a's !

i M an d a ap Re to J ip Tr

Ra Solv nd e om So Ri me dd les !

Lea rn Pho all a bo tog rap ut h y!

Hi Everybody!

I'm Carley the I hope you like this issue of Cockatoo. I am hiding the magazine! I think it is one somewhere of the best issues yet! I am in this issue of Circle of happy to announce the start Friends. Can you find me? I will be hidden in all of the of a new series of stories that upcoming issues of Circle of will be published in Circle of Friends as well. Sophia H! is thirteen years Friends! They are about a girl named Mia who finds something that can make her travel old and lives all around the world! She will be travelling to a different with her younger place in every story! These stories are written by Illinca D! brother and She is also the author of !Hamilton and Priscilla! and three younger !Hammy to the Rescue"! stories previously published in sisters in Circle of Friends! as well as several poems" NH! Another thing you might enjoy in this issue is a three To share your page article on photography! from tips on how to shoot! ideas! ask to the differnt things your camera can do! Enjoy this issue! questions or to submit your poem! story! Sophia joke! or to become an illustrator! email her at harnefamilia@ gmail!com

Hi!

With your Mom or Dad's help, bake some goodies and give them to a friend. I'm sure they will be pleased to see what you have made for them!

Want to get a fun prize?

All you have to do is perform 7 or more of the challenges in the 2014 issues, print, and cut out the square on the bottom corner (one per issue) and send the squares along with the form below this issue to the address on the Editor's Note.

These are my cute, fluffy, pink, pigs in a pig pile. Bacon is eight years old and her birthday is on Christmas Day. Her favorite food is corn. Next is Porky who will be seven on May 21st. She likes to eat cabbage. Snouty is the next oldest and her birthday is on March seventh. Being five, Snouty thinks she is important. Carrot peels are her favorite treat. Bandy (Bandanna) just turned five on Christmas day. She loves to devour cucumber peels. Ribs (Riblets) will be four on June 1st and loves to eat corn as a treat. Hoofs is two but will be three on February 1st. Hammy is Hoof's playmate, and they both like carrots. Hammy is one, and her Birthday is September 29th. Perky is the youngest, only 8 months, she'll be one on April 20th. Perky likes sweet potato mush. My Pigs all love each other so much. Their favorite thing to do is to sleep with me. I love my Pigs.

Uh-oh! This story has been all mixed up! See if you can put it all in the right order. (Hint: Look at Jessica's backpack and the chalkboard.)

Recess. Jessica gives her trading cards to a friend.

Jessica is in math class.

3 m 4 t

4 t

5 a w

Jessica is sitting in her classroom, at school, and she has put her backpack in her cubby.

Jessica gets on the school bus, to go to school. She has her red trading cards in her backpack, which she can't wait to give to her friend!

Jessica is on the bus, going home.

Language arts.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease a 9x9inch baking pan. 2. Measure 1 cup sifted flour. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift again. Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Mix well and set aside. 3. Stir the brown sugar into the melted butter and mix well. Cool slightly. 4. Mix the beaten egg and vanilla into the brown sugar mixture. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing just until combined. 5. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips on top. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Photo and Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

Is this square bending? Not really. The circles create the illusion that it is though!

Look at the spotted walls, curving in. Or are they?

Look at the illustration on the right. Now, count the black dots. Can you? Not really. The black dots actually don't exist! Your eyes are just playing tricks on you.

Martha and Amy, Mother called up the stairs. The girls had been in the room they shared, cleaning it. Their mother had been doing some spring cleaning of late and had insisted that the girls thoroughly clean their bedroom. Amy and Martha had been busy all that Saturday morning, until now. Yes? Amy and Martha called back. Martin and Anthony are on the phone. The two girls stampeded down the stairs, both eager to talk to the boys next door. Ill get it! They shouted in unison. The girls looked at each other, then laughed. Please Martha. I never get to answer the phone! Martha thought it over and decided to be nice and give her sister a turn. O.K. She said, then hastily added, But its my turn next time. Amy agreed to this proposal and Mother gave the phone to Amy. Hello, she said using her grown-up voice. Hi, chorused the boys, their voices crackling through the phone speaker. We were wondering if you wanted to play outside in our backyard, Martin said. Yeah! We can play board-walk again, the excited little voice of

