Jump! Mag

School & Career

Tips for Moving to a New School

Moving to a new school is always scary, whether you’re moving from primary school to high school or into a new school in a different area. What can you do to make it easier?

My kids are old hands at this because they’ve moved school so often, even going into schools in a new country where they haven’t known the language. We’ve lived in Germany, Switzerland and UK and they’ve been to local schools speaking German, French and English. It wasn’t ever easy but they’ve made great friends who they still keep in touch with now that they’ve moved on.

I asked them for their advice on moving to a new school.

Art & History, Written By You

What is Amigurumi?

When 12-year-old Iona wrote to us, offering to write an article for Jump! Mag about Amigurumi, our first question was, “What is Amigurumi?”. She explained and we jumped (ha!) at the chance of having a talented crochet artist bring some colour and cuteness to Jump! Mag.

Travel

The Best Urban Beaches

Pic Credit

Who else is looking forward to the summer? Whether you call your summer break a ‘vacation’ or a ‘holiday’, there is a good chance that some of you are heading for the beach.

Did you know that around the world there are hundreds of artificial beaches. Some are near the coast, but others are miles away from the seaside – perfect for those who don’t or can’t travel far.

City beaches are sometimes called ‘urban beaches’ like the one above in Cologne, Germany. This can involve the delivery of hundreds of tonnes of sand, to a place where there is no sand.

Islands Brygge, Copenhagen, Denmark

Islands Brygge

There is no sand here, but it is an oasis of fun in the middle of the city. For many years, this area was run down and neglected, but after a regeneration project, new life is blossoming. Who wants to jump off this diving board?

Festival of Love Beach, South Bank, London UK

Festival of Love Beach

This beach is all about relaxing and digging your feet into the sand. No pool (and the chilly Thames is certainly no alternative!) but great views over London, and the South Bank centre often has great activities for kids on offer. Check out their website for details.

Paris Plage, France

The capital city of France can get really hot and muggy in the summer months, so what better way than to cool off at an urban beach? Check out the huge showers in the picture!

Bundek Lake, Zagreb, Croatia

Lake Bundek

In the south of the city of Zagreb, this park was brought back to life after many years of neglect. It is a popular spot for locals and tourists alike, hoping to cool off in the hot Croatian summers.

Baby Plage, Geneva, Switzerland

Baby Plage, Geneva

This might be the MOST fun urban beach for kids in the world. The huge trees are festooned with old tyres and bicycle tubes, knotted together to create ladders and swings.

San Alfonso del Mar, Chile

San Alfonso Del Mar, Chile

Ok, this is a bit of a cheat, cause it isn’t an urban beach, but it is the biggest swimming pool in the world, so we had to include it! It is 8 hectares, and holds 250 million liters of water. That is equivalent of 6,000 familiar 8m long pools! It is part of a privately owned complex in South America.

BONUS BEACHES

Now, don’t tell your parents that we showed you this, and don’t try it out at home, but how awesome does this look? We can’t help thinking that this would be VERY messy, but it looks so relaxing and fun!

The artist Justin Kemp created home sandbox for under his desk.

This was built in Japan in 1993 – an artificial beach with a retractable roof. It was not commercially successful and closed over 10 years ago. Which is a real shame, because it looks really amazing.

Featured Image – Cologne KM689 Beach Bar in Germany

Written By You

I Love You Natty – A Siblings Introduction to Down’s Syndrome

My name is Mia and I’m ten years old.

I’m the first person in my family to write a book. It’s called I Love You Natty and is about my younger sister who has Down’s syndrome. Natty is 7 and there isn’t anything particularly ‘special’ about her, but she does have an extra chromosome in every cell of her body, which looks like a jelly bean.

She needs some extra help sometimes, for example I learnt Makaton to talk with my hands with her. She used to have physio therapy and also had surgery on her heart when she was small. But we all need support sometimes don’t we?

Most of all Natty is just my little sister. I love that when she was small she would force herself to open her eyes to look at me because she recognised my voice. I love Natty and my life wouldn’t be the same without her.

I wrote this book with Mum so that other children could understand what Down’s syndrome means. I did lots of drawings and we chose lots of family photographs to go in the book too.

I hope you enjoy it. Natty does.

You can order I Love You Natty on Amazon or via your local bookstore

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Science, Nature and Tech

Tales From The Farm – Help Name Rosie’s Lambs

Yesterday we heard the sad story of the lamb that did not survive. Rosie’s mum has been in touch to tell us how the other little lambs are doing.

As you can see from the pictures, they are all doing great. It was cold on the farm yesterday, as the family went about their duties, making sure the sheep and lambs were healthy and content.

Rosie’s dad has been ploughing the fields, and getting ready to sew oats and barley. Do you know what they look like?

Oats

Barley

Can you see the difference between the two photos?

There is always work to be done on the Farm, and it is not a 9am to 5pm job. It is a way of life.

Rosie and her family are going to find out whether the lambs are male of female and have asked Jump! readers to help name them. The lambs are named in alphabetical order, so this year their names should start with a “D”.

What do you think? What names do you like?

Leave a comment to suggest a name and Rosie will pick the names she likes best.