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St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Around The World
Photo courtesy of Flickr St. Patty’s Day Celebrations Around The World St. Patrick’s Day began as a holiday to remember the life of a man named St. Patrick who did good work in Ireland in the late 5th Century. But over the years, St. Patrick’s Day has become more of a day to simply celebrate being Irish. Traditional symbols of the holiday are shamrocks, Leprechauns, and of course, wearing the color green!In college, we would wake up at the crack of dawn and ride our bikes to our favorite restaurant to have some green eggs and pancakes. Now, as a mom to an Irish little girl, we have fun going on leprechaun…
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Sweets From Around the World
Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition – and its right around the corner! Did you know the nearly 2,000 year old holiday was originally a pre-celebration for the Celts New Year, known as Samhain, which began on November 1, marking the end of summer and the beginning of the dark, cold winter? They believed that during this day the dead returned as ghosts and that the mere presence of these ghosts aided their priests in predicting the future. The Celts would set bonfires, make sacrifices of food and animals to appease their Gods and wear costumes to celebrate the day. Combined with influences from other cultures,…
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Play :: The 2013 Rugby Championships
2013 Rugby Championship – Teach your kids something new today! Have you ever heard of a game called rugby? It’s a really fun sport, especially if you’ve seen a game being played. The rules are similar to games that are familiar to you (such as soccer or football). Two teams, with 15 players each, try to earn points by getting a ball across the opponent’s goal line or between their goalposts. However, in rugby, you can only throw the ball backwards! Rugby is popular in countries such as Australia, England, Italy and Argentina. It’s watched by over 2 billion people worldwide, especially during world championships. Sam and Sofia,…
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Culture :: Lunches From Around the World
Lunches From Around the World Kids around the world are preparing to go back to school—that means homework, new friends and … lunch? Yes, that’s right! Let’s visit different countries and see what yummy food the school kids eat every day! France- French children enjoy a 3 or 4-course meal that is made from high-quality ingredients, and is mostly made from scratch. The children all sit in the same eating area, the cafeteria. An interesting fact is that there are no vending machines in schools, because they’re banned due to the high sugar and fat content of the treats they carry. Typical school lunches here can have a…
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Play :: Celebrate National Friendship Day
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival. “ – C. S. Lewis Friendships are so important to help you get through the rough times in life and enjoy the happy times. I think back to the women I’ve met along the way and who have had an impact in my life and I am so thankful we crossed paths. Some of these friends I am no longer in touch with but I still look back fondly on these friendships. I was so happy to hear that there is a national…
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Inspirational Moms: Amy Norman and Stella Ma of Little Passports
One of the ways to teach our children to be compassionate and thoughtful of others is to teach them about the world around them. With knowledge and understanding of others comes an appreciation of the diversity that makes up our planet. I recently discovered a wonderful company called Little Passports that provides a fun and educational tool for parents to use that gets children excited about learning. I had a chance to interview the the two founders, Amy Norman and Stella Ma, both moms, and they talk about what inspired them to start Little Passports. Tell us what inspired you both to start Little Passports? Amy: I moved around a lot as…
