ck music) - welcome to teen kids news. i'm veronique. let's begin with our top story for this week. (light dramatic music) pply to college. but for those who do, here's some good news. as amelia reports, the earlier you start to prepare, the better your chances. - when do you think students should start preparing for college? - i believe early on, 9th, 10th grade is the best place to start. because you've already started taking your psats, that's preparation for your sats, starting in your 11th grade year.

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 tsmight be surprised to learn that many exper recommend starting far earlier. for more on this, we turn to jason ma. families hire him as a college prep coach. and he's also the ceo of the company, three-eq. thanks flike to quote ora . - you saying by ucla coach, john wooden that, "failure to prepare is preparing to fail." - well,think when yk at successful people i , 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?

mae brown. she said, "start preparing for college in 6th grade." now, where she's really coming from is to build strong study habits, now, where she's really build good reading habits, is really shaping your skills in ways at is going to be easier thu in high school. for yo so it's not necessarily preparing you for college per se, but it's really building a stronger foundation. - that's pretty young. besides building that foundation, 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 essful academicallysucc and non-academically in high school. to me, in middle school whether you're in 6th grade, 7th grade, or 8th grade is really pre-high school. so very importantly is really shaping good habits.

h time, many hours per day, plworld of warcraftaying or playing games, those are not good habits and that's 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 non-fiction. really spending time on doing homework, getting things done. i think thn have time to do some house chores. ose are good mindset to start building. - how about extra curricular activities, - i think it's 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.

row 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 that's important to you. ty guidance from your parents, if they are smart in certain ways but not everything. work with advisors or mentors at school or somewhere else. self-learning. you could google so many things today and just read a lot. watch useful videos and audios. so, to show some initiative. it's part of your skillset you want to build early.

and keep on giving in smart ways. - what about families that can't afford to hire a college prep coach like you. what can they do? that's 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 next-generation achievers. the is to impart part of my teachingside that's one almost free resource. i think like, big picture, college board. there's 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 it's really complimentary. - thanks jason. you've certainly given us a lot to think about. - thank you.

when the parent should start her baby's education. the educator replied, "rush home now and start. "you haven't a moment to lose." he was joking, of course. but the message is clear. if you want to get into a top college, it's almost never too early to start. for teen kids news, i'm amelia. (dra mati c music) - relaxing. how it can help you make the grade. when teen kids news continues.

with all the work you have to do for school? well christin's here to help with this week's make the grade.lot of w. - being a good student takes a you have to research! read! study! take notes analyze! revie!w!write! edit! yes, i said relax. academic experts say students will do a better job at studying if they make a point of taking breaks. here's one way to do it. 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 you're at some favorite peaceful place. just be there for, say, four or five minutes.

for a bit longer. there. i'm certainly feeling better. a short break like this will recharge your mental batteries. i'm christin, here to help you make the grade. - as you're about to see a state flag can have a lot to say. here's flag facts. music) (fast drum 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

- the ohio flag is the only state flag out of the fifty that is not a rectangle. it's a swallowtail flag that we usually see on a boat. what it is, is it's 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. in the canton of the flag. and the letter o has two meanings to people in ohio. it's o for ohio. but also, it's the buckeye state. - buckeyes are round nuts, commonly found in ohio, that native americans thought resembledthe eye o. thirteen stars are clustered around the o, representing the original thirteen states.

including ohio. the red and white stripes syolize roads and waterways,mb which help establish ohio as a center of american interstate commerce. with flag facts, i'm eric. (dramatic music) (explosion) - here's a law designed to make bugs bunny happy. in kansas, it's illegal to shoot rabbits from a boat. ink rabbits swim. but if you hare of any that do, tell them that they're safe in kansas. at least from people with guns in boats. we've got to take a short break.

(upbeat rock music) - [announcer] this report is brought to you by vicks and braun.

of school a year. 22-million days! that's 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, what's 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, while a cold comes on more slowly. first a sore throat, then a runny nose and then a cough. so if they're both caused by viruses, how can we avoid getting sick? - to avoid getting sick, my top three tips are making sure you washr that hands regularly. that you don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth. and that you get your flu shot every single year.

what can we do to deal with them? - first thing is to make sure you get plenf rest.ty o 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, al of the flu virus in your home. - interesting. so, not that i'm looking for ways to get out of class, but how can we tell when we're 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 that's the first step in gauging what to do, taking your temperature. i work with braun and they offer the

t to the ear drum. and that shares the same blood supply as the brain's temperature control center. the next thing to ask is do you feel well enough to engage in class. if you're too run down, then you should stay home. and then the last thing is, are you contagious? if so, don't go to school. - good information. thanks for talking with us, doc. school m thank you.while stam - ight sound great, being sick sure doesn't. here's 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, to healthy eating, i'm katie. - when it comes 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 it's not too often.

