Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

If you didn't like Phil's prediction this year, remember that historically he's only been correct 39% of the time. I, for one, am ready for spring!

If you'd like to look at a fun website with your kids, take a look at this one today, it's the Official Website of the Punxsutawny Groundhog club. Lots of fun stuff here, how the tradition got started, activities for kids and even a recipe for groundhog cookies!

Gifts for the Little Meteorologist

Do you have an older child who loves science and is fascinated by weather? Here are some great holiday gift ideas for kids want to be a weatherperson when they grow up and for kids who just have a natural curiosity about our world.

This digital weather station looks like so much fun. Kids set up the station and use tools that measure temperature, humidity and other weather indicators to put together their own forecast. The can also measure air pollution, rain pH and build a barometer. It also comes with an activity book. You can get it for $39.98.

The DK Eyewitness Weather book has amazing weather pictures as well as facts about weather and climate. This is for middle age kids, but even younger kids would enjoy the pictures. I love the DK Eyewitness books, our whole family enjoys reading them together. You could also get the Eyewitness Weather DVD.

Here's a great website that kids can use now and all year long and it's free. It's called Weather Wiz Kids and it is such a fun website designed by television meteorogist Crystal Wicker. You can find lots of information on tornadoes, hurricanes, clouds, weather experiments and games, coloring pages, even weather jokes like this one:

Whatever happened to the cow that was lifted into the air by the tornado?

Udder disaster!

Haha! :)

I can remember when my daughter was afraid of thunderstorms when she was a preschooler. It really helped her to learn about what happens during a storm and that the loud thunder could not hurt her. She enjoys learning about weather; our Science Museum has a great Weather Discovery area for kids and she loves doing the cool experiments they have.

Are your kids fascinated by weather, terrified by it, or could they care less about the weather? :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today we celebrate the men and women who have served our country. It's also the day that my daughter gets to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the whole school at a Veterans Day Program, as part of her duties as student council president. Hopefully she won't follow in her mom's footsteps and add an "Amen" at the end of it in a moment of nervousness when reciting it in front of a large group. Embarrassing moment #314 in my life. :)

If you want to share the importance of Veterans Day with your children, here are some great resources for you:

* VA Kids The VA kids website has a ton of great information for kids. You'll find information on the history of Veterans Day and what a veteran is, as well as activities for kids from K-12th grade.

*The American Legion At the American Legions site, kids can send a Veterans Day Ecard and say thank you to a Veteran . There is also a brief history of the day also on page.

*Children's Songs for Veterans Day Kids love singing and learning songs and these are sung to well-known songs so they're easy to learn. This site also has other links for coloring pages, crafts, puzzles and other activities relating to veterans day.

Thank you veterans!

The Democracy Project

Make sure you vote today and if you have a chance to take your kids with you, then do it. It is a great opportunity for you to model good citizenship to them and let them know that being able to vote is a privilege. The Democracy Project is a great website for kids to learn about the democratic process. It's fun for adults to look at too. DK Eyewitness books (I LOVE these books for kids, we have a collection of them) has a book called Vote which also does a great job of explaining the history of voting and elections. Remember that every voice counts.

Happy voting!