Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras is a special celebration that occurs the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of lent).

Why is it called Fat Tuesday?  Because this is the last day that eating rich, fatty foods is allowed before the traditional fasting of the Easter season begins.  However, the festivities don’t end with just “piggy out.”  There’s parades with decorated floats, people dressing up in costumes and wearing colourful masks, dancing and sports competitions.

Mardi Gras celebrations happen all over the world.  Let’s take a look at how other regions celebrate this unique holiday.

Around a 1000 men and boys of all ages dress up in a traditional costume (this group is called the Gilles).  The costume is beautifully decorated with the colours of the Belgian flag – red, yellow and black patterned – with large white lace collars and cuffs.  The suit is then stuffed with straw, giving the man inside a hunched appearance.  To finish off the look bells are attached to their belts and wooden clogs are worn on the feet.

The festivities start bright and early at 4 am in the morning as the Gilles parade through the streets wearing masks, dancing and throwing blood oranges.  However, once afternoon arrives the masks are taken off, but the festivities continue on into the night.

Sweden:                                                                       

Germany:

Carnivals, parades and fireworks mark this day in Germany and is called Fastnacht which means “Eve of the Beginning of the Fast.”  Even though Germany celebrates Fastnacht today with parades and such, many years ago it was different.  Farm servants would wear masks and go from house to house collecting such fatty foods as eggs, bacon and sausage to later be consumed.  This was a noisy affair, not unlike the current celebrations.

Not everyone in the USA celebrates Mardi Gras, however, New Orleans is the most notable.  Mardi Gras is celebrated for many days prior to “Fat Tuesday.”  Dancing, costumes and parades all take place in Mardi Gras.  People dress in elaborate costumes ride floats and toss what is know as throws to the crowds below.  Typical throws include, beads, inexpensive toys, decorated plastic throw cups and specially made aluminum or wooden coins.

Have you or someone you know celebrated Mardi Gras?  If so leave a comment or draw us a picture of what you did or saw and we’ll post it.

It’s February 14′th and that means it’s not just any ordinary Tuesday, it’s Valentine’s Day!

No one really knows how Valentine’s Day came about. One legend says that in third century A.D. the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, would not allow young men to marry (he thought this would make them better soldiers). However, a priest named ‘Valentine’ didn’t agree with this law and secretly wed young couples. When the Emperor found out he put Valentine to death. When? On February 14′th.

Here’s some more “hearty” facts;

~ approximately 1 billion Valentines are sent out each year!

~ Japanese women are expected to give chocolate and other gifts to men. Japanese men have to return the favour on March 14th, commonly known as White Day.

~ the oldest Valentine dates back to 1415 – a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was held prisoner in a tower

~ Teachers receive the most Valentines each year.

Did you send out a special Valentine today? If not, here’s a fun, do-it-yourself Valentine you can print, decorate and delivery.

Instructions:

1. Click the Link – Be My Valentine  – print it out – you can use coloured paper or cardstock for a more durable Valentine.

2. Cut the Valentine out – you can make it as big or small as you’d like

3. Colour your Valentine – use makers, crayons, or pencil crayons

4. Decorate your Valentine – really use your imagination here using stickers, glitter, buttons or even ribbon – there’s no wrong way as long as it comes from your heart.

5. Sign your name – now you’re ready to deliver your homemade card to that special someone.

I’m the largest organ in your body. I’m thickest on the soles of your feet and thinnest on your eyelids. I’m made up of three layers. What am I?

Your Skin!

Where would we be without our skin? It protects our inside organs and keeps out infections. It regulates our body temperature and helps us perceive pain, pressure and touch.

The Skinny on Skin

The human skin is made up of three layers;

~ Epidermis – the part of the skin you can see

~ Dermis – is where blood vessels and nerves are at work

~ Hypodermis – mostly fat and where your hair grows from

Here’s something fun to try. Look down at your hands. What do you see? Anything unusual? Even though you can’t see it, your skin is hard at work making new cells. It takes from two weeks to a month to make a new cell. When these cells are ready they will work their way to your epidermis, pushing the old dead ones to the surface. So when you look at your skin, you’re actually seeing dead cells. In fact, our skin loses about 30,000 to 40,000 dead cells every minute!

