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Not Just for Kids
by Zoe Black
In April, my mom asked me, Zoe Black, if I’d like to do a writing assignment at her work, Bay Weekly. It had to do with a letter they’d received a few days earlier.
I took the letter, and I felt excited reading it because Quinn Allen from Bridgton, Maine asked that I tell him about the state of Maryland for his fourth grade project.
As a fellow fourth-grader, I decided to help Quinn out. First, I logged on to the Internet and went to a site where my teacher said I could read about Maryland state facts.
I found out that Maryland has more state symbols than I thought possible. I told Quinn about some of them:
| Flower |
Black-Eyed Susan |
| Drink |
Milk |
| Sport |
Jousting |
| Tree |
White Oak |
| Bird |
Baltimore Oriole |
| Boat |
Skipjack |
| Crustacean |
Blue Crab |
| Dog |
Chesapeake Bay Retriever |
| Cat |
Calico |
| Insect |
Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly |
| Reptile |
Diamond Back Terrapin (which is also the University of Maryland’s mascot) |
| Dinosaur: |
Astrodon Johnstoni |
| Fish |
Striped Bass (known in Maryland as Rockfish) |
The same Internet site also told me about famous Marylanders. I passed some of these people’s stories on to Quinn.
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| Kevin Clash and Elmo |
Kevin Clash, the creator and voice of Elmo, was born in Baltimore City on September 16, 1963 and won an Emmy for his performance as Elmo on the TV show Sesame Street.
Cal Ripken Jr. — who played shortstop and third base for the Baltimore Orioles — has played the most games in a row of any Major League player. Ripken, with 2,216 consecutive games, played in 86 more consecutive games than Lou Gehrig, who held the former record with 2,130 games.
Harriet Tubman, who was born into slavery in 1819, freed herself in 1849 when she escaped to Canada. She returned to Maryland to help free over 300 slaves by taking the Underground Railroad, the secret freedom path that many slaves took to Canada.
After gathering all of this information, my mom and I went to Annapolis, our state’s capital, to search for images of Maryland so Quinn could see what our state looks like. We bought postcards of Ocean City, Assateague Island, Annapolis, the State House, the Naval Academy and midshipmen, Baltimore City, Camden Yards baseball stadium and a crab-cake recipe.
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| Zoe sorts through the Maryland paraphenalia she collected. |
To our box of Maryland goodies for Quinn, we also added a copy of Bay Weekly, a deck of Maryland state cards, a crab toy, bubble gum shaped like crab eggs, a Maryland flag and some books about watermen and Annapolis.
Just as our Maryland box began to overflow, all that I had left to include was a note for Quinn. I told him that I had fun putting everything together, wished him luck on his project and that I hoped he would write back telling me about Maine.
By the end of my Maryland info-hunting expedition, not only did I learn some interesting tidbits about my home state, I also found out that writing a letter to Quinn — who I’ve never met — is just like writing to one of my friends.
I return, daily, to my mailbox hoping to find Quinn’s reply. Maybe it will get here someday, but for now, I’ll go to the Internet to learn about Maine.
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Kids’ Stuff This Week
Monday, September 8
Clay School
Kids seven and up pinch, coil and slab clay to make cats or dogs. The Build-A-Pet workshop is two days, today and after one week for underglazing. Make appointment to return during normal business hours: 11am-8pm Tu-Sa; noon-5pm Su. 2-4pm workshop @ Paint’N Pottery, 5 Oxford Way, Huntingtown. $25; rsvp: 301/855-8000.
Tuesday, September 9
Caterpillar
Kids ages 2-3 learn about caterpillars from puppets. Children listen to a story and a song, and make a crawly craft to keep. 10-10:30am @ Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, Gray’s Rd. off Sixes Rd., Prince Frederick. $1 w/member discount; rsvp: 410/535-5327.
Wednesday, Sept. 10
Storytime
Kids ages 2-6 listen to stories and make crafts to take home. 9:30 and 10:30am @ Broadneck Public Library, 1275 Green Holly Dr., Broadneck. free: 410/222-1905.
Worth the Trip
Emperor’s New Clothes
Sept. 11–Kids of all ages see the Emperor in all his glory in this comedic adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson original tale. 10am-noon @ Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly. $7: 301/277-1710.
Plan Ahead
I Scream, You Scream for Ice Cream
Deadline: Sept. 12–Kids ages 5-10 sign up now to celebrate ice cream cone’s 100th birthday. Make a cone craft to keep and eat. Ice cream party Sept. 19. @ Southern Community Center, Appeal Ln. (off Rt. 765), Lusby. $3; rsvp: 410/586-1101.
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