Global Recycling Day is today! Did you know that 52 million tons of paper are recycled every year? Enough plastic is discarded each year to circle the world four times, but most of that could be recycled. Idea: Children could host a recycling event. Children could also learn more at: Global Recycling Day.
Flag of Aruba
Aruba celebrates Flag Day, a national holiday. Claimed by Spain in 1499, Aruba became a Dutch colony in 1636. Still a Dutch possession, Aruba is a bit larger than Washington, DC. Oranjestad is the capital. Because it is located in the Caribbean Sea, the island has a tropical climate. However, it lies outside the hurricane belt and is seldom threatened. Slightly over 100,000 people live on the island, and many of them depend on the 1.5 million tourists who visit the vacation destination. Children can learn more at: Aruba.
Staple Bend Tunnel
First railroad tunnel in the United States was completed in 1834. Slightly over 900 feet in length, the Staple Bend Tunnel, located in Southwestern Pennsylvania, is rock-bored and lined in stone. Engineers needed three years to dig the tunnel. Today it is a National Historic Landmark. Children can learn more at: Staple Bend Tunnel.
Aleksei Leonov, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first person to walk in space in 1965. His space walk lasted a bit over twelve minutes, and he was connected to his spacecraft by a tether.
Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland (born Caldwell, New Jersey, 1837; died Princeton, New Jersey, June 24, 1908) was the twenty-second and twenty-fourth president of the United States. He was president from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Born a minister’s son, he was mayor of Buffalo and governor of New York. He was not a very popular president. He applied his veto power over 300 times, more than double the total vetoes of all previous presidents. Children could visit a website at: Grover Cleveland.
Rudolph Diesel (born Paris, France, 1858; died English Channel, September 29, 1913) invented the diesel internal combustion engine.
Douglas Florian (born New York, New York, 1950) writes books for children. His books include Insectlopedia and Laugh-eteria. Children can learn more at: Douglas Florian.
Susan Patron (born Los Angeles, California, 1948; died Los Angeles, California, October 24, 2023) wrote books for children. Her book The Higher Power of Lucky received the 2007 Newbery Medal. One of her recent books is Dear America: Behind the Masks.
Kaethe Zemach (born Boston, Massachusetts, 1958) writes and illustrates books for children. The daughter of writer Harve Zemach and illustrator Margot Zemach, she published her first book at age 14. Her books include The Character in the Book and Just Enough and Not Too Much.
Ptolemy in AD 72 made the first recorded reference to a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth passes between the sun and the moon. At that time the earth’s shadow falls on the moon, causing the eclipse. Lunar eclipses occur between four and seven times a year. Children can learn more about lunar eclipses at: Lunar Eclipse.
American Cliff Swallow
Swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, California. The American cliff swallows arrive after wintering in Argentina. They stay until October 23 when they fly 6,000 miles back to Goya, Argentina. Children could visit a website at: Swallows. They could also read Leo Politi’s classic, Song of the Swallows.
William Bradford (born Yorkshire, England, 1589; died Plymouth, Massachusetts, May 9, 1657) was the second governor of Plymouth Colony, serving from 1621 to 1657. He organized the first Thanksgiving. Much of what we know of Pilgrim life comes from his book Of Plimmoth Plantation. Young adults can read the book at: Project Gutenberg.
William Jennings Bryan (born Salem, Illinois, 1860; died Dayton, Tennessee, July 26, 1925) was known as the “Silver-Tongued Orator.” He championed causes such as the women’s right to vote and the plight of farmers. Children could learn more at: William Jennings Bryan.
Wyatt Earp (born Monmouth, Illinois, 1848; died Los Angeles, California, January 13, 1929) was a frontiersman and a deputy sheriff. At one time he was a buffalo hunter. He and his two brothers were responsible for the fight at the O. K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881.
David Livingstone (born Blantyre, Scotland, 1813; died Africa, May 1, 1873) was a physician, missionary, and the famous missing adventurer. He had been missing for six years. A search party, headed by Henry Stanley, found him near Lake Tanganyika, Africa, on November 10, 1871. Staley tried to convince him to return to Scotland, but Livingstone wanted to continue looking for the source of the Nile River.
Thomas McKean (born New London, Pennsylvania, 1734; died Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1817) signed the Declaration of Independence. A lawyer, McKean attended the Continental Congress. However, he immediately joined the army and battled the British before he returned around 1777 to sign the Declaration of Independence. After the war, he was chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Governor of Delaware, President of the Constitutional Convention, and Governor of Pennsylvania. Children could learn more at: Thomas McKean.
Charles M. Russell (born St. Louis, Missouri, 1864; died Great Falls, Montana, October 26, 1926) was an artist. He was a shepherd and cowboy before he began to paint. His art reflects his interest in the West. Children can learn more at: Charles M. Russell.
My Friend’s Garden
First Day of Spring occurs today! It marks the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. The length of the day equals the length of the night. In the Southern Hemisphere, today marks the first day of fall. Children could read The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth, by Ellen Jackson.
Flag of Tunisia
Tunisia celebrates Independence Day. France gave up control of Tunisia in 1956. Slightly smaller than the state of Wisconsin, Tunisia is located on the northern coast of Africa. Approximately 10.7 million people live in Tunisia. In the north, this country has a temperate climate with rainy winter. In the south, most of the country is in a desert. Tunis is the capital. One source of income for the country is petroleum. Older children can learn more at: Tunisia.