Leap This

29^th February –

Now there’s a date

you don’t see every year!

Happy Leap Year Day  

Some fun facts:

Leap year babies born in 1884 didn’t celebrate a birthday on their actual birth date for their entire teenage years!  They had a “real” birthday when they were 12 and then again when they were 20!

 

Leap year gives women a day to propose to the man in their life.  This tradition started way back in the fifth century, in Ireland.

In 1288, Queen Margret of Scotland declared that should a lady’s proposal be declined on the 29^th of February, she could fine the man a kiss, a silk dress or a pair of gloves... (Rush out, propose to several men and deck yourself out in clothes for the next four years!)

 Apparently, being born on the 29^th of February means that you will have special talents and be called a “leaping”.

Happy Birthday to the 4 million odd leapings celebrating their birthday today!

 Pictures from here, here, here and here.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ

It’s almost mid-week... 

Almost Hump Day... 

Almost-mid-week

can be a little tiring,

 and that is why today

 is a good day. 

Today is Public Sleeping Day. 

Today is the day

to sneak a little nap

in a public space. 

In the staffroom,

doze off for a while...

in the classroom –

surely the kids won’t notice

a few snores

sneaking from me...

Just don’t start celebrating

 this day while driving

to or from work!

Pictures from here.

Polar Bears Get A Day

Over time, I have gathered

 a bunch of random

and highly interesting facts

about animals. 

The more I learn,

the more I become interested

 in the animals

we share our world with. 

In the classroom,

anything to do with animals

 will grab the kids attention –

and keep their attention! 

This makes me love animals

 that little bit more!

I have trouble naming

a favourite animal... 

It’s a big call...

But, in my top few,

sits the polar bear. 

Today is

International Polar Bear Day.

So...     facts:

They have black fur...

and hairy feet...

and an excellent sense of smell...

and paws that are 30cm wide...

Their hairs are hollow...

they have 42 teeth...

and they curl into the snow

to wait out a blizzard. 

Unlike mine, their ten centimetres

of blubber is a good thing!

Polar bears are cool – no doubt

(they live in some of the

coldest places on earth –

and yet, can overheat!). 

Sad fact –

they are very much threatened

by global warming

and climate change.

Happy Polar Bear Day

Info, picture and more info

I love today’s celebrations

for another reason....

Today is also Kahlua Day! 

Drink Up!

Pished Nuts

Today is Pistachio Day.

I love pistachios. 

I love the green colour

the nuts sometimes have. 

I love the way you rip

the shells open with your fingers...

getting cuts and bruises

along the way. 

I love the salty flavour

of the shells – if you’re

in the mood to pop them

into your mouth

and suck out the salt.

I didn’t realise,

but 110 grams of pistachios

 will also provide me with 144%

of my daily copper requirements! 

I now know that copper

is highly essential for metabolism

and red blood cell synthesis. 

These little green shelled beauties

 are full of the goodness

 found in most nuts...

a great reason to start

adding them to my breakfast cereal!

While eating pistachios today,

 you might want to

tell a Fairy Tale, too. 

It’s Tell A Fairy Tale Day!

Once upon a time....

Chocolate + Nuts + Chilli

Woohoo! 

Chocolate Covered Nuts Day! 

The only time I let myself

 eat these before breakfast

 is Christmas morning.

I guess that needs to change,

 now that I know that

 today is also a day for

chocolate coated nuts

as breakfast! 

(I’m guessing today

would be the perfect day

to eat M&Ms, too

– the nutty ones, anyway!)

The 25^th is a busy day. 

It’s also Chilli Day.

How about

putting the two together

 and eating nuts covered

in chilli flavoured chocolate!

Eat up!

Today's Friday

It's Sunnies for Sight Day

A wonderful day,

set aside to raise money

for people without the funds

to have thier eyes checked...

people without access

to eye specialists...

people who cannot

have surgery - which in turn

leads them to becoming blind...

and thus, living a

much more difficult life,

often sprialling into poverty

and further difficulties. 

Sunnies For Sight Day

is an Aussie idea... 

