LatinXplorers:

It is a confusing and concerning time for all of us. The novel coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, has altered everyday life for everyone. Most of us, if not all, are currently learning distantly, physically away from classmates, friends, and teachers. Many events have been cancelled, the parks in all areas are closed, and many probably haven’t haven’t left their homes much. Even worse, many people are ill. We are currently experiencing a pandemic, meaning the sicknesses related to the coronavirus are widespread, reaching almost all continents with the exception of Antarctica.

Understandably, there may be questions and concerns. It is perfectly okay to be worried about yourself, friends, and family. It is okay to be concerned with the state of the world. These emotions are valid and encouraged to be expressed.

Southwest LatinX values the safety and well-being of our community’s youth. While we don’t have answers and solutions to what we are experiencing, we can provide a few tips to help make the experience a bit easier:

Ask questions: Because the COVID-19 is a new coronavirus, everyone has many questions regarding how it functions and how it affects people. By nature, human beings are inquisitive, meaning they want to obtain information and answers to their questions. Remember, the best way to handle any situation is to be as educated and well-informed as possible. Ask those around you what they know about coronavirus. With a parents/guardians consent and guidance, it’s important to seek professional and credible answers when using the internet. The three reliable sources to gain updates national, globally and locally are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization (WHO) and ElPasoStrong These reliable sources are continuously monitoring the pandemic and uploading new information as it becomes available.

Be honest and vocal: It is incredibly important to pay attention to the feeling being experienced and express them by letting others know. Sharing is a healthy way of coping with a lot of emotions. To some it may come easy to talk about feelings and to others it may not. Some people can be shy or embarrassed to do so, but that is okay. If you don’t know how to start talking about your feelings and emotions, try asking people questions. You can ask questions such as “are you worried about getting sick?” or “how does it make you feel not seeing your family and friends?” Remember that honest conversations help us feel better and less alone. EVERYONE'S feelings are valid. You might be having the same worries and concerns as someone else, so it’s good to express them. Think about a time when you didn’t understand what was being taught at school and someone else asked the questions you were thinking to yourself. It probably helped you understand the lesson better. It’s very similar to what is happening now. Others might have similar emotions and concerns. Let’s talk about them!

Use your time creatively: By limiting interaction with screens and devices, you now have ample time to be creative! Have you ever made a bird feeder? Homemade slime? Now is the time to try it out! What about making a greeting card for grandma who isn’t quarantined with you? Make one, mail it to her, and make her day! Maybe learn to sow or to build robots! There are tons of things to do to pass the time creatively. For ideas, visit Parents.com. They have online sections for various crafty activities. Ask a parent, older sibling, or relative to join in on the fun! Doing arts and crafts helps lower cortisol, which is what stresses most of us out. That’s great news! Try and plan a different craft for every day of the week!

Literature is your friend: It might seem like the last thing anyone would want to do, but reading is a great way of passing the time and continuing to learn. Books are a great way of learning new things and staying mentally active. World Book Online has over 3,000 eBooks which you can access right now for free! Reading can help one escape the harsh realities of our current situation and travel to alternative universes, live different realities, and meet new people. This can help release some tension and relax the mind too. Remember, reading also helps improve writing and communication skills. Therefore, while reading, improvements in other areas of the brain are being made! How cool is that?

Stay active: There is scientific evidence that once exercising, one starts to feel better and think more positively! Exercising also helps to reduce stress and ward off anxiety and depression. Perhaps exercising seems boring. Why not try having a dance party? Dancing releases endorphins, which help you feel happy and energetic. It also helps the brain stay in top shape. If a house member has Spotify, they have curated playlists just for kids! So does YouTube.

Southwest LatinX hopes all you LatinXplorers are taking care of yourselves and each other. Remember to consult your parents or guardians before acting upon any of these recommendations. We are looking forward to seeing all of you soon! We can’t wait to continue our journey together.

If you had the choice to pick between baking cookies or doing a math lesson, it’s likely that you’ll choose the cookies. That is understandable. Cookies are fun and delicious! However, math is a very important subject. While it might not be delicious like cookies are, that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.

Fractions are an important part of math. Understanding fractions is a necessary skill for everyone. Fractions are fundamental for more advanced math which you will learn either in high school or college and help you with everyday life activities. They help tell time, they help make good shopping decisions, and help people make appropriate measurements. They also help you to bake!

Fractions are best understood when accompanied by visuals such as graphs, charts, and tables. For instance, many fractions are represented by a circular graph, or a pie graph. Can you guess what is also in the shape of a circle? A cookie, of course!

Southwest LatinX encourages fun and entertaining ways of learning different subjects such as math. By baking cookies, we will combine two of life’s essential skills; making food and knowing fractions. Additionally, cooking and baking helps to understand and visualize fractions by learning about measurements such as teaspoons and cups.

Let’s begin by following this easy recipe for sugar cookies. Parents and guardians: Please be sure to accompany the children in preparing the sugar cookies. We do, however, highly encourage you to allow them to figure out the measuring and preparation requirements mostly on their own.

To make sugar cookies, you’ll need:

2 ¾ cups all-purpose floor

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 egg Cookie sheets

OPTIONAL: Frosting/icing for both decorative and educational purposes. By decorating the different fractions, you can build wholes made from different fractions while identifying where the parts came from.

