Jump! Mag

Art & History

Historical Fiction for Kids – A Book Review

What better way to #jumpintohistory, than to immerse yourself in historical fiction for kids… but where to start?

With so many great titles to chose from, you might find it difficult to plump for one of them. Louise is a life-long bookworm, and lover of historical fiction, and has some great tips.

I have always loved reading fiction books about history, especially books about girls.

I grew up reading fiction books about the lives of girls: Johanna Spyri’s Heidi, L.M Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did series. I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods series, which is the story of Laura’s life growing in 19^th century America. I always wanted to be Laura and have adventures living in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods, although I am still not very keen about the lack of indoor plumbing.

Language & Literature

A Short Story – The White Dove

Dad walks over to me. He’s carrying several slices of bread.

‘Hi, Grace.’

‘Hi,’ I say, giving him a look which I hope he understands means, I am so not impressed with this new pre-birthday arrangement.

Dad doesn’t seem to have noticed my look. I wonder what he’s doing with the bread.

‘For the ducks,’ he says when he catches me staring at it.

I nod and decide not to mention that I am no longer five years old and that feeding the ducks in the park doesn’t exactly excite me anymore.

‘Right,’ I say, as we head over to the pond.

‘So, Grace, how have you been?’

We sit down on the bench next to the willow tree.

School & Career, Science, Nature and Tech

What is the Point in Learning Chemistry?

Have you ever sat in a Maths class wondering why you will ever need to be able to do long division without a calculator? Or silently cursed your Geography teacher while learning about the formation of oxbow lakes? And History?

That’s all in the past and irrelevant, isn’t it? In this series of articles we will look at some of the subjects we learn at school, and try and answer the question: What’s the point in learning… Chemistry?

Toys and Games

A Fun Rainy Day Activity – A Schnitzeljagd

What on earth is a Schnitzeljagd?’ I hear you say.

A Schnitzel is a German word for a thinly sliced piece of pork, chicken or veal, which is dipped in egg and then coated with breadcrumbs. Similar to chicken nuggets but much tastier! Jagd means hunt.

A Schnitzeljagd means a chicken-nugget-hunt? Not quite! The word Schnitzel is also used in Papierschnitzel – little bits of paper.

Science, Nature and Tech

Charity Shop Shopping = Chopping

Do you want to save money and still look good? Do you want to be original but not so weird-looking people scatter when you approach?

We’ve already looked at the trend towards vintage clothes but how do you make sure you’re more chic than geek? Here’s my take on successful charity shop hopping. Perhaps you have some more you could add?