Posts Tagged ‘Nellie’

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The Thanksgiving Bus Surprise

Saturday, November 18th, 2017

The “Can Dos” all gathered at the bus stop waiting for the Greyhound bus to arrive on Thanksgiving morning. They had all gotten up early to meet the bus. Mickey and his service dog, Muggins, were coming home for Thanksgiving on the Greyhound bus and they were all anxious to see their friend.

Mickey’s mom and dad were there, and his grandma, Grandma Hattie and Grandpa Dooley.”We haven’t seen Mickey and Muggins since August when he went back to school,” said Willie, Mickey’s cousin. The rest of the “Can Dos” nodded in agreement. It had been months since they saw Mickey. They all understood that Mickey had to go to a special school for children who have visual disabilities, but that didn’t stop them from missing him.

When the bus came in sight, the “Can Dos’ all started jumping up and down and waving at the bus. When the bus came to a stop, they strained to see Mickey through the Thanksgiving tinted glass of the bus windows. Then the door opened and some people got out. And…there he was! Muggins led the way and Mickey followed.

A cheer went up. After Mickey’s mom and dad, and grandma and grandpa kissed and hugged Mickey and greeted Muggins, the “Can Dos” gathered round Mickey. The girls hugged him and the boys thumped him on the back. Grandma Hattie said, “Come on everyone, back to my house for a welcome home Thanksgiving Day breakfast for Mickey.”

Everyone started walking, but Mickey and Muggins just stood there, not moving. Mickey’s mom asked,”What’s wrong with you child? We are all waiting on you.” Mickey grinned and answered, “I have a surprise for Willie and Nellie and Grandma Hattie and Grandpa Dooley. With that Willie and Nellie’s mom got off the bus!

Willie yelled, Nellie started crying and Grandma Hattie said,”Daughter, I didn’t think you could get leave from the army to be home for Thanksgiving.”

It’s a good thing Muggins got Mickey out of the way in time, or Willie and Nellie would have run him over getting to their mama to hug her! What a wonderful surprise that bus held..their mama home for Thanksgiving!

After all the hugs, everyone headed to Grandma Hattie’s for a double celebration, Mickey and Muggins, and Willie and Nellie’s mom were home for Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving from “Can Do” Street!

Pocket

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The Bobbin Girls

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

Yundi and Nellie ran towards Coach Campbell yelling, “Hey Coach!” Coach answered, “Hey – What’s up? How is everybody?” “Good Coach, said Yundi. “Yeah,good. Visit any more mines Coach?”

“Ha, ha – no, no – I am not going back down in those mines again,” said Coach. Nellie nodded her head and said, “Yeah, that was not a place I would want to go. So dark, and dirty. Scary.”

“Sure is,” shared Coach, “Coal mining is a dangerous job.”

Nellie asked,“Hey Coach, remember you said you would tell us about what the young girls did for work?”

“Sure do,” answered Coach. “They were nicknamed Bobbin Girls, and they worked at the local textile mill. They were called Bobbin Girls because their main job was to work with the bobbins of cotton thread.

image of thread bobbins

 

 

Bobbin Girls working in textile mill

The Bobbin Girls would run back and forth with the bobbins of thread to keep the looms working. The loom machines wove the threads together to make fabric for clothing.”

“Yundi and Nellie both looked amazed, and Yundi said,  “That looks like a lot of running!

I bet those Bobbin Girls were real tired after working. How long a day did they work Coach?”

image of one of the Bobbin Girls in the textile mill.

“The Bobbin Girls put in a long-long day,” answered Coach; “10 hours or so. Plus, the big room with the big looms had the windows closed to keep the wind from messing up the threads of cotton. A little breeze could get them mixed up and stuck. That stops the loom from working.”

“The windows were closed? It must have been so hot,” said Nellie.“Oh yes, very hot and very loud. The giant looms make an awful racket,” added Coach.

Coach pulls out his phone, and says, “I have a youtube movie of a working mill room at the Boott Mills in Lowell. Let’s look at it together. This video shows several machines working at the same time.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTmYV3J5JU4

Yundi shook his head and said, “Wow Coach, sure am glad my classroom at school is air conditioned. But, my classroom can kinda get just as loud – SOMETIMES!!”

Coach laughed and shook his head in agreement and Nellie just giggled. Then Nellie added, “I’m glad that, in this country, young girls like me don’t have to work in factories like the Bobbin Girls did.”

Story by:

image of Coach Campbell, author

Ned M Campbell is a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army Officer, who also teaches United States history at a public high school in Brooklyn, NY. He is a published writer, and a volunteer contributor to “Can Do” Street blog for kids and parents. In addition, he is the voice of Coach Campbell in the “Can Do” Street program.

