Jump! Mag

Written By You

Connection Infection – Poetry by Kids

News scrolling on a bright screen

Eyes scanning down a magazine

Locked up in a daydream

Obsessed by the latest Instagram post I’ve seen

I’m infected with a virus

That I can’t get out of my head

It’s got me going crazy

At least; that’s what the comments said

Hairstyles and creations

‘Urgent’ messages from relations

The latest trends and how to cook

Living life by an electronic book

I’m infected with a bug

That’s connected to my hands

That’s left me solitary

Unware of and blind to the past

We used to talk face to face

Of politics, clothes and space

But then you were replaced

By a cruel-minded interface

My alarm’s a notification

I’m dictated by cold metal parts

My day scheduled on reaching the leader boards

The social media bug has infected my heart

Written By You

Alice Gives Advice – Written By You

Alice M is 10 years old, and has some great advice on being a girl

The Joy about being a girl is you get more opportunities because people mostly trust girls better than boys. I know that it majorly sexist but technically that is what happens in life.

We all know that girls have to go through a HARD time when they are older but it is sometimes worth it, GIRLS are the ones that actually produce the baby, GIRLS are the ones who have super fashion sense and are the ones who are unique with any kind of style Goth, jumpy, and get have any personality they want to and we wear make-up to make ourselves look nice, scary, horrible anything you want, we can style hair, have fun and mess around.

Some people don’t like being girls mostly because their scared, I am too, but if you think about it there generally is nothing to be afraid of. You have people all along the way to help you enter adulthood and become bigger and better, people will help you when it is hard and when you need constant monitoring but after all that has passed, I will guarantee that you will have had the time of your LIFE being a girl.

So what I am trying to say is: enjoy being a girl, enjoy having horrid things done to you (I know that sounds backwards but trust me, it I’ll be worth it) because when that is all over you’ll miss it.

Featured Image by D Sharon Pruitt

Science, Nature and Tech

CURIOUS CREATURES 2 – The Stag Beetle

The strangest creatures are, to me,

The ones I love the best.

The creepy, crawly and the odd

Are cooler than the rest…

These magnificent beasties are the armoured vehicles of the insect population and the largest terrestrial-dwelling beetles in the UK. Their common name is a reference – unsurprisingly – to their antler-shaped “mandibles” or jaws, which they use to fight over territory, but not, perhaps surprisingly, to win the respect of female Stag Beetles..!

These Curious Creatures have intrigued me ever since I found an expired female stag beetle (see below ) in a south-west France many years ago. I drew it next to a blackbird’s feather, captivated by the different tones of black, the textural contrasts and inky depths of colour. I found it – and still find them all as a species – fascinating and beautiful, particularly the males, with their extraordinary maroon-red mandibles.

Science, Nature and Tech

Resources to Create Your Own Video Game

Recently our editor Lynn visited Dare To Be Digital, a games fair in Dundee to find out a bit about gaming, and how kids can get involved. This week we will feature tips from successful women in the games industry, and information about where to start looking at a career in games, starting today with a feature on how to create your own video game.

Food and Recipes

What is Spaghetti Ice?

Spaghettieis (as they call it in Germany) belongs to German summers like sunshine and open-air swimming pools! In almost every town in the country, you will find an ice cream parlour that sells this delicacy. But what is Spaghetti Ice?

You may think that combining spaghetti and ice [cream], that it must have been invented in Italy, and you are almost right. It was invented by a man called Dario Fontanella, the son of Italian immigrants in Germany.