step-by-step instructions with a list of ingredients, thought-provoking questions for children, science facts, how to relate the experiment to every day life, and sources for further exploration.

The activities, which are appropriate for children ages 4-11, result in a terrific way to combine reading with turning a kitchen into an exciting laboratory of learning.