Skin-Tastic Facts!

~ Frogs don’t drink water, they absorb it through their skin

Ostrich Skin

~ Polar bear’s skin is black to absorb the maximum heat from the sun

~ Besides humans, pigs are the only other animal that can get sunburned

I’m the strongest and most flexible muscle in the human body and the only one that attaches at just one end. I’m as individually unique as a set of finger prints and contain around 8,000 taste buds.

Did you guess who?   I’m your Tongue.

Where would we be without our tongues? It helps us talk, whistle and lick an ice cream cone on a hot day. You can stick it out, make funny sounds with it and some people can roll it like a tube. But even though boys tongues are generally longer than girls, it’s still impossible to lick your own elbow.

Here’s something fun to try…stick out your tongue in front of a mirror. What colour is it? If it’s white that means you have a thin film of bacteria living on it, (and you should probably have another go with the toothbrush). If it’s pink, it’s perfect!

Terrific Tongue Facts

~ a Chameleons tongue is twice as long as its body

~ a Blue Whales tongue weighs 5,400 pounds, that’s bigger than some elephants!

~ a millilitre of saliva contains 1,000,000 germs and 600 different types

~ the hardest tongue twister is “the sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick…” Trying saying that six times fast.

~ a Giraffe’s tongue is bluish-purple in colour, is 21 inches (53 centimetres) long, super tough and covered in bristly hair. This helps them eat the thorny Acacia tree leaves.

~ a Woodpecker’s tongue wraps around its skull and is barbed and sticky to help them extract bugs from holes.

I’m a summer-time singer. My body has several legs, wings, and eyes. Farmers either love or loathe me. Can you guess what I am?

I’m a grasshopper

There’s between 11,000 and 18,000 species of grasshoppers worldwide and they’re found everywhere except the North and South Poles. But even though they’re common, they’re also quite fascinating.

Did you know…

~ Grasshoppers have an exoskeleton [ek-soh-skel-i-tn] which means the skeleton is on the outside of their body.

~ They have two sets of wings for flying – a front pair that is tough and rigid and a hind pair that is soft and flexible.

~ The grasshopper has three pairs of very strong legs. They use these to walk and to jump twenty times their own body length. Imagine if you could do that!

~ Grasshoppers have five eyes – two eyes are on the front of the head, two more eyes are located on the end of each antenna and the final eye is between the antennae. It’s no wonder they’re so quick!

~ Grasshoppers don’t have any ears, they actually hear through their knees.

Here’s Something to Chew On

Grasshoppers like to eat most plants, but some favour the flavour of wheat, oats, corn, barley, rye, clover, alfalfa, and cotton – all things we use and farmers hate to loose. In fact, a large group of grasshoppers called locust can quickly and easily devour a farmer’s crop in a matter of minutes.

However, some grasshoppers are actually a help to farmers. The Turnbull will dine on the weeds that kill crops. Other grasshoppers like the Two-Striped grasshopper will eat plants that are toxic to cattle.

Fun Facts

~ The smallest grasshopper is the Pygmy Grasshopper. It’s only 20 mm (1 inch) long!

~ The largest grasshopper is called the Giant Grasshopper and measures in at 60-90 mm (6-9 inches) for females and 45–55mm (4.5 – 5.5 inches) for males.

~ If you grab a grasshopper you may get “spit” on. This strong, brown, gooey, liquid is called tobacco juice and is used to deter predators.

I have bright yellow and green patterns on my shell and body. I can live in fresh or brackish (partly salted) water and I’m commonly found in ponds and river beds. I love to bask in the sun on rocks and logs. When I get too warm, I plunge into the water and use my webbed toes for swimming, and my claws for climbing. Often times my type is found in pet stores.

Who am I?  A Slider Terrapin. If I had jaunty red stripes along my face I’d be a Red-Eared Slider.

