Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Veterans' Day

Veterans' Day is an important holiday in the United States. In 1789 a law was passed to give money to soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War. In 1960, President Hoover signed a bill creating the Veterans Administration (VA).

Here are some ways to celebrate and learn about Veterans Day:

  • Have your child create a time line of events leading to the observance of the holiday.
  • If you know any veterans locally, suggest that your kids interview them about what it's like to serve in the U.S. military.
  • Research how American veterans were treated after they returned from various military conflicts, ranging from the French and Indian War to the Persian Gulf War. Ask your children to compare and contrast their findings. Also compare and contrast how women and minorities who served in those conflicts were treated.
  • Make thank you cards for veterans and mail or deliver them to the nearest VA hospital.
  • Draw and illustrate a picture or make a poster of Veterans Day, and what this holiday means. If you have family member currently deployed, have our child draw a picture of that family member serving our country.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Peanut Butter Fun

I thought it might be fun to get a little “nutty” this month. November is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month. Can you say Yum Yum!

Did you know that it takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter and that there are enough peanuts in one acre to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches? Peanut butter was first introduced to the USA in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis by C.H. Sumner, who sold $705.11 of the "new treat" at his concession stand.
Dr. George Washington Carver is referred to as the "peanut wizard" and father of the peanut industry. He began to study peanuts in 1914. He invented many things including the discovery of over 300 different uses for peanuts – such as making cooking oil, axle grease and printer's ink.

Here is a neat bit of trivia just for fun, "Arachibutyrophobia" (pronounced I-RA-KID-BU-TI-RO-PHO-BI-A) is the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of your mouth.