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. e wheel, your eyes on the road and your mind on driving. (school bell rings) (stude - all ntris ghcht atgute! so guess what? the nce is this saturday!da - are you going? - [girl] yes! let's all go - [boy] ds awesome!n together. (belt clicks) (enge starts) - okay.in so youe tonight? is know the them all schooh everything spirit. eartbeats) - rachel? rachel? hey rach!seriously? (h ea- eah face paint.ter) rachel, you'

(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. [doorbell rings] [doorbell rings]

[whistles] ??? getting closer to nature can get you closer to your family. go to discovertheforest.org. kids with special needs may think that some goals are beyond their reach. like for example, making it onto a top college's varsity team. coming challenges was a slam dunk. here's 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 we're at today is for kids on the go. it's a non-profit organization out of detroit.w, and for the last three

arni teach them the game of basketball, teach them the basics,ile e and just have fun whre. and also show them that if you have dreams and goals, go out and achieve them. you know, don't let anythi ng or anyone tell you that you can't do this, can't do that. and don't let obstacles stand in your way from living your dreams. i was four years old in 1993.i wasn and when i was five years old, a group of doctors and professionals told my parents that use i have autism, beca graduating from high sc from okemos high school in 2007. went on to grand valley state university for two years on a full-ride scholarship for basketball. i decided, you know, it was time for me to golive m and y 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 college basketballe diagnosed with autism in ncaa history.

his story is inspiring to us adults,parents, to us he parents in th, to t and to the children in the camp. they just, you know, litey look up to him.rall but he's 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 he's at a point where he is a very high-functioning child. 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. he's just like, "i want to learn how to play basketball. "if this guy can teach me basketball, "then i want to try." - don't be afraid to tell pe,ople "i can do this. "i can do that. "and you're not gonna tell me "that i can't do this because "i set my life. "i live my dreams. "you don't live 'em.

(yells)eat - we'll have more grstories from our friends at hooplaha on future shows. for teen kids news, i'm know it maybe you - daifni yeloula'r.e happyd you don't 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."

hey. you ready to go? yeah, but the fire's not out. close enough. close enough? if it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave. i mean, the next thing you know, you've torched our whole neighborhood. which is why...

exactly. only you can prevent wildfires. but sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking a dog is friendly, when it's really not. eden tells us more. - so you're walking down the street and you come across a dog. it's wagging its tail. so you'd think he's happy to see you.

to find out, we have robin bennett and susan briggs. they call themselves the dog gurus. they're also the authors of the book, off leash dog play. welcome. we're ha pp - thanks.y to be her. - it's great to be here with you today. - so susan. we can't assume that a wagging tail is always good sign, can we? - no you can't. we love our dogs. and they communicate a lot to us, and the tail is an important part of that. but just because it's wagging its tail and you should approach it. - do you have to worry about speed or where they're holding their tail? - yes. where they're you look at whether they're, what position is the tail, whether they're holding it high or low. and you look at how fast that wag is. - robin can you give us some specific examples? - well sure. let's say you're going to pet that dog and he ends up turning mean. you might have noticed the dog's 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.

or maybe you have a dog that's afraid of something and he's hiding. you'tucked under the bodail wags are gonna be really low, y, but still wagging. but that's still a dog i wouldn't 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 end. so let's look at the mouth. a dog that's safe to approh.ach generally has an open mout a closed mouth means that a dog's starting to get uncomfortable. you can also look at their body. is it kind of curve and loose? versus a dog that you wouldn't want to approach would be very stiff. those dogs are uncomfortable and it's not safe. - but i guess the bottom line is if you don't know the dog, don't approach him.it's o. unless his owner says - yes. you want to first ask the owner and if the owner says yes, still check in with the dog to see what the dog's body language is telling you. is the mouth open? is the body posture relaxed?

and number three, pet the dog if both of them say it's okay. - i certainly learned a lot. thank you both very much. - you're welcome, thanks. you hear somreat. - so the next timeeone say that a wagging tail means the dog is friendly. you can tell them that's just an old wives tail. and you learned that here on teen kids news. - that wraps up our show. but we'll have more teen kids news for you next week. so make sure you tune in!

write to us at

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