When boredom looms and the weather's hot, get everyone involved in summer crafts for kids. Kids are always excited to be free from the school routine when they are let out for summer break, but it isn't long until they start wondering what to do. Summer crafts for kids will keep them occupied and maybe even teach them a thing or two.

In summer, crafts for kids can involve found objects, like seed pods, grasses, and similar objects. Let kids create nature collection collages by gluing these items to a stiff piece of cardboard. Help them spray paint some of the findings with silver or gold paint. Alternatively, they might like to glue glitter to some of the findings. Perhaps they would also enjoy collecting wild flower seed heads and creating dried flower arrangements. Arrange the bouquet in a homemade vase.

A vase for summer bouquets, fresh or dried, is another craft that naturally fits into the summer crafts for kids category. A simple vase can be made from a tin can. Soup cans work particularly well because they are smooth on the outside and rather narrow. Be sure to file off any sharp spurs on the inside opening. Start the work of art by cutting a piece of construction paper or other colored paper to fit around the sides of the can. This will be glued to the outside of the can, but first it needs to be decorated.

The vase cover can be decorated in many ways. The child can draw a summer scene on the paper and then decorate it with glued on glitter or small stickers of summer things. Another idea is for the child to write their name in large letters, and glue beans, seeds, or glitter to the letters. Let all glue dry before attaching the paper to the outside of the can. Add water and fresh flowers or leave dry for dry flowers.

You can also use the can for a trinket container or a place to put pens, pencils, and markers. To make them real summer crafts for kids, glue grass seed heads and found seed pods to the paper in a decorative way.

Jar vases make good summer crafts for kids, too. Canning jars make particularly cute vases, but any cast off mayonnaise, pickle, or other jar, even plastic ones, can work, too. To make a jar into a vase it first needs to be sparkling clean. Kids love getting wet in the summer, so let them roll up their sleeves (or put on a bathing suit!) and have fun splashing at the sink while "washing dishes." When the jar is clean and dry, tie an attractive ribbon around the opening. If desired, decorate the outside of the jar with glued on beads and buttons.

Summer crafts for kids will provide some cute decorations around the home and keep the kids from being bored. This summer, crafts for kids should be at the top of every parent's To Do list!

Summary:
By using the Internet, we can access science encyclopedias from the comfort of our homes. We don’t have to travel to the library to review the reference section for books that we aren’t allowed to remove from the building. There are thousands of sites referring to science encyclopedias on the web. Below, we will discuss a few of them.

The first site we will review is http://www.oup.co.uk/oxed/children/oise/. This site belongs to the Oxford University Press and is named the...


Keywords:
science,online,encyclopedia


Article Body:
By using the Internet, we can access science encyclopedias from the comfort of our homes. We don’t have to travel to the library to review the reference section for books that we aren’t allowed to remove from the building. There are thousands of sites referring to science encyclopedias on the web. Below, we will discuss a few of them.

The first site we will review is http://www.oup.co.uk/oxed/children/oise/. This site belongs to the Oxford University Press and is named the Oxford Illustrated Science Encyclopedia. The home page is a beautiful array of object and color. Having special selections for children, this site will keep you jumping from one category to the next. Check out the “Test Your Knowledge” section. You might be surprised at just how much you remember from school! This is one of my favorite sites, because it is easy to use and very visual. It also boasts free pictures.

WWW.allrefer.com does just what its name implies. It refers you to another site which refers you to another site which refers you to another site, and so on. While there are some interesting items to be found on this site, I am not particularly crazy about the sterility of the site. It is also ad-driven and pop-up dominated. Therefore, be sure you have your pop-up blocker installed and turned on. Otherwise, your attempt to find information will be futile.

Eric Weisstein’s Treasure Troves of Science offers a comprehensive science encyclopedia and can be found at http://www.treasure-troves.com. You can view such topics as astronomy, math and music. This site does not use pop-ups and is easily navigated. However, the graphics are minimal, to say the least. I would suggest this site for the more advanced user. Since it does not contain very many pictures, it may not hold a child’s interest as much as it would an adult’s. I found this site to be very informative and useful.