Anthony piped up. Board-walk was a simple little game they had invented the week before. They placed two boards in a straight line on the muddy ground and walked on them. Then Martin would pick up the first board and reach over Amy and Anthony to hand it to Martha. Martha would then drop the board on the empty ground in front of her so that it landed with a satisfying splat on the muddy earth. The process would then be repeated. It was an exhilarating game that had ended when Amy got splattered with mud from the splat. No, thank you, I dont think Id like that, Amy said quickly, thinking of the pink floral dress she was wearing. Then she added, Mother said we have to clean our room. What did they say? Martha was eager to know. Just a moment, Amy told the

brothers. What? What did they say, Martha repeated in an irritated voice. They wanted to know if we could play in their backyard, but I told them we had to clean our room. Mother, who had been listening to their conversation and understood that Amy disliked board-walk, suggested asking if the boys would like to come over after the girls had finished cleaning. Amy nodded and spoke into the phone again. Mother says you may come over when we finish cleaning, if you want. Oh. When will you be done? Anthony asked. Probably after lunch. There was a whispered conference on the other end of the line. Amy could only detect part of what they were saying. It sounded a bit like this, maybe we

could.no! But...oh come on fine..O.K. Hi. Are you still there? Martin asked. Yes Anthony and I thought we could help you clean your room, came Martins unexpected suggestion. Mom, can Martin and Anthony help clean our room? Amy asked. Of course, Mother answered. The boys had heard their mothers answer and left the phone.Mother said you may, Amy said. No answer. Hello? Nothing. Amy was about to redial when the doorbell rang. It was the boys. Amy was eager to show them their partly cleaned room, so the boys barely had their jackets off before they were dragged into the girls bedroom. You call this messy? Martin and Anthony gazed about the spotless room. We finished most of it, explained Martha. All thats left is cleaning out our toy chest. The girls toy chest was a reddish brown for color and was made of real wood. It greatly resembled a pirates treasure chest. The children had always found it fun to pretend they had found a real treasure chest and open it to find all

treasure chest and open it to find all their precious toys inside. That should be fairly easy, Anthony said, relieved. The sisters exchanged glances. Each girl was thinking in their head, not really. The reason they had a spotless room was because they had stuffed all their toys inside the chest. We better get started, Martha decided. Amy lifted the lid. She looked up just in time to see the brothers reaction. Both were startled and stood gaping. Anthony recovered first. Lets start, he said. Good idea, his brother agreed. The children knelt around the mixed up pile of toys. There were dolls, doll clothes, horse figurines, windup toys, dress ups, story books, crayons, coloring books, dried up markers, random pieces of scribbled-on papers, and stuffed animals galore. All

were common little girls toys. The four children attacked the pile. Broken crayons and dried-up markers were thrown away and books put on the shelf. The dolls were tenderly put in their cradle and the stuffed animals were ordered to guard Amys bed. Finally, they reached the very bottom of the toy chest. Amanda! Amy gleefully shouted as she rescued the doll from her wooden prison. Ive looked everywhere for you! She hugged the doll tighter. I remember that doll, Martha said, wasnt she the one who would sing rock-a-bye-baby? Mmm, answered Amy, who was still hugging her doll. Anthony felt a bit left out because he didnt play with dolls. He soon became interested when he learned that the doll could talk. Oh! Can you make it sing? Does it still talk? He asked. I dont know. Lets see. Amy was about to make Amanda sing when her mother called up the stairs. Amy, Martha, boys, do you want to have lunch? Sure! they called back. We should probably call our mom and let her know well be eating lunch here, Martin said.

