One of the first flights of 2018 took off from Auckland, New Zealand.  The plane traveled over eight hours and four thousand miles and then landed in Honolulu, Hawaii. What’s so interesting about this particular flight, you ask?  Well, this flight took off at 12:05 a.m. on January 1, 2018 but it landed at 10:15 a.m. on December 31, 2017!  Pretty cool, right?  Here’s why:  If you traveled around the world, you would eventually find yourself in a place where the time is either one day later or one day before.  This place is called the International Dateline.  New Zealand (and some other places) are one day ahead of you. So, when you are playing with friends at school on a Friday, the kids in New Zealand are already home for the weekend! And when you are enjoying a Sunday with friends and family, the kids in New Zealand are playing at recess! How about that?!  Want to learn more about the International Dateline?  You can!  Just conduct your own research at the local library.  Maybe one day YOU will have your own story to tell about time travel!

I don’t know about you, but I did not know about these holidays!  Why not mark them on your calendar and celebrate them with friends and family?  Here they are:

January 20, 2018 – Penguin Awareness Day

This is a great day to learn as much as you can about penguins!  What is their natural habitat?  How do they live in such cold weather?  What are their families like?  Consider visiting the library and reading all about penguins on this day!

February 14, 2018 – Library Lovers Day

This holiday was initially started in Australia.  It’s a holiday we can all celebrate!  Some ways to celebrate might be to visit your library and borrow a book, read a new book, read an old book, set up a book trade with a friend, and thank all of the wonderful people who work in the library with a nice picture or note.  What else can you do to celebrate Library Lovers Day?

March 22, 2018 – International Goof-Off Day

Some of us don’t need a good excuse to be silly and goof-off but for those that do, this is the day!  Take a break and give yourself some extra silly time with friends and family!  Make sure everyone is having fun!  What might you do to celebrate this silly holiday?

April 29, 2018 – National Pet Parents Day

This is a special day set aside for those people who take care of furry friends!  Do you have a pet?  This is your day!  Think about all of the things you do for your furry friends and how much they depend on your loving care.  Celebrate all that you do by giving yourself or a pet parent you know some extra love!

May 5, 2018 – Free Comic Book Day

This is an exciting one for sure.  Apparently, comic book shops give away free comics on this special day to encourage the discovery of new titles!  This is right up our alley…Let’s visit a local comic book shop and see what we can find!

June 16, 2018 – World Juggling Day

I have not mastered this skill but today will be a good day to practice. Grab something safe (bundled up socks or ping pong balls) and see if you can juggle!  Maybe check out some videos of people who are amazing jugglers!

July 17, 2018 – World Emoji Day

People sometimes communicate how they’re feeling with an emoji instead of words.  Can you communicate your feelings with an emoji today?  Draw a face showing how you feel throughout the day and make your own handmade emoji! Show it to your friends and family members.

August 7, 2018 – National Lighthouse Day

Today is a great day to take a trip to a lighthouse!  If you can’t visit in person, you can visit the pages of a lighthouse book!  What are they for?  How are they built?  Why were they so important a long time ago?  How has technology changed over the years?

September 13, 2018 – Positive Thinking Day

We should be practicing this everyday but this is a day to celebrate how important positive thinking is!  Positive thinking can help us feel better and recognize the good stuff we don’t always see.  Only positive thinking today!  Tell your friends and family to celebrate with you and help them see the positive side of everything today!

October 27, 2018 – National Black Cat Day

Black cats sometimes get a bad rap!  Give some extra love to a black cat today! If you’re looking to adopt a cat, adopt a black cat today!

November 15, 2018 – Use Less Stuff Day

I love this one!  Less is more today.  See how you can use less today and still have everything you need.  Some ideas: Less time in the shower, less lights on in the house, less T.V. and video games, and use both sides of your paper!  If the weather permits, take a walk and save some gas in the car!  This is a perfect day to gather up your games and toys you don’t use or need anymore and talk to your parents about donating them to a kid who can really use them.

December 16, 2018 – Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Attention chocolate lovers!  This is one to celebrate for sure!  By all means, dip your fruit, but today try dipping something a little different in chocolate.  Adrian thinks he’ll try tomatoes and granola bars.  Ezra wants chocolate covered popcorn.  What will you try?