Our Jack-O'-Lantern

I know where Jack-O-Lanterns come from. They come from pumpkins.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth! I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! He climbs way high and can't get down. He makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" Then I have to help him.

Know what? We're getting ready for Hallowe'en. We're gonna make a Jack-O'-Lantern. This is how you make one. First, you have to buy a pumpkin at Westside Foods. That's on Sandwich Street. We can walk there from our house.

Jack-O'-Lanterns are born as pumpkins. Pumpkins are a fruit, you know.

There are lots of pumpkins at Westside Foods. We pick a nice one. We want our Jack-O'-Lantern to look v-e-r-y scary.

Okay. First we have to cut off the top of the pumpkin. We use a knife. We have to be careful 'cuz knives are sharp and we could cut ourselves. That would not be good.

Next we have to scoop out the seeds but we don't throw them away. They're good to eat, you know. We save them. We will toast them in the oven. Roasted pumpkin seeds are  yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

Now we cut some eyes and a mouth for our Jack-O'-Lantern. Then we put a candle inside. Our Jack-O'-Lantern is really scary. We turn off the lights and Grandpa James tells us the story of Stingy Jack. He made the first Jack-O'-Lantern, you know. It's a scary story, just like our pumpkin!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can make Jack-O'-Lanterns together! Okay! Over and out!"

Grocery Shopping at Westside Foods

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? We're at Westside Foods. It's the grocery store by our house. I  l-o-v-e our grocery store. We buy food here. Ravan  is the owner. He's really nice. He always says 'Hello' when we come in the store.

The store is full of all kinds of good things to eat.  There is porridge and chocolate cookies and soap. We don't eat soap. Oh. There is milk and cheese, too. I drink chocolate milk and I eat cheese.

There are lots of farms all over Essex County. The  people who live on farms are called farmers, you know. Farmers grow food. They bring their fresh food to the store.''Know what?  Farmers around here grow wallermelons. I l-o-v-e wallermelons, don't  you? I could eat wallermelons all day long. They're as yummy as Smarties and licorices.






Yummy is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. The other food groups are sticky, sweet and nasty. I have brocollis and sauerkrauts. They're nasty. I don't want to  eat them at all. I hold my nose and take two bites so I can be a good example for Chance. One day he will have teeth and he won't drink condensed owls' milk out of a bottle anymore.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Help with the grocery shopping. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go grocery shopping together! Okay! Over and out!"

Sharing

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He is forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark. He must be 20 years old! I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? Chance is wearing headphones. He's listening to music. He likes Raffi. Raffi sings songs. I like those songs. I like Bananaphone and Down by the Bay but my favourite is Shake My Sillies Out. That's what Chance is listening to right now. I can tell 'cuz he's making little squeaky noises and bouncing around.

We have to share the headphones. I know what sharing means. It means we take turns. Sometimes Chance doesn't want to share. He doesn't understand 'cuz he's just a newborn cubby. I'm nice. I don't take them away from him. I play nice. I say, "My turn, Chance." Sometimes I say, "Pretty please." Sometimes I say, "Pretty please with Smarties and marshmallows on top?" Most of the time he shares. He's learning. I have to set a good example 'cuz I'm older.

James says sharing is something good citizens do. Good citizens get to make snow people and drink hot chocolate and dig holes in the back yard. I want to be a good citizen!

Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where's my handsome bear cubs? Who wants to walk down to Westside Foods for groceries? " That's us! Charles and Chance! We're handsome bear cubs! We gotta go get our ears tickled. No! Wait! I want my tummy tickled, too! Oh! We get hugs and we get our noses kissed. I hope we can buy a wallermelon at the store. I l-o-v-e wallermelons! They're yummy and that's my favouritest food in the Canada Food Guide. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be a good citizen. Remember to share! Bye for now. Over and out!"

Peanut Butter

Hi. I'm Charles the Handsome Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy James. I look after him 'cuz he's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark. He's older than peanut butter. That must be really old.

Know what? I'm at Westside Foods. I'm gonna put all this peanut butter in this buggy and take it home. I know things about peanut butter.

1. Peanut butter comes from little bear cubbies. It is squeezed right out of them. See the sign? It says, "Squeeze."
2. Peanut butter is sticky. Sticky is one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide.
3. Peanut butter makes good paw paint and we can eat it, too.
4. I always make peanut butter happy faces on my pancakes.
5. NEVER fall asleep in bed with an open jar of peanut butter.
6. I know how to make peanut butter and orange juice sandwiches.

That's what I know about peanut butter. Now I'm gonna go find my buddy James and see if we can go down to the Detroit River and watch the ducks. Maybe we can feed them peanut butter! Yeah! Okay! I gotta go! This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Take peanut butter to the ducks when you go to the river. Bye for now! Over and out!"