Sometimes, there are things that you just can’t do on your own without the help of the people you love. Ask your parents to help you make a difference by implementing some new family policies and practices.   Ask your parents to adjust the thermostat by a few degrees so the furnace or air conditioner doesn’t have to work quite as hard. Explain to your parents that CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) will use 70 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, which will save both energy and money.  Remind your parents to remember their reusable mugs when they grab coffee to go. Most cities and towns have local farmers markets, and going with your friends and family can be a great way to support your local community, teach everyone the importance of shopping locally (so that less greenhouse gases are used transporting food to your table), and find fresh and delicious produce for your meals. Remember to take your reusable shopping bags to the farmers market as well as the grocery store. The packaging used to wrap fruits, vegetables, and premade meals is often plastic, and plastic requires fossil fuels. It might take some getting used to, but it’s possible to leave the grocery store without any excess packaging. Remember, cooking can be time consuming, so offer to help your parents with preparation of meals that use fresh ingredients. This will save them time, help teach you to cook, and encourage your parents to buy fresh more often.   Buy whatever you can in bulk instead of prepackaged portions, such as grains, flours, pastas, and spices. Buy loose produce, such as individual carrots, instead of pre-bagged fruits and vegetables. If animal protein is an important part of your family's diet, you can take an interest in learning more about fishing or hunting small game animals.  Domestic meat and dairy production account for an estimated 18 percent of global emissions, and cutting these items from your diet completely would cut your food-related carbon footprint in half. Encouraging your parents to eat less meat and dairy is an excellent step toward reducing your carbon footprint. A four-person family that forgoes steak one night a week is equivalent to not driving for almost three months.
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One-sentence summary -- Talk to your family about how they can help. Visit the farmers markets. Choose fresh, loose fruits and vegetables. Request that your parents serve more vegetarian or vegan meals.


Gifted children are known to have passionate interests at an early age and are able to concentrate intensely on a single subject. While all children have unique interests, gifted children will be particularly knowledgeable about certain subjects.  Gifted children may want to read informative books about a certain subject. If your child is interested in dolphins, for example, they may frequently check out nonfiction books from the school library about the subject. You may notice your child has a deep knowledge of different types of dolphins, the lifespan of dolphins, their behavior, and other facts about the animal. Your child will genuinely enjoy learning about the subject. While many children develop an interest in, say, a certain animal, a gifted child may get giddy over watching nature documentaries and studying about that animal for a school project. Gifted children will have a unique ability to problem solve. They tend to be fluent thinkers are able to look for alternative solutions and ideas. A gifted child may figure out a loophole in the rules of a board game, for example, or add new steps and rules to a common playground game to make it more interesting. A gifted child will also look to the hypothetical and the abstract. You may hear a gifted child posing "what if" questions when trying to figure out a solution to a problem. Due to the fluid nature of a gifted child's thinking, they may struggle in the classroom. Test questions with only one possible answer may frustrate a gifted child. Gifted children tend to see multiple solutions or answers. If a child is gifted, they may do better at essay tests than tests made up of fill in the blank, multiple choice, or true or false questions. Gifted children are imaginative by nature. Your child may love to play pretend, and to fantasize. They may have unique fantasy worlds. A gifted child may be highly adept at daydreaming, and their daydreams may be uniquely detailed. Many gifted children have a unique capacity for the arts. Gifted children may easily express themselves through art forms like painting and music, and also may have a higher than average appreciation for art.  Gifted children may draw or write as a hobby. They may also imitate others, often for humor, or sing songs they've heard elsewhere. Gifted children may tell vivid stories, whether fact or fiction. They may enjoy extracurricular activities like drama, music, and art, as they have a natural need to express themselves artistically.
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One-sentence summary -- Look at your child's unique interests. Watch for fluid thinking. Look for imagination. Observe how your child reacts to art, drama, and music.


As you start to swing your stick down towards the puck, transfer the weight of your body forward, onto your front leg. This will give your slap shot plenty of momentum, and you'll be able to drive the puck farther and with more speed. Shifting your weight forwards will add to the energy and power of your shot. Many mistakenly hit only the puck, thinking the ice will slow their shot. If performed correctly, however, hitting the ice with your stick just before contact with the puck will cause your stick to "flex" and build up energy. Once your stick hits the puck, it will straighten out and transfer the energy from the "flex" into the puck itself. Aim to hit the ice between 3 and 5 inches (8-13 cm) before the puck. This takes practice, but it's arguably the single most important part of a slap shot. Just at the point when your stick contacts the puck, roll your wrists so that the thumb on your dominant hand (right hand if right-handed, left hand if left-handed) turns down towards the ice. This is where most of your accuracy comes from and will give you the ability to aim the direction in which the puck flies. Even if you point your stick, the aim of your shot will be inaccurate if you don't roll your wrists during your contact with the puck. After initial contact, follow through with your stick, arms, and torso, in the direction you want the puck to go. This makes for a more accurate shot, and it also helps keep your puck stable in the air. Your shoulders should finish facing the net, your hips should twist towards the direction of the shot, and your front foot should turn towards the direction of the shot.  After following through, your stick and body should be pointing (gliding) towards the direction of your shot. Roughly speaking, the direction that the blade of your stick points in during follow-through shows where your shot will end up. If your blade is high off the ground, your shot will end up high; if your blade is low, the shot will be low too.
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One-sentence summary -- Shift your momentum to your forward leg. Make contact with the ice inches before you hit the puck. Turn your wrists upward as you swing. Follow through with your shot.


Many temporary tattoos are advertised as being waterproof, but the addition of soap may affect your tattoo. Plus, if you are scrubbing your skin clean, the friction will start to tear the ink from your skin. It's ok to swim or shower with a waterproof temporary tattoo, just try not to soak it in a bath or allow it to come into contact with soap, body wash, or oils. Though most people consider petroleum jelly a moisturizer, it actually works by sealing the moisture into your skin, almost like a piece of plastic. Clear nail polish will have the same sealing effect as the petroleum jelly, but it won't be as messy, since it will dry on your skin. These substances are all highly absorbent, and can soak up the natural oils on your skin that would start to break down the ink in your tattoo. Be careful not to inhale these powders, as they can be harmful to your lungs. If the tattoo is simple and a single color, a thin or sharp-tipped permanent marker can be used to give the tattoo new life. Trace over the tattoo design with a marker of the same color and fill in with ink. It won't last longer than a day or two at most. The excessive sweat and movement of your skin can cause the tattoo to fade faster, especially if it is rubbing against your work-out clothes.
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One-sentence summary --
Wash the areas around the tattoo, not the tattoo itself. Cover your tattoo with petroleum jelly, which can act as a sealant. Use baby powder, corn starch, or talcum powder on the tattoo. Go over your tattoo with a permanent marker when it begins to fade. Take a break from working out.