It's a good one.

But, I'm too tired

to do the day justice...

It's also Tortilla Chip day... 

But really,

I don't care enough...

So... I

 cannot get 24 days

into February - having blogged

every one of those days,

and not blog today...

So...

Today is Friday 

and that is sure reason

for celebration!

Salute!

Give A Dog A Bone

Here’s another fun one...



  International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.

(Yes, I said “International”)

Surprisingly, there is little

information about this

exciting day for dogs, so...

I’m taking a poem from the

Lafayette School Poetry on Parade blog.

Rolled out of bed.

Scratched my head.

Brought the mail.

Wagged my tail.

Fetched a stick.

Learned a trick.

Chased a hare.

Sat in a chair.

Chewed a shoe--

Table, too.

Got in a spat

With a cat.

Buried a bone.

Answered the phone.

Heard a thief.

Gave him grief.

Time to creep

Off to sleep.

 

If you have a dog –

you better have some

delicious dog biscuits today!

Pictures from here, here and here.

Hmm...Melted Butter & Cinnamon Sugar

While I am not too partial

to eating dog biscuits...

I do love banana bread...

grilled...

with butter...

and cinnamon sugar. 

Delicious.  

Imagine the smelI of

banana bread,

fresh out of the oven... 

Pity that I know

this is not the healthiest

option for breakfast...

but...

there is a day where this

no longer matters. 

Have a guess what day

it is today!  

Woohoo, it’s
get-the-butter-

and-cinnamon-sugar-out,

day...

It’s Banana Bread Day.

  I love it when the

bananas get too ripe!

Eat up!

Thoughts to Think

Here’s something to think about:

It’s World Thinking Day.

 

It’s a Girl Guides/Girl Scouts day. 

All over the world,

these kids are celebrating the

friendships and experiences

they enjoy

through the Guides/Scouts.

For 2012, the theme is

“We can save our planet”.

World Thinking Day

is a great day

for the girls to mix

with girls just like them –

living in countries

all over the world. 

(There are more than

ten million girls in the

Guides/Scouts in the world!) 

There is a

World Thinking Day badge

which the girls can earn. 

They will need to complete

seven activities from a

“Thinking Day pack”. 

They have to complete

at least one

fund-raising activity.

Imagine...

ten million girls,

all focussed on recognising goodness

 and being grateful

for what they have....

ten million girls

focussed on saving our planet.

  Imagine what these

ten million girls

could be achieving as

they grow into young adults!

Pictures from here and here.

Talk To Me

Speak up...

In as many languages as you can! 

It’s International Mother Language Day. 

UNESCO started this day –

back in 2000. 

Now, Mother Language Day

is celebrated all over the world. 

day is used to promote

the importance of linguistics,

cultural diversity

and multilingualism.

It seems strange to have a day

 to promote Mother Languages...

But there have been so many

 languages lost over time

 and generations. 

Stories and legends –

once very important

have been forgotten

as their speakers died. 

We should be proud of our languages. 

They hold the key to our culture. 

Australia was once rich

with language. 

Not so much, today...

In Australia, before Europeans arrived,

there were 250 Aboriginal languages. 

Today, the number of Aboriginal languages in Australia still used as a mother tongue is down to 145.  110 of these are “critically endangered”.   There are 20 Aboriginal languages spoken in NSW today – but only 10 are considered “healthy” enough to be included in school curriculums.   Around 11% of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people speak an Aboriginal language at home.  Most of them also speak English. (In remote areas, the numbers of people speaking an Aboriginal language is 50%.)  Only 62% of Aboriginal adults identified with a clan, language or tribal group – makes me wonder what impact the Stolen Generation had on these numbers.  Incredibly, only 20% of surveyed Western Australians were supportive of a suggested inclusion of Indigenous languages into the school curriculum.

This information was taken

from the Creative Spirits webpage.

 In the words of Roger Hart

(Aboriginal Elder) –

“When I speak language,

it makes me feel (at) home”.

Today’s a great day

to remind us to keep

the old languages alive.