Can I call Mom? Anthony asked. Sure, Martin agreed. Amy handed her baby doll to Martha and asked, Can I ask mother if we can have pizza bagels? Okay, Martha answered readily. Pizza bagels were the girls favorite lunch. Anthony and Amy clomped down the stairs. When they were on the last step Amy called up,If mom says we can have pizza bagels, were going to help make the pizzas. Thats fine, called Martha. Martha was still holding the doll that Amy had handed to her. I wonder if it works, Martha said aloud. Lets see, Martin took the doll and looked for a button. He couldnt find one. I think you press on the tummy, said Martha. Martin squeezed the dolls tummy and nothing happened. Maybe I was wrong. The button is probably on one of her hands, figured Martha. We can try it, replied Martin. Martin pinched Amandas left hand while Martha tried her right. No sound came from the dolls voice box. Feeling desperate, Martin tried pressing her feet. Of course, that didnt work either. She might be out of batteries,

speculated Martha. Martin handed the doll to Martha who undid the velcro on the dolls back and took out the voice box. Two triple As, read Martin as he unscrewed the lid with the screwdriver Martha gave him. Ill get the batteries, said Martha. They put the batteries in and screwed the lid back on and did the velcro . Martha squeezed the tummy and the hands, and Martin pinched the feet again, but nothing worked. They were exasperated with the doll, which they figured was truly broken. They were relieved when Marthas mother called them downstairs for lunch. Martha brought down the doll. Both werent looking forward to telling Amy that her doll wouldnt work anymore. The defeated friends walked down the stairs and entered the Browns pleasant kitchen. The walls were painted yellow, and with

all the sun shining in from outside the room looked beautiful. Amanda. You brought her down, said Amy happily. Martha was about to explain that she was truly sorry and that Amanda didnt work anymore, but before she could begin Amy took the doll. Amy hugged the doll briefly. Now I can show you how she sings, Amy said to Anthony. Martin and Martha felt terrible. Amy turned over the doll and undid the velcro. She flipped a little switch on the voice box. Amy then pressed the dolls tummy. The doll sang the familiar lullaby, Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top. When the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all. Martin and Martha stood gaping. Then there was an explosion of laughter. Martha explained that they had tried every way to make the doll work except the switch, and it struck her so hilarious that they hadnt thought of it before. Finally, they stopped laughing so they could eat lunch. Pizza was the perfect meal to end an adventure, even if the adventure was only in their toy box.

GROUND HOG

All About February February is the 2nd month of the year. It's name comes from the Latin word Februa. There are 28 days in February, and during a leap year there are 29 days. Therefore February is the shortest month in the year. Each month has a special flower. February's flowers are the primrose and the violet. Like every month, February has special dates and holidays: February 2nd is Groundhog day. February 12th is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. And on February 14th is Valentine's Day Last of all every month has a birthstone. February's birthstone is an: AMETHYST

AMETHYST

Photos By Gabby B. Age 9

Photos By Meg H. Age 12

By Levi M. Age 4

By Dannielle M. Age 6

By Amy N. Age 15 Slowly, without pause or break, The darkness creeps on As even a change as God can make.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ-

What do you think Molly's chicken is doing?

Giraffe, Lion, Zebra, Elephant, and Parrot are all at a birthday party. They are 6,7,8, 8 and a half, and 9. By using the clues below, can you tell all the animals' ages and whose birthday it is? The animal whose name starts with a vowel is not the oldest. Zebra is 7. The animal who has four letters in his name is having a birthday. Parrot is older than Zebra. Lion is younger than Parrot. The animal who is 7 is not having a birthday. Giraffe is not the youngest, and is not 8. The animal who is the second oldest is not having a birthday. Whose birthday is it, and how old are the animals?

Giraffe 9, Parrot 8 1/2, Lion is 8, Zebra 7, Elephant 6, LIon is the birthday boy.

Mia stared gloomily out of the car window at the shady trees, elegant gardens, and brick houses. She had been sitting in the car for three hours now, and half of her could not wait to finally get to the destination. The other half wished she could stay in her parents van forever. Mia, her mom and her dad were moving from their cozy, small farmhouse to a mansion her mother had inherited from Mia's great-grandmother. Mia already missed her old home terribly. "How much longer until we get there?" she asked her dad for the hundredth time. "Five minutes, Mia. Hmmmlets see 152 Maple Street" In no time, they found their new house. It was a beautiful pink brick mansion very different from the farmhouse they used to live in. Inside it was fit for a king, with a tall spiral staircase and golden chandeliers. "Which room is mine?" she inquired. "Why don't you pick the room that suits you best?" her parents suggested. There were about ten rooms upstairs. After viewing each one, Mia

picked a small room with aquamarine walls, a window seat and a pink flowered carpet. She entered the spacious closet and studied it carefully. It was rather ordinary, except for a little trap door in the wall big enough for her to crawl through. It was beautifully carved and painted. Mia reached towards it. "Mia, have you decided yet?" This was her mother. "Hmmyes!" "Well, then come and get your suitcase. We need to clear the area around the front door. The furniture truck will soon arrive." "Coming!" Mia yelled. She gazed at the small door longingly; she yearned to discover what was behind it.

