INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you have a young child who is going to kindergarten or preschool for the first time, it's a good idea to pick out a lunchbox that won’t be too difficult for your child to carry. At the same time, you should make sure that the lunchbox can fit all of the food that you want to send to school with your child.  Check to see if the lunchbox can fit three or four food items, as well as a drink. Make sure your child can carry the box without difficulty. Some lunchboxes seem like they were made to contain top secret information, rather than your child’s lunch. You should make sure that the lunchbox can be opened easily. Lunchboxes with zippers work well to contain your child’s food and can also be opened easily. There are also metal lunch boxes that have easy-to-use clips. Some lunch boxes come with separate containers or are sectioned off so that you can keep foods from mixing. This can be helpful if you pack your child something, like applesauce, that might spill. If you are planning on packing your child food that needs to be refrigerated, you should get an insulated lunchbox. This will keep perishable food from spoiling. Some lunchboxes have compartments that are specifically designed to contain either hot or cold food. Thermoses can be great for hot or cold beverages. They can also allow you to pack soup for your child, as the thermos should be able to keep the soup hot until lunchtime. Do not purchase a thermos that is too large, as your child may find that it is difficult to carry it if it weighs a lot.

SUMMARY: Pick out a lunchbox that is the right size for your child. Check to make sure that your child can open the lunchbox easily. Consider using a lunchbox that has separate containers for different types of food. Get a box that is insulated. Consider getting your child a thermos.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Now that you know the function of resources, start playing and plan ahead for survival. Surviving the winters and keeping your citizens from starving will be among the greatest challenges. During the cold months when you can't farm crops, gathering food is a good alternative, but remember to build your Gatherer’s Hut in the forest where edible plants grow.  Gatherer’s Hut can be found under the Food Production tab and requires 30 logs and 12 stones to build. The maximum number of citizens working as Gatherers is 4, and it’s best to keep the number as high as possible since Gatherers, despite the bad climate, will keep on gathering food. If you're playing in hard mode, Gatherers are the best food source in any season, so build as many Gatherer’s Huts as you can, but keep them at a distance from each other. For maximum productivity, don’t let the range circles overlap. Don't forget to build a Storage Barn nearby for the use of Gatherers. If you click on a Gatherer’s Hut, details will show. You can see the Food Limit number, and once the limit is reached, no more food will be produced. Keep the food limit as high as possible, for as much food as the Storage Barn can hold. Gatherers produce food such as berries, mushrooms, onions, and roots. If you're playing in fair or mild climate, you can build a Fishing Port or a Farm to have fish and crops as your alternative food sources. You can build a Hunting Cabin as well for hunting deer for meat and leather. However, cutting down trees will decrease the wild-animal population so make sure to have Foresters plant saplings. As wild animals avoid areas of civilization, build Hunting Cabins away from towns. Pasturing is advisable as well, but animals such as chicken, sheep, and cows can only be gained from trade unless you're playing on normal or easy mode. A Forester Lodge defines an area where Foresters plant and later chop down mature trees for logs. A Forester Lodge should be built right next to a Gatherer’s Hut since Foresters maintain the growth of the forest. This means more root crops and forest food will be gathered.  For areas with few trees and not maintained by Foresters, trees will naturally grow. This process, however, takes more time than when forests are maintained by Foresters. To build a Forester Lodge, you need 32 logs and 12 stones. The maximum Forester per Forester Lodge is 4. If you click on the building, details will appear. Clicking on the “Cut” button will disable or enable the cutting of mature trees. When trees are cut, Foresters will place the logs on top of the nearest stockpile. Clicking on the “Plant” button will disable or enable the planting of saplings. Details will also show the Log Limit, and once the limit is reached, no more logs will be produced. To survive the winter, your citizens need firewood to keep from freezing to death. To make firewood, you need logs, and firewood is produced by a Woodcutter. Found under the Resource Production, a Woodcutter requires 24 logs and 8 stones, and with 1 worker maximum. Once they produce firewood, Wood Cutters will store the firewood on top of the nearest stockpile. If you have steady resources, food production, and population, make sure to build a Market and a Trading Post.  A Market is used as a centralized location for all goods a town produces. Your assigned vendors will visit stockpiles and Storage Barns to collect a variety of resources for the Market. Build the Market at the center of your town or that part of town where you build most of your houses. Citizens living nearby can then just collect goods at the Market rather than go to stockpiles or storage barns. Since all resources are inside the Market, citizens can enjoy a large variety of food and supplies to keep them happy and healthy. A Trading Post is used to buy items that the town needs. It is where you can exchange resources for livestock, crop seeds, orchard seeds, meat, wool, and more. Since Merchants arrive by boat, Trading Posts are built by a lake. Note that lakes without access to the main river that flows through the town won't ever receive merchants. Merchants normally bring random goods to the Trading Post, but if you want them to bring a specific item, you can order it using the “Orders” tab. Make sure you have enough resources stored in your Trading Post to meet the equivalent trade amount of the item you want to purchase. Roads make travel easier and productivity higher. Bridges across rivers, streams, and lakes give your citizens access to neighboring flat lands. The more access there is to the other side of the water, the more resources can be gathered.

SUMMARY:
Prepare for winter. Gather logs and firewood. Build a Market and a Trading Post. Build roads and bridges.