Did You Get Your
Geography "Reps" Today?
Today's Snack: Today we're talking
about a special kind of a bee, but
not the kind that buzzes. This bee is a contest - the National Geography Bee.
You've heard of spelling bees and quilting bees - but did you know that in farm
country people used to get together and have husking bees? That's right - to
find out who could strip off the husks of the most corn in the least amount of
time. So for today's snack, let's have a mini-husking bee ourselves! There's
nothing as yummy as a nice, juicy ear of sweet corn. Make two, if you really
want to fill up. Just heat a pan of water so that the corn will float in it
when it boils. Add a tablespoon of milk to help bring the sweetness of the
kernels out. Meanwhile, remove the husk and any strands of silk from the corn.
When the water's at a full boil, drop in the corn for four to five minutes.
Remove with tongs. You can use corn-holders at either end. If you want to keep
things extra-heart healthy, use spray-on margarine rather than gobbing on
butter or margarine, and a salt substitute or "lite" salt instead of the real
thing.
--------------------
National Geographic is far more than a magazine. This
beloved organization is involved in nature and educating the public about it in
many other ways, too: research, exploration, conservation, traveling exhibits
of the countless great photos that have been in the magazine, even a museum in
Washington, D.C., that you can tour.
It has an active education department that, among other
things, puts on the National Geography Bee every year. To help students get
ready, there are books for studying for it. But there's also a website with 10
different questions every day that have been asked in the bees of the past.
Some of them are easy, but some of them are hard. Best of all, it's free!
Every day, get into the habit of testing your geography
smarts by going to this website and taking that day's 10-question quiz. It'll
only take a minute or two, and if you take it with a world map or atlas at your
side, you'll soon be a geography whiz! It's like anything else: if you "work
out" a lot, and practice, and repeat and repeat and repeat - get your "reps" --
you'll get good at it.
www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee
