Hello, Sparky here.
Ø It’s getting hot here. If you
pay attention you will notice changes in weather even from week to week.
Looking at a moment, the weather might seem standing still but step back and
look at it in its entirety and you will notice a pattern, a rhythm. Nature
around us is like a gently flowing river, moving from one season to another,
following a definite plan. We, animals,
birds, insects and the like live by nature’s plan. We do not live in brick and
mortar houses with electricity powered equipment making the outside weather
irrelevant to us. So, we live by the time-table Mother Nature draws. We rise
and sleep with the Sun (there are others who do just the opposite) and the sun
rise and sun set time keeps changing through the year. We build nest, have
babies, and visit other places, all as per ‘Her’ scheme. Our food also changes
with the season and it’s usually what’s best for that season. We are all
perfectly in tune with each other, connected to each other, living by Mother Nature’s
master plan.
Only Humans seem to think they
can do what they like and get away with it. But, sadly, they are wrong. Some
Humans have realised that water, air and land polluted by their activities is
harming them. They have started showing concern. They celebrate ‘Earth Day’
every year on April 22nd to show and get support for protecting environment. This
week, we saw some humans diving into the river wearing protective gear to clean
up the mess in the river (remember Mr. Kurma, the turtle’s drawing). Cleaning up
is all very well, but why do they not live in such a way that there is no need
to clean up? I hear that they keep meeting to discuss Climate Change but I
don’t understand why things don’t seem to be getting better, in fact, it’s
getting worse. There are frequent floods in some places, droughts in others;
summers are getting longer and hotter and winters shorter. Trees are being cut
down for buildings and farms. Humans are just one species but have taken over
the entire planet with no concern for anyone else. Mother Nature is getting
upset by all of this, very upset.
Ø Talking of being upset, the entire
lot of us were upset 4 days back. An Oriental Honey Buzzard from some other
place came to our Banyan Island, probably following a wasp or a bee. There is a
huge bee hive hanging from a branch of the banyan tree. The Honey Buzzard
either followed a bee from this hive that had gone far in search of nectar or he
followed a wasp and happened to see the bee hive. Whatever be the case, he
attacked the bee hive, broke off a chunk of the honey comb and sat down a
little way off to enjoy his meal while the bees furious with being raided like
that, went mad with anger and attacked everyone in the vicinity. It was mayhem
like the Banyan Island has never seen before. All of us ran for shelter, but it
happened so quickly many of us were stung. While we were running and shooing
the bees, howling in pain, the Honey Buzzard just sat there eating bee larvae,
comb and honey. It is all very well for him, he is an expert at getting honey and
for that he has different kind of feathers on head, face and neck which also have
a chemical coating for protection against stings. I don’t want to call him
names. After all, this is a magazine read by kids and adults alike. But if you
want to know what I think of him, solve the first puzzle and find out.
Ø As far as the bees are
concerned, I wouldn’t go around calling them names. The world needs them more
than they need us. If not for them there would hardly be any flowers or fruits.
They pollinate (carry pollen from one flower to another which helps plants
makes fruits, grains, vegetables, nuts…) 85% of the world’s flowering plants
and over 65% of crops grown by human is thanks to the bees, not just honey
bees, but bees of all kinds. From forests to home gardens, bees’ role in
keeping them growing and healthy should never be forgotten. Our survival and
well-being depends on them.
Ø There’s nothing else to report
except that after the Honey Buzzard left, the Bee-Eaters kind of had a feast as
well while the rest of us sat catching our breath and licking the stings. Bee-eaters are beautiful lively birds and very fast too. Although, they eat bees
and wasps like the Honey Buzzard, they don’t go attacking bee hives, they catch
the insects while they are flying.
If you haven’t been stung by
bees or hurt yourself while running, consider yourself very lucky. If you have
been stung or gotten hurt, here are some activities to take your mind off the
pain.
- If you put together the first letter from all the answers, it will give you a word which is what I think of the Honey Buzzard.
Someone who
shows too much curiosity about other people’s life is ____? The word rhymes
with Cozy.
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Someone who
comes uninvited is an________? A trespasser
is also called this.
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An Unpleasant
person is a _______ person? Also used for smells and such. Weird, but the
word rhymes with Tasty!!!
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Someone who’s
not kind is________?
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Someone who’s
dull, unintelligent is called an ________person? Also means an angle that’s greater
than 90 degrees.
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Someone who’s
unkind and unfair is a ________ person? An average of numbers is also called
this.
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Someone who’s
stupid is called this. Someone whose brain size is as small as a pea.
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Someone who’s
annoying and offensive is an _______ person? This word is used to describe bad
smell as well.
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Someone is
different and peculiar is an _____person? 1,3,5,7 are also called this.
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A person who
robs people on the sea is called a ________?
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- ‘Monkey see, monkey do’ is an Idiom. Idiom is a phrase (group of words) that means not what the words mean but something else because it has been used in that sense over a long period of time. Idioms are part of the language, say English here in this example and someone who does not speak English might not understand it in the same way.
Here’s an Idiom quiz on
animals. See, if you can ‘crack these tough nuts’. Match the Idioms in first
column to its meaning in the second column.