"Mia" called her father warningly. She took off down the stairs. That evening, well after the moving truck had gone, leaving their mansion littered with bikes, furniture, and more boxes, Mia crept up to the room. (Her father had moved her bed into it as well as her nightstand.) She went straight to the closet and knelt down to inspect the trap door. She glanced at her watch - it was 7:30pm took a deep breath, and opened the tiny door. In front of her was a little room about as big as a restroom. The walls and even the floor were made of metal, and her flipflops made a clanking sound when she walked. She could see her reflection all around her. She had long, red hair, brown eyes, and freckles that dotted her upper cheeks and nose, giving her an adventurous expression. There were countless buttons covering the walls around her. All of them had the name of a country skillfully printed on them. "These buttons are so strange! All of this is so strange, yet intriguing. I have to get out of here!" she thought. Mia wildly looked around for the door that led to her closet. It wasn't there anymore. Dazed, Mia spun around and pushed a button labeled "JAPAN". She immediately wished she hadn't. The floor started shaking, and she heard faint oriental music. She was knocked to the ground. Colors of all

shades whizzed around her. Mia shut her eyes tight with fear. Then the shaking, the music and the colors stopped abruptly. When Mia opened her eyes, she wasn't in the room behind her trap door any more; she was lying on a dirt road with people swarming around her. And they were all Asian-looking. "Where am I?" she asked herself. Then she remembered the key information: when she was in that metallic room, she had pushed a button, which had a label on it. "Oh no, oh no!" she cried. Mia was in JAPAN."What do I do? Where is the trap door? How do I get back to the mansion? Questions whirled around in Mia's head like descending autumn leaves. She took a deep breath. "Slow down", she thought. Mia stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off her shorts. She made her way to the sidewalk and paused to take in her surroundings. She was on a narrow road, crowded with people, all talking Japanese. It was lined with shops of all kinds. "Nanami Kissaten was the sign on one. Mia peered through the

window. "It looks like a coffee shop to me, she thought. She wandered around. It seemed as if a festival was taking place since people were beating drums and chanting. The smell of chocolate, cotton-candy, and fried noodles drifted through the air, tickling Mia's nose. She walked until she reached a wider street. Stalls full of sweet treats and wooden robots and dolls caught her eye. Mia marveled at the pink cherry blossoms that drifted through the air like colored snow. "I wish I could live here forever", she happily thought, momentarily forgetting her troubles. She danced towards a cherry blossom tree and sniffed a cluster of petals. "Mmmm!" "They smell wonderful, don't they?" said a peaceful voice. Startled, Mia spun around to see a girl around her own age in a lilac kimono with pink and yellow flowers embroidered on it. Her silky black hair was smoothed into a bun with Kanzashi (Japanese hair ornaments) protruding from its side. "I am Misaki. Did I scare you?" she asked. "Aa little. My name is Mia." "Welcome to Japan! Is it your first time here?" Misaki greeted Mia."Yes, it is. Thanks." "Oooohhh. I can show you around Takayama! You chose to visit our village on the most perfect day: the summer festival," Misaki exclaimed

