How do I start
collecting stamps?
It's easy. You can start
by simply saving stamps from letters, packages and postcards. Ask your
friends and family to save stamps from their mail. Neighborhood
businesses that get a lot of mail (banks, stores, travel agencies) might
save their envelopes for you, too. Or, start your collection by choosing
one or two favorite subjects. Then, collect only stamps that fit your
theme (art, history, sports, transportation, science) whatever you
choose! This is called topical collecting.
Will it cost me a lot to
start a collection?
No! Start with used
stamps and a few inexpensive accessories (such as a small album and a
package of hinges), and you can have a great time on a limited budget.
Remember to put stamps, albums and hinges on your birthday and holiday
wish lists, too!
What kinds of stamps are
there?
Definitive
stamps are found on most mail. They feature former presidents,
statesmen, prominent persons and national shrines. Their denominations
range from 1 cent to 14 dollars. Definitives are usually available for
several years, since they're printed in large quantities for specific
postal rates.
Commemorative
stamps are usually larger and more colorful than definitives. They honor
important people, events or subjects. Only a limited number of each
commemorative is printed, and most post offices only have them for a few
months. The U.S. Postal Service's Philatelic Fulfillment Service Center
also offers commemorative stamps by mail order for about one year after
they are issued.
Special
stamps supplement each year's regular stamp issues. They include the
Christmas and Love stamps.
Booklet
stamps come in small folders that contain panes of 3 to 20 stamps each.
Gummed booklet stamps have at least one straight edge.
Airmail
stamps are mainly used for sending mail overseas.
Coil stamps
are issued in rolls. Each coil stamp has two straight edges and two
edges with either slit like cuts or little holes, called perforations.
How do I remove stamps
from envelopes?
Stampers Cool-lectibles Magazine is a free
quarterly magazine that helps inspire a love of stamps in
children. It is both educational and fun. Bugs Bunny is the
ambassador for this unique program. For a free copy call
1-800-stampfun
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If you wish, you can
save whole envelopes with stamps on them and store them anywhere, from
shoe boxes to special albums. But if you want to remove stamps from
envelopes, it pays to be careful. The best way to remove stamps from
envelopes is to soak them. Here's how:
1.Tear or cut off the
upper right hand corner of the envelope.
2.Place it, stamp side
down, in a small pan of warm water. After a few minutes, the stamp will
sink to the bottom.
3.Wait a few more
minutes for any remaining gum to dislodge from the stamp.
4.Lift the stamp out
with tongs (a metal tool, like tweezers) if you have a pair. It's better
to handle stamps with tongs because oil from your skin can damage
stamps.
5.Place the stamp
between two paper towels and put a heavy object,such as a book, on top.
This will keep the stamp From curling as it dries. Leave the stamp there
overnight.
6.If the stamp is a
newer one with "invisible" gum, dry it face down with nothing
touching the back and flatten it later if necessary. Otherwise, it may
stick to the paper towel when drying.
How should I organize my
stamps?
However you want to, of
course—it's your collection. But be sure to protect them so they don't
get damaged or lost. You can attach your stamps to loose-leaf paper and
put them in a three-ring binder. Or, arrange them in a more formal
album, which you can buy in stores.
What kind of stamp
albums can I buy?
Some stamp albums
feature specific categories with pictures of the stamps that should
appear on each page. You may want to select one with loose-leaf pages so
you can add pages as your collection grows. A stock book is an album
with plastic or paper pockets on each page. There are no pictures of
stamps, so you can organize the album your way.
How do I put a stamp in
the album?
It's best to use a hinge
- a small strip of thin plastic with gum on one side. Unlike tape or
glue, hinges let you peel the stamp off the page without damaging it.
Hinges come either folded or unfolded. Here's how to use a folded hinge:
1.Moisten the short end
of the hinge lightly. Press it to the back of the stamp, placing the
fold about 1/8 inch from the top of the stamp.
2.Place the stamp in the
album and press down to secure it.
3.Using your tongs,
gently lift the corners of the stamp to make sure it's not stuck to the
page.
How can I tell what a
stamp is worth?
Ask yourself two
questions: "How rare is it?" and "What condition is it
in?" The price listed in a stamp catalog gives you some idea of how
rare it is. However, the stamp may sell at more or less than the catalog
price, depending on its condition. Always try to find stamps in the best
possible condition.
How should I judge the
condition of a stamp?
Stamp dealers put stamps
into categories according to their condition. Look at the pictured
examples to see the differences among categories. A stamp in mint
condition is the same as when purchased from the post office. An unused
stamp has no cancel but may not have any gum on the back. Mint stamps
are usually worth more than unused stamps. You can begin to judge the
condition of a stamp by examining the front of it. Are the colors bright
or faded? Is the stamp clean, dirty or stained? Is the stamp torn? Torn
stamps are not considered "collectible." Is the stamp design
centered on the paper, crooked or off to one side? Are all the
perforations intact? Has the stamp been canceled? A stamp with a light
cancellation is in better condition than one with heavy marks across it.
Now look at the back of the stamp. Is there a thin spot in the paper? If
so, it may have been caused by careless removal from an envelope or
hinge.
This article was
reprinted with permission from
The United States Postal
Service
Stamp design © 1999
USPS.
Reproduced with
permission. All rights reserved.
The History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is
celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November and it commemorates the
first Pilgrims’ harvest feast, which was held in 1621. However, this
day was not a tradition for the Pilgrims nor did they call it a
"thanksgiving" feast. In fact, to these devoutly religious
people, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting.
It was President Lincoln
who, in 1863, designated the last Thursday in November a Thanksgiving
holiday. It was president F.D. Roosevelt who, in 1941, changed it to the
fourth Thursday in November.
If you want to learn more about Thanksgiving and
read President Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation, go to:
http://members.aol.com/calebj/proclamation.html
If you want to learn more about about the Yankees,
check out their website at: http://www.yankees.com/
Amanda Hernández, Our Lady of Angels
School
Wild turkeys live for
about two years. A young turkey is called a poult and a male is called a
tom or a gobbler. A female turkey is called a hen. When they are grown,
males weigh about 20 pounds and females weigh about 10 pounds.
Wild turkeys live mostly
in the woods and they prefer oak trees. They eat two times a day. They
eat once in the middle of the morning and once in the middle of the
afternoon. In the evening turkeys fly up to roost (rest or sleep) in the
trees.
During spring and summer
wild turkeys eat insects such as grasshoppers, beetles and ants. They
also eat leaves, grass seeds and berries. During fall and winter they
eat acorns, corn and grains. They eat a lot in the winter to store the
food for breeding in the spring.
NAME ORIGIN
The turkey got its name
quiet by accident. Native to America, it looks like an African bird that
had been brought to Europe from Turkey. When the first European settlers
saw this bird in America, they thought it was the African bird which by
then had been named "turkey." By the time the settlers
realized the birds were different, everyone was calling the American
bird a turkey.
from the
Scholastic Children’s Dictionary
5. Fill in the missing numbers so that the rows up
and down and across add up to 20
Answers for 1-5 on page C-4
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