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Okay, you probably know Mark McGwire as the home-run champion that cranks them out for the St. Louis Cardinals. But baseball is only one part of this slugger’s life scheme. In 1997, Mark McGuire made it his charge to raise awareness about child abuse on a grand scale.

The baseball champion never suffered abuse as a child, but he was made aware of its impact by a friend, and has decided to give money and raise awareness about an issue that effects millions of children every single day. And although some kids are able to report that they are being abused, it is estimated that current rates of abuse could be twice as high as reported.

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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! February 14 is officially Valentine’s Day. We’ve gotten a lot of ideas from you, and now we’ll give you some of our ideas for recipes and crafts. Have someone in mind to be your Valentine? Even if you don’t, you can have fun making these. You have all weekend to work on this, so make this Valentine’s Day special.

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Did you know that the roots of Valentine’s Day can actually be traced back to the Roman Empire? Back in third century, the Romans held celebrations in honor of two Gods.

On February 14th they honored Juno, Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses, and the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, they held a great celebration called the Festival of Lupercalia in honor of the God Lubercus. Back in the early days of Rome, fierce and angry wolves roamed in the nearby woods where the shepards kept their flocks.

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Matthew and Mathilda are the most different twins you may ever meet. Like a lot of siblings, they don’t realize how much they mean to each other until they are separated. In the twin’s case, their parents are splitting them up when they get divorced. When they are confronted with this possibility, Matthew and Mathilda decide to run away to their Uncle Ben’s place.

The catch is that he lives in San Francisco, and whenever they call him, all they get is an answering machine message. With no place to stay, the twins are forced to sleep in the Golden Gate Park with other homeless people.

To make things even worse, there is a murderer on the loose, and Matthew and Mathilda become embroiled in a complex mystery. If you have ever wondered what it might be like to have no home to return to when the night falls, At the Sound of the Beep by Marilyn Sachs will put you in the shoes of two heroes who have lived it. Plus, it’s a good mystery. Check it out!

Did you know that giraffes are the tallest animals on earth? The name giraffe comes from the Arabic word Zirafah which means precisely that: the tallest of all animals. And even though their necks can be as long as 78 inches long, they only have 7 vertebrae in their necks like we humans. Every time it lifts its neck, a giraffe lifts 550 pounds! The rapid blows of its hooves could easily crush an animal’s skull, but the giraffe is one of the most peaceful and graceful animals alive.

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Each October we celebrate Black History Month as a tribute to the history of African Americans. What you might not realize is that the history of African Americans was not studied or recognized for a very long time. In fact, African Americans didn’t gain recognition in history books until the 20th century. We have a man named Dr. Carter G. Woodson to thank for bringing the history of African Americans into the classroom and to the world.

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Kate’s grandfather is a scientist who has been working furiously to discover an unknown element in the inner-most hearts of stars. He calls this force “Pure Concentrated Light,” and has been able to recreate a tiny amount of this substance in his lab. His theory is that this stuff has the means to free a person’s “heartlight,” thereby allowing them to travel anywhere in the universe.

However, a darker force discovers the laboratory– and even more frightening– the sun begins to lose its power! What should they do? Grandfather decides to become “heartlight” and travel to a far-away star which he thinks may possess the solution to the mystery. Kate can’t bear for him to go without her, so with the help of a mystical creature, she accompanies him on the dangerous journey.

Discover what Kate and her grandfather unveil on their voyage across time and space. If you liked A Wrinkle in Time, you will really enjoy Heartlight by T.A. Barron.

Here is another way to have fun with balloons, one of the most celebratory things to play with. They float, pop, splat and more.

Did you know that balloons can propel rockets too? The principle of air pressure is critical here, for it is in the control and release of air pressure that so much can be achieved.

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Looking for some extreme excitement? Then the X-Games are the place for you. Back in September, we highlighted the Summer X-Games. But now it’s time again to break out the snowboards and skis and compete. This winter the X-Games are going to be held in the Green Mountain state of Vermont. But if all goes well, Mount Snow won’t be green, it will be covered in white.

A new game that has been added to this year’s games is called UltraCross. UltraCross is a combination of skiers and snowboarders performing in a relay to see who can cross the finish line first. The top 16 skiers and snowboarders will be paired up randomly the night before the event to compete in this very unique race.

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Jess Aarons has made it his goal to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade. All summer long, he would push himself to the point of exhaustion in the Virginia heat trying to run faster and faster. Little did he know, new competition has moved into town– her name is Leslie Burke, also ten years old, and she can run faster than anybody in the fifth grade. The boys eventually refuse to race anymore because they can’t stand being schooled by this new girl!

However, Jess finds her strangely interesting. For one, she is a great athlete; she’s also funny and has a rich imagination. Her folks don’t own a television set, and their house is filled with books. Soon, even though everybody teases them to no end, Jess and Leslie form a magical friendship. They create their own realm in the woods which they name Terabithia. The only way to get into Terabithia is by swinging on the old rope swing they find attached to a crab apple tree. No one else is allowed to enter the kingdom, and no one else may know about it…until something unexpected occurs, and Terabithia is never again the same.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katharine Paterson earned a Newberry Award in 1978. It is an unforgettable story of imagination, magic, loyalty and determination. It is a story of a legendary friendship.

Can water be bent? By a comb? That is not placed inside the water stream? Judge for yourself with this clever experiment that illustrates the power and effect of invisible static electricity, the kid of electricity that is all around us and that we and objects create all the time through simple interaction.

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“Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in my attempt.” — The Special Olympics Oath

Not everybody can play a sport like Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm. Some people just find it challenging to finish a game they’ve started. Other folks won’t rest until they’ve tasted victory– there are all types of people! The Special Olympics honor the athlete in everybody. People with disabilities face challenges that non-disabled people could never imagine. Take that into consideration when you think of disabled folks pushing themselves to the limit in their sport of choice. The Special Olympics games invite disabled people to partake in the camaraderie, competition and fun of sports. They are provided a chance for athletes to learn that there are no losers in this world. Here, people with disabilities demonstrate that they don’t let challenges keep them down!

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