Cooperative Living April 2024 - 28

KIDS KORNER
HERE COMES THE
Have you ever noticed how much
you miss the sun on cloudy days?
story and artwork by Anne M. Dellinger, Contributing Columnist
M
ost people do not really give a lot of thought
to the sun until the sun isn't sunny.
All it takes are a few
cheerless days of overcast
weather to remind us of how much we
love and depend on that brilliant fireball
in the sky.
The sun is super important in the
grand scheme of things. Without it,
life on Earth would not exist for two
main reasons.
First, the sun is the source of all
the heat and light needed for plants
and animals to live and grow.
If there is no sun, there is no
food. Now that is a dismal thought!
Secondly, the sun keeps our solar system running
smoothly with its enormous gravity grip.
As the largest object and only
star of our system, it holds the
planets, asteroids, meteors, and
even cosmic dust together in
its orbit. Otherwise, all the
celestial objects, including Earth,
would spin off into deep space.
The hard fact is, without the sun
our Earth would be a drastically different place.
We earthlings would be cold and hungry, while
drifting and bumping around in a dark universe.
Wow! Maybe it is time to thank our favorite star
for keeping our home planet safe and secure.
Even though our sun is considered an average star
by astronomers, it still has many dazzling features
worth noting.
The sun is:
* a huge steamy ball of hydrogen and helium gases
measuring 865,370 miles in diameter.
26 ● Cooperative Living ●
April 2024
* large enough to fit a million Earths inside.
* over 93 million miles away and its light takes
8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth.
* blistering hot at 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit
on the surface.
The sun is quite old, but there are many more sunrises
and sunsets left in this star's life. It is in the middle of
its lifecycle called a yellow dwarf. In the next 5-6 billion
years, it will go through a big red giant star stage and
then eventually shrink down to a white dwarf star.
That will be the end of " fun in the sun " days, but
no need to fret ... we are still billions of years away from
that day!
In the meantime, why not celebrate our fiery globe
by completing a sun art project for your room.
CAPTURE THE RAYS
Grab a bit of the sun's radiance by making
a suncatcher.
All you need is either contact paper or selfseal
laminating sheets, flowers and leaves.
Place the flowers and leaves on a paper
towel and press under some heavy books for
a few days. Arrange the dried flower parts on
the sticky side of a sheet of the paper you have
chosen. Cover with another sheet, sticky sides
together. Smooth out air bubbles, cut into desired
shapes and add a hook. Hang in a sunny window to
" catch " and scatter the sun entering the room. Enjoy!
co-opliving.com
Suncatchers
KIDS! CLIP AND KEEP YOUR KIDS KORNER COLUMNS IN A THREE-RING BINDER AND YOU'LL HAVE A NOTEBOOK CHOCK FULL OF FUN IDEAS AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE FUTURE!

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Cooperative Living April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living April 2024