International Cake Day is today! This unofficial holiday celebrates one of the world’s favorite desserts. Idea: Children could list all the cakes they can think of. Then they could group them into some system. Finally, they could decide on their favorite cake.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is only two days away! Many communities host parades on Thanksgiving Day. Today children could organize a parade either indoor or outdoor that would be held on Thursday. They could make “floats” by decorating cardboard boxes and attaching pull strings. They could practice marching and playing kazoos. They could also create an original Thanksgiving song to perform during the parade. They could read The Thanksgiving Door by Debby Atwell. Also, author Jan Brett’s website is filled with Thanksgiving activities: http://www.janbrett.com.
Thanksgiving Day was celebrated nationally for the first time in 1789. President Washington issued a proclamation declaring that the day should be one of prayer and thanksgiving. Children could research what the first Thanksgiving meal was. How does it compare to what they eat on the holiday today? In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. In 1941 Congress passed a resolution changing Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday in November. Children can read about “The Year We Had Two Thanksgivings” at: Two Thanksgivings.
Alice in Wonderland was published in 1865. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson wrote the book under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. The book spawned plays, ballets, movies, cartoons, and comic books. Children can read various versions of the book at: Project Gutenberg.
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth died in 1883 in Battle Creek, Michigan. She was born a slave in Alster County, New York, possibly in the year 1797. She became a free woman after the New York Emancipation Act of 1827. She became an itinerant preacher, speaking for the cause of abolition. She became famous for her speaking, and she met Abraham Lincoln in the White House in 1864. After the Civil War, she campaigned for women’s rights. Idea: Children could read portions of the book Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? by Patricia McKissack. They could also read a transcript of her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at: Sojourner Truth.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument was created from Custer Battlefield National Monument in 1991. A monument to the Native Americans who fought at Custer’s Last Stand was also approved. Children can visit the National Park Service website, which provides some great photos, at: http://www.nps.gov/libi.
NASA’s DART was launched in 2021. It intentionally smashed into Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) was developed to test whether a craft could deflect the path of near-Earth objects. Dimorphos, a minor planet moon of the asteroid Didymos, was seven million miles away from Earth, so it provided a scientific opportunity to judge the effectiveness of DART. Astronomers, training multiple telescopes on the impact, are trying to judge the impact on the orbit of Dimorphos. Early indications are that DART exceeded expectations. Children can learn more at: DART.
Doris Gates (born Mountain View, California, 1901; died Carmel, California, September 3, 1987) wrote books for children. She received a Newbery Honor Award for Blue Willow in 1941. Her works also include The Cat and Mrs. Cary and The Elderberry Bush. Children can learn more at: Doris Gates.
Bat Masterson (born Henryville, Quebec, Canada, 1853; died New York, New York, October 25, 1921) was a gambler and a lawman of the Old West.
Laurence Pringle (born Rochester, New York, 1935) has written at least 100 books, mostly about nature, for children. His works include Owls! Strange and Wonderful and Scorpions! Children can visit his website at: Laurence Pringle.
Charles Schulz (born Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1922; died Santa Rosa, California, February 12, 2000) was a cartoonist and the creator of Peanuts. Students could read and discuss some of the Peanuts cartoons. They could try to draw their own cartoons. Children can learn more at: http://schulzmuseum.org/.