Saint Patrick's Day

Wow and Ahhh your friends and family with these St. Patrick's Day fun facts:

Facts about St. Patrick's Day Holiday

• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
   
• In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
   
• Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19, that features a parade, family carnivals, treasure hunt, dance, theatre and more. In North American, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day! In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours. There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737. Montreal is home to Canada’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1824.

Facts about Saint Patrick

• St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.

Facts about the Irish

• 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.
• Some American towns have “Irish” names. You could visit: Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia; Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio.
    
• The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”
   
• The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.
   
• The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”
  

Facts about Clovers

• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14!
   
• One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
       
• Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
   

Now go to this St. Patrick's Day Kaboose link to play leprechaun arcade games and find more St. Patrick's Day resources. 

To Have a Resolustion, To Not Have a Resolution?

Once again I have no New Year's resolution. Although I can see how it is beneficial for some people to set goals and make commitments, it just doesn't work for me. Instead of once a year commitment, everyday when I get out of bed I tell myself that today I am going to be a better wife, friend, teacher, person then I was yesterday. I guess in some way I am doing a daily resolution to better myself.

For those of you who can and do commit to your New Year's resolutions here are some thoughtful and character building New Year's resolutions for you and your schooler(s).



New Year's Parenting Resolutions


I will be a good role model for my child...
Parents have profound influence on the way their children grow up. This New Year give up your bad habits like procrastinating, smoking etc and be a role model for your children.

I will make efforts to understand my child...
Instead of cribbing over your child's tantrums and unhealthy habits try and understand why he is behaving in that peculiar manner. This will help you understand and resolve the issue in a much better manner. This not so easy goal can be achieved by spending quality time and being patient with child.

I will teach my child to eat healthy...
Encourage your child to develop healthier eating habits which includes consuming fruits, milk and vegetables and giving up junk food. Of course, you need to practice this before you preach.

I will encourage my child to take regular physical activity...
Obesity in children is rising because of their sedentary lifestyles. It is extremely important to make your children realize the benefits of regular physical activity. Enrolling them in the sports class of their choice will be a good idea.

I will reward my child for his good behavior...
For the proper personality development of your child, it is important to praise and reward his achievements and good behavior. Besides, it is also important to show a calm and patient behavior when your child misbehaves or is in trouble. This helps him become a cool and level-headed person.

New Year's Resolutions for Preschoolers

• I will brush my teeth twice a day.
• I will wash my hands after going to the bathroom and before eating.
• I will clean up my toys.

New Year's Resolutions for School Age Kids

 

• I will do my homework in time.
• I will go to sleep on time.
• I will drink milk and water, and limit aerated drinks.
• I'll never give out personal information such as my name, home address, school name or telephone number on the Internet or to strangers.
• I'll be nice to other kids. I'll be friendly to kids who need friends - like someone who is shy, or is new to my school
• I will wear my seat belt every time I get in a car. I'll sit in the back seat and use a booster seat until I am tall enough to use a lap/shoulder seat belt.
• I will apply sunscreen before I go outdoors.
• I will try to stay in the shade whenever possible and wear a hat and sunglasses, especially when I'm playing sports.
• I will try to find a sport (like basketball or soccer) or an activity (skipping rope, dancing or horse riding) that I like and do it at least three times a week!

 All resolution ideas are from http://www.newyearfestival.com/.



A Holiday Story

My first year teaching was a year of learning, creating, playing, and collaborating. Every year as the holidays start I am reminded of a parent who confronted me at the beginning of the school day in October.

In an aggressive manner this parent approached me and said, "Day of the Dead is not part of the second grade curriculum. I am going to go to the principal about this because I am so upset."

I explained to this concerned father that the lesson was geared toward single paragraph writing, with an opening sentence, 4 detail sentences, and a closing sentence. Since I give a writing lesson everyday and this particular day was "Day of the Dead" I tied in our Social Studies curriculum (ancestors and cultural customs) into our writing lesson.

The father, who I'm not sure was listening to my response replied, "My family is Catholic and we don't believe in that. We don't even like Halloween but, we let my son dress up so that he doesn't feel left out."

I told him that I understood his view and that I, myself, am Catholic. Furthermore, I explained to this father that I teach the students that even though we may not believe, understand, or agree in certain beliefs or customs of other cultures or groups of people it is important to know and learn about people of the past and present from around the world.

At that time the father didn't have a reply and as he turned to walk away down the school's hall I said to him, "Oh, Mr.______ with the holidays coming you should know that I teach my students about Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the different Santa Clauses around the world, and we close the year with a cultural potluck. If you'd like, I can arrange for your child to be in a different class during these lessons." He didn't respond to me, nor go to the principal about his concerns, and didn't mention anything of his "Day of the Dead" discussion with me again.

Most of you may think this isn't a holiday story at all. For me, it reminded me how lucky I was to be a teacher and that I have the ability to teach and learn from such unique and diverse children on a daily basis. That year all my holiday lessons went on without a hitch. As a diverse class we learned, explored, discussed, created, and played....together. Isn't that what the holidays are about?