Holidays celebrated around the year’s end:

Holidays celebrated around the year’s end:

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Pancha Ganapati, Mawlid, and Bodhi Day.

Christmas is an annual Christian festival on December 25th commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, which is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast.

Hanukkah, also called Chanukah, is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev.

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration that honors African heritage in African-American culture and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving.

Pancha Ganapati is a five-day Hindu festival celebrated from December 21 through 25 in honor of Ganesha.

Mawlid is the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which is commemorated in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar

Bodhi Day is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni), experienced enlightenment, also known as bodhi in Sanskrit and Pali.


Did I forget a year's end holiday that you celebrate in the USA? Please message me and I would be happy to add it here!

Furniture for Everyday Life

{PROMOTIONAL - I am not compensated for sharing this though I did find it helpful/interesting enough to share.}

Furniture.com

Over at Furniture.com, we not only create a one-stop-shopping experience for furniture across the country and offer a handy local sales finder, but we also have a Tips and Trends Blog. We have a variety of posts that talk about decorating for an active family and picking the best fabrics for your busy home. 

Life is hectic enough, so let us help your readers create spaces that work for their families:

https://www.furniture.com/tips-and-trends/kids-and-pets-designing-a-family-friendly-family-room

https://www.furniture.com/tips-and-trends/easy-to-clean-furniture

The site also features a collection of furniture perfect for anyone on a budget. All the pieces featured are available for under or around $100. You can find the Furniture Under $100 Collection here:

https://www.furniture.com/collections/furniture-under-100

Happy shopping!

Fun with Life Science

Life Science is So Interesting (and sometimes gross)!

Spring always makes me think of all the things coming back to life - particularly outdoors - and so I rounded up these awesome life science links for you!  And don't forget, April 22nd is Earth Day!

Fun Life Science Links!

• On-line Insect Database
• Welcome to the Monarch Watch!
• National Marine Fisheries Service
Science Museum of Virginia
• Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences
• The Sierra Club
• The Virtual Body - learn about the body with an interactive, 3-D map!
• The Heart: A Virtual Exploration
• Funology - The Science of Having Fun!
• Interactive Skeleton - Click The Bones You Wanna See.
• NYE LABS - From the Bill Nye TV show.
• Virtual Dissection Kit - This site is very cool! It allows you dissect many different animals on-line.
• The Yuckiest Site on the Internet

Would love to hear your favorite life science resources in the comments!

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS

Computers and the Internet

Computers - for Kids

Kids love technology!!

How do computers work - links to check out:

• TypingPal Online  - the best course to learn typing...online!
• Intel
• How Microprocessors Work How Computers Work Surf
• Swell Island  - Adventures in Internet Safety. This is a great site to teach kids and parents about internet safety including avoiding viruses and maintaining privacy.
• Children Programming  - This page has information on computer books and software to help children learn about computers, programming, and creating multimedia programs.

 

The easiest Rubik's Cube solution is available in many languages. Learn it quickly memorizing only a few algorithms.

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS

What to Watch - for Kids

What to Watch - for Kids

We all love TV but in demand and YouTube have become a hot trends.

Here is someold school kids TV you child try searching up online:

• Barney the Dinosaur and Friends
• Big Idea! - Home of Veggie Tales
• Cartoon Network
• the Disney Channel
• Disney's ToonTown Online
• Nickelodeon Online
• PBS Kids
• Nickelodeon
• Nick Jr.
• Disney Playhouse
• Cartoon Network
• The Discovery Channel
• Animal Planet
• The Dilbert Zone

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS

Help and Resources for Aspiring Young Writers

Writing 101!

Here is Help and Resources for Aspiring Young Writers:

Information for Young Writers

• The Word Detective is the free on-line version of an internationally-syndicated newspaper column answering readers' questions about words and language (primarily word and phrase origins) since 1953. More than 180 previously-posted columns are available in our fully-indexed archive, and reader questions are encouraged (with the exception of any question concerning "gry")
• flatstanley.com
• Children's Literature Web Guide
• Jane Austen Information Page
• Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Mark Twain on the Web 
• Children's Book Council
• Starfall - A site for young readers to improve their skills through simple games.

REFERENCE

• Bartlett, John. 1901. Familiar Quotations - Look up a famous quote with this great search feature.
• Children's Literature Web Guide
• Library of Congress
• Myths and Legends of Indigenous Peoples
• On-line Books OneLook Dictionaries - 5,990,011 words in 963 dictionaries indexed.
• Project Bartleby: The Public Library of the Internet
• Roget's Thesaurus
• Merriam-Webster Online Webster's Dictionary - On-line and searchable.

MAGAZINES BY and/or FOR KIDS

• American Girl
• Homeschool Gazette This site encourages Christian homeschooled youth (ages 5-14), in reading and creative writing skills.
• Scholastic
• Sports Illustrated for Kids 
• Time for Kids

STORIES AND BOOKS ON-LINE

• A Little Princess - by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Call of the Wild - by Jack London
• Ballads of a Cheechako - by Robert W. Service
• Alice Through the Looking Glass
• Wacky Web Tales - Write your own interactive story on-line!
• Cinderella
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• The Internet Public Library KidSpace

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS

Games To Play

Game Time!

Tired of being cooped up all winter? Check out these games to pass the time.

How many of these games have you played before?

• Wholesome Learning Fun for Kids!
• WebKinz.com - online pets
• www.neopets.com
• Up to 10 - the fun place to learn online!
• PopCap Games
• PrimaryGames.com
• Frostyz.com
• Pogo.com
• Monopoly.com
• Practice SCRABBLE® online 
• Yahoo - Computer Games
• MiniClip - Free Games and Shows
• Club Penguin
• Sudoku

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS

I don't endorse any of these sites or links... Use at your own discretion/risk.

Fun with Math

Math Can Be So Much Fun!

Is math tough for you? Do you love math? Check out these links for helpful math tips, games and fun facts.

Math Resources:

• Math.com - Online Mathematics Glossary - This site contains useful mathematics terms and their definitions.
• Ask Dr. Math!
• E-Tutor - This site provides valuable resources for activity-based learning.
• MathWorld - the web's most extensive mathematics resource
• The Geometry Center
• American Mathematical Society
• Counting Money and Coins -  list of online games, worksheets, and activities related to money and coins from HomeSchoolMath.net

Fun Math Games:

• Cool Math for Kids
• 7up Number Games (requires flash)
• Games from MathisFun.com 
• U of M Gallery of interactive on-line geometry - Interactive puzzle games (doesn't work in all browsers)

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS

Geology fun

Geology

Curious about Geology? How do we learn about what's inside the earth? Curious about volcanoes and hot springs? Check out these links for Geology photos and fun facts.

Geology Facts and Fun

• Cascades Volcano Observatory
• Ask An Earth Scientist!
• Geology Hotlist
• Charlotte, The Vermont Whale

See more fun learning categories under the tag: KIDS