One of the sites I reviewed is http://www.science.enotes.com. This site is not free, but it is certainly worth the $9.95 per month to use the “science pass”. The “science pass” will give you full access to all the information you require. When you pull up the information, the site only allows a tidbit to be revealed thus requiring the pass. It would be much more lucrative to purchase the yearly pass for $29.95. There is also an option to purchase passes for the entire http://enotes.com site. This informative site would be well worth the money.

A great reference guide for science and technology can be found at http://www.refdesk.com. This site supplies great references and graphics.

Though these are just a few of the thousands of other sites when it comes to dealing with all the science encyclopedias that are available on the net, I hope this information has helped will help you make an informed decision on your first stop at the World Wide Web.

Summary:

Star of television's "Desperate Housewives," Alfre Woodard is sharing some secrets--no, not from Wisteria Lane, but from America's desperate, and not so desperate, housewives.

Keywords:

America's Housewives Share Their Secrets

Article Body:

Star of television's "Desperate Housewives," Alfre Woodard is sharing some secrets -no, not from Wisteria Lane, but from America's desperate, and not so desperate, housewives.

The Emmy Award-winning actress says that a recent survey by Harris Interactive has uncovered some provocative secrets of real American housewives. "In fact, many of the findings would make great fodder for the storyline on the show," said Woodard. According to the Playtex® Secrets® survey of more than 1,300 married U.S. women, nearly three out of four (72 percent) say they have a deep secret, but more than one in three have not divulged it to anyone.

Nearly half (44 percent) say they've had a secret crush. Surprisingly, nearly half of those women (48 percent) are secretly crushing on someone they work with-a co-worker, colleague or even their boss. Even more revealing, about one in five (21 percent) admit to having secretly admired their husband's friend(s).

Three in 10 married women (29 percent) describe their relationship with their mother-in-law as one of toleration. Shockingly, as many as one in five (20 percent) say they'd love for their husband's mother to move in with them.

About three in five married ladies (61 percent) say they gossip. Among those who do, 31 percent say they tell tales about their boss, co-workers or colleagues, while three in 10 (30 percent) dish about their neighbor(s). More than one in four (28 percent) chit-chat about their in-laws, while one in five (22 percent) talk about their husbands.

The survey was conducted by Playtex® Secrets®, a beautiful and elegant intimate apparel line for full-size women, to highlight the introduction of its new Legacy Lace™ collection. Each style offers such hidden comfort features as breathable Airform fabric.

Each bra incorporates luxurious feminine detailing, such as lace and scalloped edging, features designed to help make women feel confident and beautiful. Sizes range from 36 to 44 C, D and DD. Such fashionable bras could quickly become a woman's best-kept secret weapon.

For many couples shopping for wedding favors can be a difficult task especially when they are doing this together. This may sound strange but shopping for wedding favors is actually one activity which may cause a great deal of disagreements during the wedding planning process. It may sound like such a trivial detail but in reality shopping for wedding favors can actually be quite stressful and involved. There are a number of reasons for this. One of the main reasons is the large number of options available. There is such a wide range of wedding favors available that selecting just one can be an incredibly daunting task. Furthermore having two people agree on the same favor out of the many options available can be even more difficult. This article will provide some information on how couples can reduce the stress involved with shopping for wedding favors together.

One of the easiest ways to avoid the stress and arguments which are likely to ensue while shopping for wedding favors with your fiancé is to simply avoid the situation altogether. You and your fiancé can discuss the situation beforehand and if he is not very interested in helping to select the wedding favors he may be more than willing to give you free reign to select the wedding favors. If you have similar tastes he will likely be confident that you will select something great and will be more than happy to allow you to do so. This makes the shopping process incredibly easier because you simply have to choose something you like and will be confident your fiancé will be happy with the favor as well. However, if you want your fiancé to feel included in the shopping process you can do the shopping beforehand and then have him take a look at the favors before you make your purchase just to be sure you both love the favors you have selected.