cheerfully. She took hold of Mia's hand and led her through the throng of people towards the coffee shop Mia had spotted earlier. "What does Nanami Kissaten mean?" she wondered aloud. Misaki eagerly explained, "It means the Seven Seas Coffee Shop. My parents own it." She led Mia into the shop. It had cases full of refreshments such as sponge cake and mochi, and it smelled of fragrant green tea. "Konichiwa!" Misaki bowed. She sat down on the window seat and gestured for Mia to do the same. "So, where do you want to go first? Shall we stop by some roten or get a kaki gori here? We could also visit the sword museum on Natsuki Street." Noticing Mia's blank countenance, Misaki told her the meaning of the Japanese words she had used. "Roten means street stall, and kaki gori means shaved ice, which is really good!". Mia opted for street stalls and the girls took off. "This is my favorite stall in the whole village!" Misaki pointed to a metal tray about five feet long and two feet wide. It was positioned on a table and filled with water. Fish of all colors were swimming around in the water and children crowded around the stall using flimsy paper containers to try to scoop up a fish. "It looks fun! May we try?" Mia asked. Misaki talked to the owner of the stall and handed him five coins. "Give it a try, Mia!"

Mia picked up a paper bowl and dipped it in the water, aiming at a purple fish. No luck. She tried again and again, determined to get any fish. The man at the stall told Misaki something in Japanese. "Mia, you have one more chance. You can only try five times," Misaki translated. Mia took a deep breath and successfully scooped out not one fish, but two!" "May I keep them both?" she inquired hopefully. Misaki repeated the question to the stall keeper, who smiled and nodded. He filled a sturdy plastic container with fresh water and carefully placed Mia's fish in it. After screwing the lid on, he told the girls where to buy fish food. Mia studied her new pets. One of the fish was a typical gold fish and the other was an aquamarine beta. "I will call them Cherry and Blossom," she gleefully announced to Misaki. And so it was. After splurging at the stalls, Misaki treated Mia to a shaved ice. The sound of drums caught the girls' attention

and they pushed their way to the front of the crowd to see a portable shrine being paraded around by children their age. "It's children's Mikoshi. Kids carry shrines displaying dolls made by themselves in school. Look, I made that doll, the second on the left." Misaki proudly pointed to a doll with an intricate kimono made of flowered origami paper. It looked exquisite and distinguished itself through its delicate features and sweet expression. Mia checked if her fish container was still in the spacious pocket of the bag Misaki had bought for her. It was there. The girls walked on, enjoying their kaki gori. "Look at that dear baby. Do you know her?" Mia asked Misaki. "Oh, her name is Takara. She lives on my block." They watched as the mother walked behind Takara, holding both her hands. The baby was grinning from ear to ear and running as fast as her short fat legs would carry her towards the Mikoshi shrine. Mia and Misaki giggled as they watched Takara pull her two hands out of her mother's protective grasp. She started for the shrine. "Takara, Takara!" they heard her mom calling. "A festival crowd is no safe place for a baby," Mia pointed out. They started pushing toward the shrine, but it was

slow going. The swarm of people was definitely not in a hurry. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. "Earthquake!" Misaki shouted. "Stay away from buildings, they could collapse." "Takara is all alone. Misaki, we need to do something. She was next to the shrine and the store." "Oh, no!" the girls cried. They pushed their way through the throng of people, yet again, but this time for an important reason. The children carrying the shrine were shrieking and letting go. The building next to Takara was beginning to crumble. Mia cried out in dismay. Unfortunately, the shrine landed on the building next to the baby, causing it to cave in. It was very difficult to run with the ground trembling beneath their feet, but finally the friends reached the building next to Takara. Mia dodged the pieces of falling debris to get to the sweet baby who was crying hard because a brick was on top of her tiny hand. She gently freed Takara and hoisted her onto her hip. Meanwhile, Misaki was frantically trying to hold the shrine from falling down on her friends. When Mia and Takara eventually came out from under the debris and the collapsing shrine, Misaki was panting, exhausted from supporting the structure. "Misaki, you did great!" Mia encouraged breathlessly as Misaki steadied herself."Takara, you were so brave!" the girls soothed the crying baby. "Do you

