World Snow Day is today! Celebrated on the third Sunday in January, the day encourages all to enjoy the joys of snow. It was founded by the International Ski Federation. It was first celebrated informally in 2010 and then formally in 2012. Idea: Children could go outside to sled, make snow people, or make snow angels.
Singapore celebrates its kite festival. Singapore is a country of one large island and fifty smaller islands. Located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, it sits between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Colonized by the British, Singapore today is independent and an important commerce and transportation center. Idea: Children could make and fly their own kites.
Tin can processing of food was patented by Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett in 1825. Tin cans preserve food for long periods of time. Children can learn more about different ways of preserving food at: Food Preservation.
New Horizons
New Horizons was launched in 2006 to fly by Pluto and its moons. The unmanned spacecraft flew closest to Pluto on July 14, 2015. The craft then studied Pluto’s five moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos. After its work around Pluto was done, it was given a new mission, to study objects in the Kuiper Belt. It conducted a flyby of (486958) 2014 MU69 on January 1, 2019. After it has passed through the Kuiper Belt, it will study interstellar space. Children could learn a great deal more at: New Horizons.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday. The holiday is the third Monday in January. Martin Luther King, Junior’s birthday is January 15, 1929. He was assassinated in 1968. A holiday in his honor was first proposed in 1968. It became law in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan signed the document. It was first observed January 20, 1986. Some states fought the idea, and it was first observed in all 50 states in 2000. Lately people have proposed that the day become a day of service and not just a holiday. Some organizations paint/repair community buildings. Others improve parks and highways. Others work with charity groups. Children could learn more about the Martin Luther King Day of Service at: http://mlkday.gov/.
Penguins Migrate
Penguin Awareness Day is today! Penguins are flightless birds that spend half their time on land and half their time in oceans. Scientists believe about 17 to 20 species of penguins exist today. Only the Galapagos penguin lives north of the equator. Penguins consume fish, krill, and other sea organisms as they travel through the water. Interesting fact: a group of penguins on land is a waddle; a group of penguins in water is a raft. Idea: Children could read Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater. They could also find out why most penguins are white and black.
First basketball game was played in 1892. James Naismith was working at the School for Christian Workers, now Springfield College, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was told to develop a new game to keep athletes fit in the winter months. Using a soccer ball and two peach bushel baskets, he created the game of Basket Ball. Idea: Children could organize a basketball mini-tournament. Children can read more about the original rules of the game at: Basketball Rules. Children could also read John Coy’s Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball.
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 became the first president to be inaugurated on January 20. All previous presidents had been sworn in on March 4. The Twentieth Amendment changed the date of inauguration from March 4 to January 20.
Kamala Harris became the first woman Vice President of the United States in 2021. She is also the first African American and the first Asian American person elected Vice President.
Squirrel Appreciation Day is today! The day was created in 2001 by Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitation specialist living in Asheville, North Carolina. Belonging to the rodent family, squirrels live in just about every habitat. While predominantly herbivores, squirrels can eat insects and even small mammals. Squirrels actually plant trees because they bury seeds and nuts for future meals and then forget about them. The seeds and nuts then sprout to become trees.