Do you know someone who keeps a terrapin as a pet?

Are You a Turtle?

Like a sturdy truck, I’m built for the rugged terrain and live strictly on land. I have thick, stumpy legs and claws that help propel me forward and dig deep holes. Plus, I prefer veggies to meat and am purely vegetarian.

Who Am I?  A Tortoise

  Tortoise-Truths

~ the Gopher Tortoise is able to dig underground tunnels over 40 feet long and 10 feet deep.

~ the Galapagos Giant Tortoise can weigh in at well over 400 pounds. Plus, its shell can get to be five feet long and 3 feet high.

 
True Turtles

Sea turtles live exclusively in the ocean waters. The only time they come ashore is to lay their eggs on a sandy beach. Unlike terrapins, their front legs are more like flippers. This enables them to swim and dive in the water.

Turtle Facts

~ the Leatherback Turtle is the biggest sea turtle. It measures 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. Its average weight is 880 pounds, with the biggest one weighing in at 2015 pounds. How can he get so big? This turtle’s diet consists mainly of jellyfish.

~ the Stinkpot Turtlegives off a powerful skunk-like odour when it feels danger is near. So don’t try to pick this guy up or you’ll be a stinkpot too!

So the next time you see an animal that wears a shell, ask yourself…is this really a turtle?

Did you know there’s a species of plant that smells like a rotting corpse? 

It’s called the Rafflesia.

The rafflesia (rah-FLEEZ-ee-ah), also known as the meat or corpse flower starts off like a brown, cabbage-like lump, but once it’s in full bloom it’s 3 feet across, and weighs up to 36 pounds!

  The Biggest Stinker

The arnoldii species of rafflesia, found in Sumatra, is the biggest known flower in the world. However, the petals on this one aren’t typical. Each blossom has five meat-red, fleshy petals with white or cream coloured spots. These spots look like itchy, raised mosquito bites. If you were to peer deep inside the flower, you would see a round disk with plump spikes poking from it. But hold your nose cause this beauty reeks like rotting flesh.

The Stinky Trickster

Why do you think the rafflesia smells so bad?
a) to scare away animals
b) to attract flies
c) to help spread it’s pollen

If you guessed b and c, you’re right!

Mother fly thinks this big, stinky, mound is a pile of decaying flesh. It should make a good place to lay her eggs, so her larvae can feed on it once they’re hatched. But she’s wrong. The rafflesia is tricking her. As the fly wanders around inside the flower, pollen is getting stuck on its feet and back. When she visits another rafflesia, perhaps one even more stinky, the pollen will be deposited into the new flower. This is how the rafflesia’s reproduce and seeds can now begin to grow. Once the seeds mature, small animals such as squirrels and tree-shrews eat and spread the seeds around the forest floor. These seeds now have a chance to become big, reeking, piles of fleshy petals, too.

knowonder! stories are meant to be read aloud by a parent to their younger children.  Of course, older children who already read well also love to both read and listen to them.

The reasons why it’s so important that you read to your younger children is covered in this article.

Why Read Aloud Stories Are So Important

Read Aloud stories facilitate that reading in different ways than pictures books.  Picture books keep a child engaged predominantly by the pictures.  Read Aloud stories, on the other hand, require the child to practice and develop some very important traits:  listening comprehension, imagination, concentration, and more. Read More→

I have long believed that comic books and graphic novels are a great tool to encourage reluctant readers.  An interesting article was posted here in the Vancouver Sun today on the topic. It tells of the benefits and gives a couple of recommendations, as well.

I’d love to have you chime in with any graphic novels or comic books you know of and can recommend.  I know there is a lot of smut when it comes to this genre, especially as you get in to the stuff targeted at teenagers and adults.  So what is good?  What is appropriate?

My own boy is a very reluctant reader and this article has encouraged me to step up my search for good graphic novels.  I’ll be updating comments here as I find resources, myself.

Thanks for your help and involvement!

- Phillip Chipping, Founder