want to go find Mommy?" As Mia and Misaki were searching the frightened crowd for Takara's parents, the earthquake stopped as abruptly as it had started. People were running around chaotically, looking for a loved one or helping the ones in need. Takara's face suddenly lit up with happiness. "Ahhh, ahhh!" her voice sounded in a mixture of laughing and crying as she pointed to her mom and dad. "We found them!" Misaki exclaimed. "Takara! You found her! Thank you so much, girls!" The young girl's parents were delighted and relieved. The mother reached into a shopping bag by her feet and pulled out two identical cherry blossom hairpieces. She handed them to the girls. "We are very grateful!" "Thank you!" the girls cried in unison. "We'll keep them forever!" Mia looked around her happily. "Wait a minute She hadn't noticed before that the door of the Nanami Kisaten looked just like the trap door in her closet. "I really need to go now", she told Takara, her parents and Misaki. "Thank you for everything!" "Will I ever see you again?" Misaki asked urgently. "I am not sure, I live in America and I think I am going home again today. But we can be pen pals." Mia wrote her address down on a slip of paper Takara's mom provided and handed it to Misaki. "Good bye!" "Bye, bye!" "Will you write the first letter?"

"Yes! Will you write every week?" "I promise! Bye!" Misaki melted away in the crowd. Mia opened the door that resembled the trap door in her closet. She was now in the elevator-like room, with the labeled buttons. "Wow!" she breathed. Mia reached forward and pressed the button that said "HOME." Again, she heard Asian music, again colors whizzed around her and the floor started vibrating. Mia shut her eyes tight. Thirty seconds later she was sitting on the bed in her new room, clutching the bag Misaki had given her and the hair piece. SHE WAS HOME.

"Home sweet home!" Mia's muscles were shaking with exhaustion from her adventuresome trip to Japan. She was yearning to crawl under the paisley print comforter on her bed. "First things first, though," she told herself, and she started making her room cozy. She took a fresh pair of fuzzy pajamas from her packed suitcase and laid them on her comforter. Then she gently placed her precious hairpiece on her nightstand. Looking around, she detected a nail on the wall opposite to her bed and she hung up the beautiful bag from Misaki. "Ahhh, looks much homier!" she sighed with satisfaction. "Wait" Mia dug her hand into her purse and found her fish container. "Hey guys! I had almost forgotten about you!" She tiptoed softly down the stairs for a suitable container and found a spacious one that would make a perfect fishbowl for Cherry and Blossom. After filling it with fresh water and transferring the fish into it, she placed the bowl in front of the hairpiece on her nightstand. It was time to go to sleep. "Good night, Misakisleep well, Takara..." she whispered before swiftly gliding into dreamland.

A few minutes later, Mia's mother entered her room to say goodnight. Mia seemed to be fast asleep. "It's a very girlish, pretty room," her mom noticed, slowly turning around and investigating contentedly. Her eyes landed on Mia's fish bowl. "Hmm, how could that be?" She pinched herself to make sure that her exhausted mind wasnt playing tricks on her. The fish bowl was still there. "Mia, where in the world did you get the fish from?" she gently shook Mia awake. "From Japan," her daughter groggily replied before sinking back into her dream world. "Ohkids. But I do wonderhmmm Goodnight, darling," she mused, kissing her daughter's forehead. "Nighty-night, Mom," muttered Mia.

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Banana Pear Grapefruit Orange Apple Kiwi Dragonfruit Cherry Blueberry Strawberry

Name: Raphael B. Age: Eight years old Favorite food: French toast Favorite animal: Leopard What do you want to be when you grow up: Football star What do you like to do for fun: Football Favorite thing about school: Nature journalism Least favorite thing about school: Math

Have you ever looked a a beautiful photo and thought, "I could never have taken that"? Well, here are some tips to help your photography skills improve.

The rule of thirds.

This rule divides the photo into 3 parts, for an off centered look. As you can see with the photo below, I have divided it up into three parts. By putting the subject of my photo off center, it often gives the photo a better feel. Look on the bottom of this page. I have the photo that follows the rule of thirds, as well as the photo to is centered. Which do you like better? I prefer the one on the left.

Thanks to my Aunt Lori, for being the subject of this photo!

Different Colors.
Check your camera and see if you can find out how to use the color settings. Then, go shoot some photos! There's Black and White, Sepia, and my camera has vivid, which makes the colors all be brighter. Try out all different settings! For example, it may seem like black and white is boring, but sometimes it's the key element you need to make a photo picture perfect. For example, do you think the photo to the right would be as pretty if it was in color?