Idiom
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Meaning
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Copy cat
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Raining heavily
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Cat’s
got your tongue
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Get
the biggest share of something
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Let
the cat out of the bag
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Unable
to be calm or stay quiet out of nervousness or excitement
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Raining cats and dogs
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Suspicious
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Get
the lion’s share
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Face
a task/challenge boldly
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Fishy
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Said
of someone who suddenly goes quiet
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Hold your horses
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Very competitive
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Take
a bull by the horns
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Reveal
a secret
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Rat
race
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Wait,
be patient
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Ant’s
in one’s pants
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Someone
who imitates someone else
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- Homphones are words that have same pronunciation but have different spelling and different meanings. See, if you can fill in the _______(right/write) words in the blanks. Once, you have completed filling in the right words, do read the story again to enjoy the story.
This is the ____(tail/tale) of
Bucky, the ______(Be/Bee) who stole and _____ (ate/eight) ______(ate/eight)
pots of nectar from the Bee hive store house. When the chief guard discovered
the theft he informed the Queen Mother who _____(maid/made) all her _____
(Be/Bee) babies stand in a row near the _____(hole/whole) in the tree, close to
_____(there/their) hive.
Queen Mother then said, ‘My
children, it takes a 1000 trips to ______(flowers/flours) to collect nectar to
fill 1 pot. So, it should be _____(plain/plane) to everyone who can
_____(see/sea) that it’s 8000 trips that have been stolen. Is it
_____(fair/fare) my _____(deer/dear) ones, that all of us toil in the _____(son/sun)
and one gets to enjoy it all? I shall ______(no/know) no ______(piece/peace)
till the thief is caught. I _____ (need/knead) the thief caught in one
_____(hour/our)’ Saying that she ______(blue/blew) a kiss to them and _____(flu/flew)
away from the ______(scene/seen).
As the chief guard walked
around, his _____(nose/knows) picked up the ______(cent/scent) of the nectar
from Bucky. He wanted to teach Bucky a lesson for the _____(pain/pane) he had
caused all of them so he told them that one of the pots of nectar was a magical
______(potion/portion) and the one who had had a ______(byte/bite) from that
pot would be able to swim. He then dismissed the gathering. Bucky was curious
to _____(cheque/check) if that was true and _____(flew/flu) down to ______ (where/wear)
the river was flowing. As Bucky stepped into the water, he begin to sink, the
guard reached there to hear Bucky _____(groan/grown) and struggle in
______(vein/vain) to get out of water. The guard pulled Bucky out of water and
took him to the Queen Mother who _____(rapped/wrapped) him on his
_____(knows/nose) and ______(find/fined) him his pocket money for 3 months and
______(allowed/aloud) him to go.
Bucky was grateful to Queen
Mother and the chief guard for not telling the others and also to his friends
who helped him when he had no money by sharing with him the ice-creams they
would _____(buy/by). Bucky never tried to _____(steel/steal) again. He never
lost _____(sight/site) of what’s _____(write/right).
- Two weeks back, we understood the Frog’s life cycle as it starts life from an Egg to a Tadpole to a Frog. A Butterfly goes through a similar metamorphosis as well. Here are the stages of a Butterfly’s life.
o
First,
an adult Butterfly lays eggs on the plant which the larvae will eat when it hatches
from the egg.
o
The
Eggs hatch into Larvae, called Caterpillars who spend most of their time
searching for and eating food.
o
When
the Caterpillar is fully grown, it finds a well-hidden place, attaches itself
to the place with a silk thread that it spins. It loses its outer skin and is
now called a Pupa. Some Butterflies spin a cocoon around themselves, which is a
protective covering around them when they are in the Pupa stage.
o
In
the Pupa stage, it undergoes a transformation and emerges as an adult Butterfly
who will continue this life-cycle by laying Eggs.
Now, that you have read
about the almost magical life cycle of a Butterfly, can you arrange these
pictures in the correct order?
- Now for a Mathematical puzzle. Understand how the first 2 squares have been solved and apply the same logic to the other squares and fill the answers in the center of the squares.
See you all next week with
more news, activities and answers to this week’s puzzles.
In the meanwhile, if you would
like to write to me, email me at Sparkyatbanyan@gmail.com
Answers to last
week’s puzzles:
- Solve the riddles one by one and get a word that solves another riddle.
Mouse
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I am a little
creature that helped one far bigger in size,
So proved that
no matter how small, each has his use, at the right times.
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Ant Hill
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I am built by
many tiny insects working as one,
Look like a
mound above ground,
But I house a
queen and am almost a palace underground.
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Nest
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I could be
just a hole in a tree or a wall,
Or made of
sticks, mud or grass woven into a ball.
I am ‘home’ to
many – both big and small.
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Google
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If you can’t
figure out a riddle, this is where you will seek,
If you don’t
find it there either, come back here next week.
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Orange
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I am an
eatable as well as a colour.
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The final riddle – first letter of
the answers above will also solve this riddle below:
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MANGO
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I am sour when
raw but as I ripen I turn sweet
A big seed
inside and to eat me is a delicious treat.
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- Complete the Crossword puzzle below:
- Make as many words as possible with the below letters without repeating any of the letters:
L
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I
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N
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S
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D
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A
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- Mathematical Puzzle –The numbers in columns 3, 4 and 5 are a sum of the previous 2 numbers. Knowing this logic, find the missing numbers:
1
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4
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5
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9
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14
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5
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10
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15
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25
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40
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2
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4
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6
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10
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16
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4
|
7
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11
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18
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29
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5
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15
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20
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35
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55
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2
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7
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9
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16
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25
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1
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4
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5
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9
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14
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2
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4
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6
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10
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16
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- Analogical reasoning questions:
- Puzzle-Garden’: Find the hidden flowers below:
