Um. Probably, like when you first get to high school. Well i think once you Start High School you should start preparing for college. Because you have, your grades will count and the colleges will look at your grades from 9th grade, all the way to senior year. You might be surprised to learn that many experts recommend starting far earlier. For more on this, we turn to jason ma. Families hire him as a College Prep Coach. And hes also the ceo of the company, threeeq. Hi hi. Thanks for inviting me. You like to quote a saying by ucla coach, john wooden that, failure to prepare is preparing to fail. Well, i think when you look at successful people, the first thing that i would try to figure out is how did they prepare in order to become successful. So really most of the work is really in the preparation. Speaking of preparation, at what age should kids start preparing for college . I had a conversation with the dean of uc san diego, admission dean, mae brown. She said, start preparing for college in 6th grade. Now, where shes really coming from is to build strong study habits, build good reading habits, is really shaping your skills in ways that is going to be easier for you in high school. So its not necessarily preparing you for college per se, but its really building a stronger foundation. Thats pretty young. Besides building that foundation, what else can a sixth grader do to prepare . When i, when i coach my own students, i emphasize quite a bit on shaping their skills, their mindset. And teaching them about some tricks of the trade on how to become successful academically and nonacademically in high school. To me, in middle school whether youre in 6th grade, 7th grade, or 8th grade is really prehigh school. So very importantly is really shaping good habits. So for example, if youre so distracted in spending so much time, many hours per day, playing world of warcraft or playing games, those are not good habits and thats not exactly a real good way to spend a lot of time on. So to shape and to try to replace some of the bad habits with better ones like reading, fiction and nonfiction. Really spending time on doing homework, getting things done. Maybe even have time to do some house chores. I think those are good mindset to Start Building. How about extra curricular activities, are they important at that age . I think its important but i would not stress over it. I think it would be important to Start Building the habit of the importance of doing extra curriculars. The purpose of doing extra curriculars kids, is not really to do extra curriculars. The purpose is, get into the habit of giving, of contributing, of growing along with your teammates. Of being a good student. Of really having the heart and the brain to contribute and to grow and to connect and to engage. Those are essential skills to have. There are people who say that increasing pressure on kids, especially by starting early, is counter productive. What do you think about that . I disagree. I think one key to success in life is really to try to, in most cases, not all, is to start early with a purpose. Understand why thats important to you. Get some coaching, its very important. Get high quality guidance from your parents, if they are smart in certain ways but not everything. Work with advisors or mentors at school or somewhere else. Selflearning. You could google so many things today and just read a lot. Watch useful videos and audios. So, to show some initiative. Its part of your skillset you want to build early. Its to learn to become a strong learner. So you can keep on learning and keep on improving and keep on giving in smart ways. What about families that cant afford to hire a College Prep Coach like you. What can they do . Thats one reason that i spent, gosh, 2000 hours of team time putting together my own book called Young Leaders 3. 0 stories, insights, and tips for nextgeneration achievers. The idea there is to impart part of my teachings in terms of mentoring and storytelling. Thats one almost free resource. I think like, big picture, college board. Theres a whole bunch of sites you could study yourself and talk to people. Be intellectually curious. Be holistically curious. Just learn from all sorts of methods out there. Lot of its really complimentary. Thanks jason. Youve certainly given us a lot to think about. Thank you. Thanks for inviting, its fun. A new parent once asked a famous educator when the parent should start her babys education. The educator replied, rush home now and start. You havent a moment to lose. He was joking, of course. But the message is clear. If you want to get into a top college, its almost never too early to start. For teen kids news, im amelia. dramatic music relaxing. How it can help you make the grade. When teen kids news continues. Closed captioning is brought to you by do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with all the work you have to do for school . Well christins here to help with this weeks make the grade. Being a good student takes a lot of work. You have to Research Read study take notes analyze review write edit relax yes, i said relax. Academic experts say students will do a better job at studying if they make a point of taking breaks. Heres one way to do it. relaxing music sit quietly in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Slowly breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Relax your feet, your legs, your hands, your arms, and your neck, and even your face. Feel the tension draining away. Imagine youre at some favorite peaceful place. Just be there for, say, four or five minutes. When you open your eyes continue to sit quietly and continue your slow measured breathing for a bit longer. There. Im certainly feeling better. A short break like this will recharge your mental batteries. Im christin, here to help you make the grade. As youre about to see a state flag can have a lot to say. Heres flag facts. fast drum music in september, 1783, american colonists and members of the British Parliament signed the treaty of paris. Officially ending the revolutionary war. Part of that treaty granted a parcel of land to the United States known as the northwest territory. That territory would become ohio. In 1803, ohio was admitted as our seventeenth state. But it existed without a state flag for almost one hundred years. Until an architect named John Eisemann came up with a most unusual design. The ohio flag is the only state flag out of the fifty that is not a rectangle. Its a swallowtail flag that we usually see on a boat. What it is, is its a pennant, but it comes to two points. And they chose that to be distinct. They wanted ohio to look different from all the other state flags and they certainly achieved that. They chose to use the red, white and blue of the american flag. Several states have done that. But they also achieved simplicity by putting the letter o in the canton of the flag. And the letter o has two meanings to people in ohio. Its o for ohio. But also, its the buckeye state. Buckeyes are round nuts, commonly found in ohio, that native americans thought resembled the eye of a male deer, a buck. Thirteen stars are clustered around the o, representing the original thirteen states. Four more stars stand beside them, representing the next four states to be admitted to our nation, including ohio. The red and white stripes symbolize roads and waterways, which help establish ohio as a center of american interstate commerce. With flag facts, im eric. dramatic music explosion heres a law designed to make bugs bunny happy. In kansas, its illegal to shoot rabbits from a boat. Not exactly sure why they have that law, since i dont think rabbits swim. But if you hare of any that do, tell them that theyre safe in kansas. At least from people with guns in boats. Weve got to take a short break. But dont go away because teen kids news will be right back [announcer] this report is brought to you by vicks and braun. According to experts, colds and flu cause us to miss about 22million days of school a year. 22million days thats certainly nothing to sneeze at. So avoiding getting sick is not just good for our health, but good for our academics as well. Joining us with some tips is dr. Keri peterson. Hi hi. Thank you for having me. First of all, whats the difference between a cold and the flu . Both a cold and the flu are caused by viruses. But the symptoms are very different. A flu comes on fast and furious with cough, fever and body aches. While a cold comes on more slowly. First a sore throat, then a runny nose and then a cough. So if theyre both caused by viruses, how can we avoid getting sick . To avoid getting sick, my top three tips are making sure that you wash your hands regularly. That you dont touch your eyes, nose or mouth. And that you get your flu shot every single year. Okay, so despite our best efforts we do get sick. The coughing, sneezing and runny nose. What can we do to deal with them . First thing is to make sure you get plenty of rest. The next thing is to make sure you drink lots of fluids. If you get a fever, you can use a cool damp wash cloth on your forehead. If you have a sore throat you can gargle with salt water. And if you have breathing issues, try using a humidifier. Studies have shown that the flu virus thrives in dry places. But by keeping the humidity in your home between 40 to 60 percent, Something Like a vicks humidifier can help reduce the survival of the flu virus in your home. Interesting. So, not that im looking for ways to get out of class, but how can we tell when were too sick to go to school . Well the first question you should ask is whether you have a fever. If you have a temperature of 101 degrees or more then you should stay home from school. So that means thats the first step in gauging what to do, taking your temperature. I work with braun and they offer the thermoscan ear thermometer. Its very accurate because the ear canal sits right next to the ear drum. And that shares the same blood supply as the brains temperature control center. The next thing to ask is do you feel well enough to engage in class. If youre too run down, then you should stay home. And then the last thing is, are you contagious . If so, dont go to school. Good information. Thanks for talking with us, doc. Thank you. While staying home from school might sound great, being sick sure doesnt. So in addition to the doctors advice, heres one more tip. Try to manage your stress. Studies show that stress affects the immune system. Making it easier for you to get sick. I know, easier said than done. For teen kids news, im katie. When it comes to healthy eating, your plate can be your guide. One quarter of the plate should be for your protein. Chicken, pork or fish are best. But red meat is okay, just be sure that its not too often. And lean towards lean. Meaning meat that has very little fat. Another quarter of the plate is for your whole grains. These can be brown rice, wild rice, whole quinoa or whole grain pasta. There are literally dozens of whole grain foods to choose from. With the remaining half of your plate, pile on the veggies. Or add in some fruit. A healthy meal is one of the best ways to make a healthier you. This Important Message is brought to you by the National Road safety foundation. They want you to keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road and your mind on driving. School Bell Rings students chatter all right guys so guess what . The dance is this saturday are you going . [girl] yes lets all go together. [boy] oh that sounds awesome belt clicks engine starts okay. So you know the theme tonight . Is all school spirit. Everything spirit. heartbeats rachel . Rachel . Hey rach heartbeats faster seriously . Oh yeah face paint. Rachel, youre. kids chatter echos loud heartbeats upbeat rock music a special athlete giving back to the community in a special way. Our hooplaha pick of the week is next on teen kids news. Kids with special needs may think that some goals are beyond their reach. Like for example, making it onto a top colleges varsity team. But as were about to see for one college athlete, overcoming challenges was a slam dunk. Heres another great video from our friends at