Pocket

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The Shake and Smoothie Contest

Sunday, August 6th, 2017

Shake and Smoothie

Members of the “Can Do” Street Chef’s Club held a shake and smoothie contest at the “Can Do” Street Community Center the other day.

Willie, Nellie, Maria, Bobby, and Arthur Jay got to be the judges. Grandma Hattie and Grandma Frances helped the “Can Do” Chefs Club members prepare those ingredients that required cutting up such as fruits and vegetables for each shake and smoothie.

It was a tough job…choosing a winner. Each of the judges had to drink a quarter of a cup of each shake or smoothie and there were 6 of them!

 The winner…Out Of This Whirled Shake

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2

Cups of Fruits and Vegetables per Serving: .5

Ingredients:

½ medium banana, peeled and sliced
1 cup unsweetened frozen berries:
(strawberries, blueberries, and/or blackberries)
½ cup low fat (1%) milk or soft tofu
½ cup 100% orange juice

Place all ingredients in a blender container. Cover tightly. Blend until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add ½ cup cold water and blend again. Pour into 2 glasses and serve.

Delicious!

Shake and Smoothie information:

Each serving provides: An excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of folate and potassium.

Credit: Recipe courtesy of Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH). This recipe meets PBH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nutrition standards that maintain fruits and vegetables as healthy foods.

Nutritional Information per Serving
Calories: 106 Carbohydrates: 23g
Total Fat: 0.9g Cholesterol: 3mg
Saturated Fat: 0.4g Dietary Fiber: 2g
% of Calories from Fat: 7% Sodium: 30mg
Protein: 3g
Pocket

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Annie Tunes Out Teasing

Thursday, June 8th, 2017

teasing Nellie stopped crying long enough to say, “Some girls were teasing me in the play area behind the center. They called me names and made fun of the way I dress and wear my hair.”

Annie said, “Tell me who they are. I’ll go talk to them and they’ll be sorry they teased you.”

Miss Sue shook her head, saying, “Annie, it is nice of you to want to stick up for your friend, but Nellie has to learn how to handle it when others start teasing her.” Nellie nodded her head in agreement.

“Well,” said Miss Sue,”There is good teasing that your family and friends do just for fun. You probably do it too. Then there is the kind of teasing that hurts, that’s mean and makes you feel bad. That’s the kind of teasing you have to learn how to handle. Here are some ways you can do that:

  • Remember that words cannot hurt you unless you let them.
  • Don’t stand around and let other kids tease or make fun of you; walk away.
  • If you can’t walk away, pretend you aren’t listening to what they say.
  • Don’t let them see that they are hurting your feelings or upsetting you. That is what they want.

Then Annie said, “Let me tell you what I do. This works every time.

You know that I like to shoot hoops whenever I can. Sometimes kids will come along and start making fun of my hearing aid. They’ll say, “Do you know you got a wire sticking out of your ear? Bet if you took that out of your ear you couldn’t play.”

I just stop, walk over to them and say, “This is my hearing aid. It helps me hear what I want to hear and I don’t want to hear what you have to say. With that I turn down my hearing aid, give the teasers a big smile and go back to shooting hoops.

The teasers don’t know what to do. All of a sudden I can’t hear the stupid things they are saying and teasing me just isn’t any fun anymore. “

Nellie and Miss Sue looked impressed. Nellie said, “What a cool idea!” She thought for a minute, then said, “But that won’t work for me; I don’t wear a hearing aid.”

Miss Sue smiled and said,”Annie’s point is …you don’t have to listen. You don’t have to let teasers hurt you. You can ignore them. They are just being mean and acting stupid. Why pay attention to kids who are being mean and stupid?

Boys and girls at home….What do you do when someone is teasing you in ways that are mean? What can you do?

Pocket

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Riddle, Riddle, Who Has a Good Riddle?

Thursday, February 16th, 2017

riddleIt was riddle contest day at “Can Do” Street school. The “Can Do” Kids were bursting with riddles to share with each other.

Miss Pat called the class to order and announced that the riddle contest would we held right after lunch. The”Can Dos” could hardly wait!

Wendy was the first to say a riddle: I keep things safe. I have a hole in my middle. A key will open me. What am I?

Then Bobby went: I know the numbers 1 through 12. I have two hands. My hands move all day long. What am I?

It was Orrie’s turn next: My name is the same as what I do. People try to swat me. What am I?

Annie shared a riddle that went like this: I lay around all the time. People step on me, but it doesn’t hurt. Dogs like to sleep on me. What am I?

Hector had a good one too: I’m round. I’m made of metal. I have a picture of George Washington on me. Kids save me in a piggy bank. What am I?

 Nellie shared her riddle: I am made out of wood or plastic. I am straight. Kids use me to measure things. What am I?

Which riddle do you like the best? Which riddle was the hardest? Did yo get all the riddles right?

Pocket

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