Another way to eliminate a great deal of stress related to shopping with wedding favors with your fiancé is to discuss the budget carefully before you begin shopping. You should have a good idea of how many guests you are expecting as well as how much you can afford to spend on each favor how much you can afford to spend on wedding favors overall. This is very important because it will help to ensure you and your fiancé are both looking at wedding favors which are priced appropriately for your budget. Having this discussion beforehand will be very helpful because if you start looking at wedding favors first you will likely be drawn to more expensive items. However, once you realize these are out of your price range you may be disappointed. This can make selecting a wedding favor more difficult because you will likely compare the other favors to the ones you cannot afford to purchase.

Finally, if you and your fiancé are having a difficult time shopping for wedding favors because you cannot reach an agreement on which favor to select it might be a good idea to seek an outside opinion. One way to do this is to have each of you select a wedding favor and to ask another person to choose between the two final choices. You can either have a sales associate choose between the two or you can bring along a trusted family member or friend who can be objective to help you make the decision. You and your fiancé should agree ahead of time that you are going to accept the decision of the other person.

Caterpillar

Caterpillar hit a dial of power and performance with

its top of the line 446 backhoe loader when it first

introduced the D series version of the machine. The

102 HP machine also features a new operator station

and offers optional joystick controls. The dig

forces on the bucket have increased 10% on the

backhoe.

Bobcat

Bobcat gave its compact backhoe loaders a power

boost when the company introduced the second generation

B series to the lineup. The 31.5 HP B100 received

a 45% increase in backhoe bucket breakout force

and a 27% jump in the breakout force of the dipper.

The 46 HP B300 received a 44% increase in dipper

breakout force and a 21% boost in the breakout

force of the bucket. The three model line also

includes the B250, which is a 31.5 HP sideshift

unit. Similar to the larger B300, the B250 also

features all wheel steering and four wheel drive.

New Holland

Each one of the four models of backhoe loaders in

the New Holland lineup use the new 4.5 liter

turbocharged Tier 2 engine. This new engine and

a number of other upgrades were the basis for the

B series machines, which offer low effort pilot

controls which will give you a choice between

excavator or loader style patterns.

Case

Case added quite a bit to its M series backhoe

loaders, by switching to family 3 engines to meet

Tier 2 emission standards. The new machines

of the M series have quieter, larger displacement

engines for better lugging capacity. They also

have increased torque rise for faster cycles

of loader and backhoe operations.

With 500 hour intervals of oil changes and easy

to access transmission mounted hydraulic pumps,

the M series is surely a force to be reckoned

with in the world of backhoes.

Ingersoll-Rand

The newest compact backhoe loader from this

company can reach digging depths of up to 12

feet with its backhoe. Working as a loader, the

BL-580 has an operating capacity of 3,406 pounds

with a breakout force of 9,370 pounds.

Both the loader and backhoe are equipped with

standard auxiliary hydraulics with a two way

flow to accommodate a variety of attachments,

which includes booms, breakers, augers, and

even compactors. Other nifty features include

hydrostatic four wheel drive for power and traction,

and all wheel steering for a tight radius.

Komatsu

Komatsu announced that the optional excavator

style joystick controls would be offered on its

five model lineup of backhoes. The lineup has

also been upgraded with increased hydraulic speed,

stronger components, and Tier 2 engines. The

entire Komatsu line consists of the 87 HP WB140

series, and teh 94 HP WB150 series.

The standard model found with each series features

a four speed mechanical transmission complete with

a torque converter. The fifth model from Komatsu

is the WB150, with offers an all star wheel design

with a powershift transmission and anti theft

prevention system.

John Deere

The 410H is the hallmark of John Deere, offering

92 HP. The 410H also offers the total machine

control system, which integrates control for the

engine, transmission, hydraulics, and brakes so

that the system can respond in an efficient way

to the many different job demands.

Terex

Since acquiring the Fermec line, Terex has marketed

a full and impressive line of backhoes. The

models include the 92 HP TX760B and the 100 HP

TX860B. At 100 HP as well are the 860SX, 860 Elite,

and the 970 Elite. Both the 760 and 860 models

feature four speed shuttle gearboxes and travel

speeds of up to 25.8 miles per hour.