hooplaha. coach speaks my name is anthony ianni. And i am a National Motivational speaker for the Michigan Department of civil rights. So, the camp were at today is for kids on the go. Its a Nonprofit Organization out of detroit. And for the last three weeks, actually, ive been, ive had the privilege and the honor to coach some kids with autism and maybe have a different learning disability as well. Teach them the game of basketball, teach them the basics, and just have fun while were here. And also show them that if you have dreams and goals, go out and achieve them. You know, dont let anything or anyone tell you that you cant do this, cant do that. And dont let obstacles stand in your way from living your dreams. I was diagnosed when i was four years old in 1993. And when i was five years old, a group of doctors and professionals told my parents that because i have autism, i would never be successful or achieve anything in my life. I ended up graduating from high school, from Okemos High School in 2007. Went on to grand Valley State University for two years on a fullride scholarship for basketball. I decided, you know, it was time for me to go and live my lifelong dream. And that was to play for coach tom izzo and Michigan State university. And not only did i graduate and get my degree from Michigan State university, but i also became the First Division one College Basketball player diagnosed with autism in ncaa history. inspirational music anthony really is inspiring to so many. His story is inspiring to us adults, to us parents, to the parents in the program, and to the children in the camp. They just, you know, literally look up to him. But hes just made such an impact. Kids on the go is important to ethan because it was able to take him from child that was at two years old, diagnosed. And now hes at a point where he is a very highfunctioning child. He heard about this basketball camp and that he would be able to learn from somebody that played in college. And somebody that has, you know, experienced some of the same issues. And he really enjoyed it. Hes just like, i want to learn how to play basketball. If this guy can teach me basketball, then i want to try. Dont be afraid to tell people, i can do this. I can do that. And youre not gonna tell me that i cant do this because i set my life. I live my dreams. You dont live em. I do. [group] one two three yells well have more Great Stories from our friends at hooplaha on future shows. For teen kids news, im daniella. If youre happy and you know it maybe you dont clap your hands to show it. Researchers say happy people tend to talk more than unhappy people. And their conversations are different. Instead of small talk, people who are happy tend to engage in meaningful conversations. So next time someone just says, nice day. Tell him to cheer up fast dramatic music but sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking a dog is friendly, when its really not. Eden tells us more. So youre walking down the street and you come across a dog. Its wagging its tail. So youd think hes happy to see you. But when you reach out to pet him, he suddenly turns mean. What happened . To find out, we have Robin Bennett and susan briggs. They call themselves the dog gurus. Theyre also the authors of the book, off leash dog play. Welcome. Thanks. Were happy to be here. Its great to be here with you today. So susan. We cant assume that a wagging tail is always good sign, can we . No you cant. We love our dogs. And they communicate a lot to us, and the tail is an important part of that. But just because its wagging its tail doesnt mean its friendly and you should approach it. Do you have to worry about speed or where theyre holding their tail . Yes. You look at whether theyre, what position is the tail, whether theyre holding it high or low. And you look at how fast that wag is. Robin can you give us some specific examples . Well sure. Lets say youre going to pet that dog and he ends up turning mean. You might have noticed the dogs tail was wagging but he might have been protecting his owner. So that tail wag might have been way up over his back, really high. Because thats a really good sign that the dog is protecting something. Or maybe you have a dog thats afraid of something and hes hiding. Youll find that those tail wags are gonna be really low, tucked under the body, but still wagging. But thats still a dog i wouldnt really want to pet right at that moment. Susan besides the tail, are there other signs we should be looking for . Yes. We actually recommend we look at the other r end. So lets look at the mouth. A dog thats safe to approach generally has an open mouth. A closed mouth means that a dogs starting to get uncomfortable. You can also look at their body. Is there, are their muscles relaxed . Is it kind of curve and loose . Versus a dog that you wouldnt want to approach would be very stiff. Those dogs are uncomfortable and its not safe. But i guess the bottom line is if you dont know the dog, dont approach him. Unless his owner says its okay. Yes. You want to first ask the owner and if the owner says yes, still check in with the dog to see what the dogs body language is telling you. Is the mouth open . Is the body posture relaxed . So really we would say three steps. Number one, ask the owner number two, ask the dog. And number three, pet the dog if both of them say its okay. I certainly learned a lot. Thank you both very much. Youre welcome, thanks. It was great. So the next time you hear someone say that a wagging tail means the dog is friendly. You can tell them thats just an old wives tail. And you learned that here on teen kids news. That wraps up our show. But well have more teen kids news for you next week. So make sure you tune in upbeat rock music write to us at info teenkidsnews. Com. Alex coming next, saving animals caught in katrina. Thousands of abandoned pets in dire straits. Plus, helping scores of wild parrots. This is animal rescue. [captioning made possible by telco productions, inc] thanks for joining us. Im alex paen. Be prepared to witness extraordinary efforts of dedic