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January 2004
Happy New Year, ScribbleFriends!
I got a lot of great gifts for Christmas. Now I've been making pictures and writing thank you notes for everyone who sent me a gift.
When my dad suggested that my sister and I write thank you notes, we really weren't that excited about it. But then we got started... who knew it could be so much fun? I've been making each card unique by drawing a picture of the gift on it. Everyone who received one of my homemade thank-you notes said it made them feel really special (just like I felt when I opened their present).
Saying thank you is fun.
And everyone will think you're polite. Everyone likes to be thanked - and the best part is, you can always write a thank you note, not just at Christmastime. Do you have anyone you should thank? Maybe you could make them a picture too.
By the way, THANK YOU for reading all of my newsletters. I'll be sure to keep them coming during 2004!
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
February 2004
Happy February, ScribbleFriends!
Each February 2nd is Groundhog Day. Legend has it that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, we'll have six more weeks of winter weather.
If he doesn't see his shadow, better weather is just ahead! If you ask me, it should be called Sun Day or Cloud Day because it seems to have more to do with whether or not the sun is shining. We sure put an awful lot of pressure on that poor little ground hog.
Groundhog Day has been celebrated in the United States for over 100 years.
Early Pennsylvania settlers from Germany brought the tradition here with them. In Germany, they watched the hedgehog to see if he saw his shadow. They couldn't find any hedgehogs in Pennsylvania, though, so they figured a groundhog was close enough.
The Groundhog is my special guest this month. You can visit the groundhog in My Scrapbook and can draw a picture of his shadow on my Print Pictures page. We're celebrating Groundhog Day by making shadow puppets on the wall. What will you do on Groundhog Day?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
March 2004
Happy March, ScribbleFriends!
My friends and I have been having fun playing with tongue twisters. Tongue twisters are words that are hard to say when you put them together. Like, "rubber baby buggy
bumpers" or "toy boat." Try saying those 5 times fast. It's not easy. I think the hardest ones we have found yet are "Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?" and "The sixth sheik's
sixth sheep's sick." I can't even say those once!
Which makes me think, ScribbleSheep is my special guest this month. You can visit ScribbleSheep in
My Scrapbook and can draw a picture of him on my Print Pictures page. Do you know what the difference is between a sheep and a lamb? Lambs are less then a year old, then on their 1st birthday, they are officially sheep. I was confused and thought ScribbleLamb changed his name, but it ends up, he just had a birthday. Male sheep are called rams. Females are called ewe (it sounds like "you", not "eew" - that wouldn't be nice). One or more sheep are still called sheep, but more than one lamb are lambs. They're a tricky bunch, those sheep. They're as tricky as tongue twisters!
Do you know any tongue twisters? Do you know any sheep?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
April 2004
Happy April, ScribbleFriends!
April is one of my favorite months. First, there's April Fool's Day. The weather's getting nicer, baseball season begins, the flowers start coming back and
there's all kinds of great things to do outside, like playing "Sardines".
Sardines is one of my favorite games to play. It's kind of like Hide-n-Seek, but in Sardines only one person hides and everyone else has to count and then seek.
As each player discovers the person hiding, they have to hide in the same place with all the other players until the last player finds all of you.
It's fun with everyone trying to quietly hide in the same small space - just like a bunch of sardine fishies crammed into a can.
Sardines are great on April Fool's Day, too.
When you go to the grocery store, ask them if they have King Oscar (which is a brand of sardines) in a can. If they do, tell them, "Well, you better let him out. He needs air!" That one always cracks me up!
What's your favorite April Fool's joke? What's your favorite game?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
May 2004
Happy May, ScribbleFriends!
My pal ScribbleBunny came over for dinner last night. It was fun having one of my friends as a guest at the table with the rest of my family.
I even got to pick what we had for dinner! My grandma let me help her make scalloped potatoes and ham, which is my favorite! ScribbleBunny never had it before and I was worried because he can be a picky eater. But he tried it, and he liked it! He even had seconds!
After dinner, we played some board games. But we were hardly bored!
Actually, ScribbleBunny was getting so into it, that he was starting to scare me. I think they should call them "spirited, make you want to win, competitive games". I guess that's kind of a mouthful. Maybe they call them board games to help keep the competition under control.
My sister gets to invite one of her friends over for dinner next week.
My dad said that we just might make having a dinner guest a weekly routine. That would be pretty fresh.
Who would you invite to be your guest for dinner? What meal would you make?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
June 2004
Happy June, ScribbleFriends!
Boy, did I have the weirdest dream. I was an 80 foot long Barosaurus and everyone was running away from me saying, "Don't eat me!
Don't eat me!" Now, that makes no sense. The Barosaurus, like most dinosaurs, ate plants. From what scientists can tell, they were pretty passive and peaceful creatures. I know that when I was
a Barosaurus in my dream, I was a really nice guy. So what was everybody so worried about?
Can you tell what someone is like by looking at them? If someone is bigger than you, does it mean they want to eat you?
If someone looks different than you, does it mean that you can't be friends? Can you tell if a person is nice, or smart, or fun to play with from how they look?
Dinosaurs are so misunderstood. I'll bet there were plenty of friendly dinosaurs. Thank goodness I'm a monster and don't have to worry about those things!
