Kansas State Flag
Kansas became the thirty-fourth state of the United States in 1861. Kansas is known chiefly for its agricultural products, including wheat and cattle. The state capital is Topeka. Kansas ranks fifteenth in area and 34th in population. The geographic center of the United States is located near Lebanon, Kansas. The state animal is the buffalo. Children could visit Kansas. Idea: The sunflower is the state’s official wild flower. Children could toast and eat sunflower seeds.
Amendment Eighteen to the Constitution was adopted in 1919. It brought on Prohibition. Experts feel that alcohol-related deaths declined during Prohibition. However, the black market and organized crime became more powerful. Amendment Twenty-One repealed this amendment on December 5, 1933. Amendment Eighteen is our only amendment to be repealed.
Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization was founded in 1929 by Dorothy Harrison Eustis of Morristown, New Jersey. Idea: Children could interview one of the dog trainers. Children could also learn more at: http://www.seeingeye.org/about-us/history.html.
Disney’s Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959. Work began in 1951, and it incorporated music from Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty. Originally it was not a successful movie, but it is now a classic.
American League of Baseball was formed in 1900.
National Baseball Hall of Fame elected its first baseball players in 1936. The people were Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner. Children could study the biographies of these men. What accomplishments brought them to the Hall of Fame? Children could learn about all the inductees at: http://baseballhall.org/explorer.
Thomas Jefferson Building Aerial by Carol M. Highsmith
Library of Congress was burned in 1815 by the British during the War of 1812. The library was located in the Capitol Building. After the War of 1812 Thomas Jefferson helped reorganize the Library of Congress with a contribution of 6,500 books. The Library of Congress remained in the rebuilt Capitol Building until 1897 when the library building opened. The library now houses 144 million items. The first Library of Congress Building is the Thomas Jefferson Building. Other portions of the Library of Congress are housed in the John Adams Building and the James Madison Memorial Building. Children could investigate the Library of Congress website for children at: http://www.loc.gov/families/. The site is truly filled with many, many ideas. Remember to keep scrolling and scrolling!
Lone Ranger and Silver
Lone Ranger was broadcast over radio for the first time in 1933. About 2,956 radio episodes aired, with the last original episode occurring on September 3, 1954. The television show lasted from 1949 to 1957. At least six movies were made, and nineteen novels were written. Several animated series and comic books followed. Idea: The theme music for the Lone Ranger is a famous piece of classical music, the finale of The William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini. Children could listen to the music and find out more about its composer. Older children could read more at: Lone Ranger.
Péter Lékó became the world’s youngest Chess Grand Master in 1994. Born in Yugoslavia, he was fourteen (a record at the time) when he won the title. Children could learn how to play chess at: Chess.
Zebras
International Zebra Day is today! Three species of zebras exist today: Grévy’s zebra, plains zebra, and mountain zebra. Located in southern Africa in protected areas, zebras will graze on whatever they can find. The zebra is a relative of the horse. However, zebras have never been domesticated.
Backwards Day is celebrated today. Children could wear shirts or hats backward today. They could count backwards and say the alphabet backwards.