For example: If you decorate your 1/2 fraction in red and your 1/4 fraction in yellow, you can then put them together and see how one side of the red 1/2 fraction combines with two sides of the yellow 1/4 fraction.

The directions are as follow:

1.) Ask an adult to preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a small bowl. Stir into a mixture and set aside.

2.) Using a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar into a smooth mixture. Add the egg (don’t forget to crack it first!) and the vanilla extract. Add the contents of the small bowl with those in the large bowl. Once it is all mixed together, roll small parts of the mass into balls and then flattening them into medium-sized circles. Place the circles on a cookie sheet.

3.) Using either a fork or a knife, cut the circles into the following fractions: 1/2, 1/3,1/4, 1/5, 1/6, and 1/8. Leave one circle uncut to represent a whole. The fractions should look like this:

4.) Bake inside the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies look golden brown. After removing them from the oven, let them cool for about 2 minutes.

Once they have cooled, place each cookie, or fraction, on a different piece of paper or paper plate labeled with the fraction it represents. If you choose to decorate your cookies with frosting/icing, this can help differentiate the fractions from each another.

You can now rearrange parts of each fraction to see how many ways there are to make a complete whole. See! Who said math couldn’t be both fun and delicious?

Enjoy, LatinXplorers!

Greetings, LatinXplorers, and Happy Earth Day 2020! Today, April 22, 2020,

we are commemorating 50 years of Earth Day celebrations by presenting you with an interactive and educational Prezi presentation for all of our LatinXplorers!

The presentation gives some brief yet informative details about Earth Day and what we can all do to help Planet Earth, including information about our hometown of El Paso, Texas.

At the end of the presentation, you'll be asked to make a pledge, which is similar to a promise, on how you are going to contribute to the preservation and improvement of our planet.

Write it down and ask your parents to take a picture of your pledge and share it on our Facebook page!

Happy Earth Day, LatinXplorers!

Copy and paste this link to access the Prezi presentation: https://prezi.com/view/D755NzLoRLEcCoMkFrXh/

It is Cinco de Mayo, or May 5th. Perhaps you’re aware that something related to Mexico and Mexican history is celebrated today. Many events, parades, street fairs, and parties are held in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is extremely popular in the United States. The holiday celebrates Mexican culture, heritage, and, most importantly, history.

There are many ways of celebrating Mexican culture and heritage on Cinco De Mayo. People usually feast on traditional Mexican food such as guacamole, enchiladas, or flautas. They listen to Mexican music such as cumbias, corridos, and mariachi. Homes, businesses, and schools are decorated in papel picado, or perforated paper, and the Mexican flag.

These are all great ways of celebrating and honoring Mexican culture and heritage, but perhaps we still aren't clear about what exactly Cinco de Mayo is all about.

Let's discuss Cinco de Mayo a bit more.

What exactly is being celebrated on Cinco De Mayo?

Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican culture and heritage. It also commemorates, meaning to celebrate something that already happened, an important date in Mexico’s history. Many people mistakenly believe Cinco de Mayo to be Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually celebrated on September 16. In actuality, Cinco de Mayo is honoring the Mexican army’s defeat of the French army during the French-Mexican War on May 5th, 1862.

Why were Mexico and France at war?

During the Mexican-American War, which ended in 1848, Mexico had borrowed money from European countries to fight the American government and army. One of those countries was France. It was understood that Mexico had to pay back the money it had borrowed after the war.

Benito Juarez was Mexico's president at the time. For two years, he stopped paying back the money Mexico had borrowed from France. French Emperor Napoleon III saw this as an opportunity to expand French ruling into Mexico.

He sent French army men to invade Mexico. With the United States fighting its own battles during the Civil War, they couldn't defend the Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine, which is a set of beliefs by a political party or religion, did not allow for anymore European settling in the Americas. With the United States too busy to help Mexico, France invaded Mexico in 1861. Thus began the French-Mexican War.

Batalla de Puebla, the Battle of Puebla

On December 17, 1861, the French took over Veracruz. Then they took Campeche on February 27, 1861. Mexico's government and army was weak because of the Mexican-American War. They weren’t in good shape to take on the French. However, the Mexican people quickly organized to increase the odds of beating Napoleon and his army in future battles.

Led by Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexico’s Secretary of War back then, the Mexican army first fought the French invaders on April 28, 1862, at Acultzingo. They were forced to retreat and regroup at the city of Puebla. The Mexican army had limited resources, were outnumbered by the French, and were exhausted. Despite of all of this, the Mexicans defeated the French army on May 5th, or Cinco de Mayo. Unfortunately, the victory was short lived. The French would take over Mexico within a year, but Cinco de Mayo remained a symbol of the unity between the Mexican people and their strength.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo

Today, Mexico doesn’t make a big fuss over Cinco de Mayo. It is a minor event. Although it is a holiday, it is mostly celebrated in Puebla, the location of the victorious battle. There are celebrations and events, but Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in the United States.

That is a good thing because Mexican and Mexican-Americans get to share their culture and traditions with each other and others on Cinco de Mayo. Throughout the U.S., people gather to eat Mexican food while listening to traditional Mexican music.

Perhaps the most important thing about Cinco de Mayo is pride. Because of Cinco de Mayo, many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans get the opportunity to show everyone else just how happy and proud they are to be Mexican or of Mexican descent. Just like the battle of Puebla helped the Mexicans feel proud about their victory, Cinco de Mayo helps Mexicans and Mexican-Americans feel proud about who they are.