Slow shutter speed

If you know how to change your camera's shutter speed (you'll have to put your camera on a setting other than auto, I'll talk about this more on the next page), then change it to be really slow, like 5 seconds, or 1/5 of a second. Here was a result of one of my very slow pictures: I told my brother to stay in a squatting position, and then after a few seconds had him jump up. Because the shutter speed was so slow, the camera recorded him in the squatting position, his movement upward, and his final position.

Try new angles

Try looking at things in a different way then normal. You can also angle your camera in a differnet way, for VERY different results! So, taking a picture of a tree might not seem very interesting. What if your picture of a tree looked like this? I took that photo by putting the bottom of my camera on the trunk of the tree, and pointing my camera upwards.

Macro
Check and see if your camera has a macro setting. Most cameras do, and it usually looks like a little flower. Macro means that you can take pictures of things close up. Trying putting your camera on macro, and the go out and takes some pictures of little things! Flowers, bugs, beads, hairties, art supplies, whatever you like.

Different types of cameras

There are two main different types of cameras, the compact camera, and the DSLR. DSLR stands for digital single lens reflex camera. It's most likely that you have a compact camera. DSLRs are pretty expensive, and they're made so that you can adjust all the settings exactly the way you'd like Compact Camera them, and you can attach lenses and a flash. Professional photographers use DSLRS. The rest of this page is telling about settings you might have on your camera, and how to use them. You may not DSLR be able to change these on your camera, but chances are, you might! Be sure to put your camera on a setting other than auto if you want to change the settings. If you want to be able to change all the settings at the same time, and be in complete control of your camera, put it on "M" for manual.

Shutter speed
Okay, so imagine this. You have a big doorway. You can close the door in 1/5th of a second. You can also close that door in 1/30th of a second. You want to get out of the room as quickly as possible. The problem is, that you want to let some light in, and the faster you close the door, the less light it lets in. So, you figure out that you can close the door at 1/15th of a second! This lets just enough light in, and you can get out quickly. The lens of your camera is like the doorway. You can make the door close faster and faster, but the faster it goes, the less light it lets in. So, if your sister was running around the room, and the lighting wasn't very good, to make it light enough you would have to make your shutter speed slower, but the picture might become blurry because she's moving so much, and the door doesn't close fast enough.

I took this photo of muyy brother playing soccer with a high shutter speed.

ISO
ISO is kind of complicated, but for now, all you need to think of it as is something to help make your picture brighter or darker. Beware though, if you make your ISO too high, it will look like there are these little rainbow dots everywhere in the picture!

Aperture.
You know how we talked about the doorway and the door in shutterspeed? Well, the shutter is the door, (if you look into the lens of your camera and take a picture, you'll be able to see the shutter close!) and the aperture is the doorway. To take the best picture, have a lower Aperture and high shutter speed, because the lower the smaller the doorway, and the higher the shutterspeed the faster the door shuts.

For this contest, you need to take a picture of something that looks like a letter. An example of the letter L is on the left.
Go outside, walk around the house, take pictures in the car, wherever you'd like! If you see something that catches your eye, take a picture of it. Does the way those pencils are scattered on the desk look like an R? Does that half-eaten donut look like a C? You can't take a picture of a letter that's on a book cover, or something like that, it has to be something that isn't meant to be a letter, but is shaped like one. Send it. Mail your photograph to: Circle of Friends P.O. Box 210 Warner NH 03278. OR Email it. Email your photo to me at: [email protected] One entry per person. I need your entry by March 28! PRIZES!: There are three age categories: 5-8, 9-12, 13+. There will be one grand prize winner and two runners up in each category. The grand prize winners will get a king sized candy bar, and the runners up will get a smaller candy bar.
This blurred light picture looks like an L!

I can't wait to see your Letter Photo!!

Here are the Winners from last month's drawing contest:

Grand Prize: Adam N. Age 6

Winner: Elliana. Age 6

Winter never completely sets in 'Til New Year's comes around Everyone's face sports a grin As they skate around the sound. Two feet of frozen, new-fallen snow Adorns the silent earth Inside people rush to and fro Filled with laughter, joy and mirth. What fun it is to make snowmen With funny carrot noses They're scattered through the snowy glen Sprawling in crooked poses.