What would you do if you met a Barosaurus? Have you ever had a weird dream?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
July 2004
Happy July, ScribbleFriends!
Brace yourself. Today I'm going to teach you how to make your very own one-of-a-kind kazoo!
First, you'll need to get an empty toilet paper or paper towel tube and decorate it with crayons or markers.
Once you're done with that, cut out a piece of wax paper big enough to cover one end of the tube and put a rubber band around it to hold it in place. Then, put your mouth on the other end of the tube without the wax paper and hum. Oooowee! You're making music!
Say, that reminds me of a little joke:
"Knock-knock."
"Who's there?"
"Kazoo."
"Kazoo who?"
"Kazoo hum a song for me? tee-hee.
Do you have a favorite joke? What songs will you play on your kazoo?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
August 2004
Happy August, ScribbleFriends!
My sister and I saw a frog in our backyard today. Well, it was actually a toad, but toads are a type of frog. So I guess you could say it was a toad or a frog and still be right. Just like if you called your dog a "poodle" or a "dog". Either way, you would still be right (unless your dog wasn't a poodle - or you didn't have a dog).
But did you ever wonder how to tell the difference between a frog and a toad? Frogs have smooth and slimy skin that's usually green and you'll find them in or by the
water.
They have webbed feet and long legs that are good for jumping. Toads have a drier, bumpy skin that's more brown and you'll usually find them in your yard or on land. They have shorter legs and walk or hop more than jump. But toads are part of the frog family and there are more than 3,500 different kinds of frogs in the world!
Toads eat a lot of bugs.
They don't eat plants, so many people think it's good luck to find a toad in their garden. If you should ever meet a toad in your yard, be sure to introduce yourself and thank them for keeping the bugs away.
Have you ever seen a toad in your yard? Have you ever played leap frog?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
September 2004
Happy September, ScribbleFriends!
I've been making paper dolls with my sister. I know. But it's really fun. Dad gave us some extra pictures we could cut out and we taped actual photos on the heads. Now each doll looks like a member of our family or one of our friends. We've even made some of our favorite celebrities by cutting their heads out of magazines.
We also made a bunch of silly outfits.
There's a clown costume, a baseball uniform, a chicken suit... we've made all kinds of clothes. Each doll is the same size, so we can change the outfits around. My dad looks great in a tu-tu having lunch with Dr. Shrek! We're having a great time pretending and making up silly stories.
Why don't you break out your art supplies and join in on the fun? With your creativity and imagination, I know you'll have some great fun too - even if they are paper
dolls (or as I like to call them, paper action figures).
Have you ever made paper dolls? Maybe you could make a ScribbleMonster paper action figure.
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
October 2004
Happy October, ScribbleFriends!
My pals and I are busy planning for Halloween!
Everyone is putting the finishing touches on their costumes and ScribblePiggy thought it would be fun to make up some Halloween carols. Boy, was she right!
All you've got to do is take your favorite Christmas songs - or really, any song - and make up new words for Halloween. ScribbleKitty wrote a song about us getting
ready for the holiday called "Halloween is Coming to Town" and ScribbleBunny made up a funny song called "Halloween Socks" from "Jingle Bell Rock."
Can you make up a new Halloween version of "Jingle Bells" or "Rudolph?" Maybe something like, "Percy the Purple Pumpkin?" You're so creative, I know you'll come
up with something great! Do you have your costume yet? What are you going to be for Halloween?
Have a great Halloween! Boo! (Don't panic. That's just me playing around.)
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
November 2004
Happy November, ScribbleFriends!
I love sharing and I love my friends. So it makes sense that I would love sharing with my friends. Well, I wouldn't dream of sharing my toothbrush - yuck!
My favorite thing to share with my friends is a book.
The only thing better than reading a good book is sharing a good book with a friend.
It's fun to talk about your favorite parts with your buddies. And it always helps if they know what you're talking about, so share your books with all your friends! Maybe you can borrow books from your pals, too. It'll be like your own little library, except you won't get fined if you return a book late (unless you're dealing with ScribbleBunny - he charges a sock for each day a book is overdue).
Have your ever had an overdue book at the library? What's your favorite book? Why don't you share it with a friend?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
December 2004
Happy December, ScribbleFriends!
There's lots of great things to do in December, but one of my very favorite things is when my pals and I make our end of the year Nosy Book. What?
You've never made a Nosy Book? Let's fix that.
HOW TO MAKE A NOSY BOOK:
Use a spiral notebook to write down a question at the top of each page for your pals to answer. Questions like "What's your favorite
color?", "How many people are in your family?" and "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" are a good place to start.
Make sure to fill every page with a question - this is your chance to be nosy and find out everything about your friends. Then go back to page one and number every line on the page. Write your numbers on the left side of each line going 1,2,3,4,5.... all the way down the page until you finally reach the last line. Next, you need to repeat the numbering on each page, always starting with line number 1.
Now for the fun part! Once you're done numbering, ask a friend to choose a number and answer the questions on that line throughout the entire book. Keep asking
your friends until your Nosy Book is full of interesting answers.
It's always fun to date your Nosy Book on the cover so that you remember what year it was when you gave these answers. You can make a new one next year and see whose answers have changed.
Who will you ask to help with your Nosy Book? What questions will you ask?
Your pal,
ScribbleMonster
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