What is Groundhog Day?

Hey folks,

Groundhog   Day is on February 2nd . I´m going to tell you  the legend of the Grounhog. This is an old story about groundhogs. They come out of their burrows on Groundhog Day and look around. If they see their shadows, there will be six more weeks of winter. If they don´t there will be an early spring. Some people in the USA and Canada think this story is true. Some think it is not true. What do you think?.

*Let´s find out : Groundhog Activities . A " Where is Groundhog" read- aloud  included in this digital issue of the popular children´s magazine.

* Video: What is a Groundhog?.

* Let´s find out : What is furry and brown and makes a home in the ground?.

* Game: Make a Tree Map:  Groundhogs have ...../ They can... / They are...

Welcoming the Year of the Dragon.

January 23, 2012 marks the start of the Year of The Dragon on the chinese Lunar Calendar. Chinese new Year is observed for two consecutive weeks, and is popularly known as Spring Festival. It usually starts from late January and early February. The variation in the date is due to the changes in the track of the new moon.

Let´s celebrate the Chinese New Year holiday with some activities and games. Also learn about history and meaning behind Chinese New Year symbols.

1. The Dragon Trails. A site created to welcome the Year of The dragon. You can create and customize your own dragon.

2. Chinese Zodiac: Habitat Heroes Chinese Zodiac.

3. Traditions and customs : Topmarks.

4. Chinese New Year Games .

View Chinese New Year and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.

Thanksgiving Fun Stuff

Hi guys,
On the fourth Thursday of November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a national holiday honoring the early settlers and their harvest feast known as the first Thanksgiving.This year Thanksgiving will fall on Thursday November 24, 2011.
Here you´ve got some interesting links to learn more about Thanksgiving and have fun at the same time.
1.- What really happened at the First Thanksgiving?. Become a history detective and find out!.

2. Read stories online:
* Two Bad Pilgrims.
* T is for Turkey.You will love learning about Thanksgiving in this alphabet book.

3.- Listen to the song:To Grandmother’s House We Go.
4.- Play games:
* Make a silly turkey.This is a great time from Highlights. You can create your turkey and then write about them.
* Play Thanksgiving Dinner Game.
* Dress up the Turkey.
* Thanksgiving Place Card Creator. With this tool you can create personalized place cards for your party.

Bonfire Night: Listening Exercise

Hi guys!

Bonfire Night is a traditional festival in Britain. On 5 November people across the UK celebrate fireworks night.Please, read along and listen to the following text and then answer these questions:

1.- When´s Bonfire Night?

2.- What do people do?

3.- Where do people usually go?

4.- What is the tradicional food?

5.- Who was Guy Fawkes?.

* A Virtual Sparkler ( Mouse your mouse to wave your sparkler around and make patterns)

The job of a Daddy

Hi kids!.
Today the question is : What is the job of a daddy ? or What do you think about your daddy?. Click here and listen to some little kids giving their opinion about their fathers. I think their answers are very fun. For example: "My dad is big and strong", "my dad is a hero," "my dad is awesome." Anyway, don´t forget to say your daddy " Happy Father´s Day".

What is a leprechaun? : A Quiz

Hi guys!.
March 17th is St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick’s Day is a way to celebrate the Irish culture: the history, the foods, religion, music, dances, folk tales about leprechauns and rainbows and other traditions. Often when we think of this day, we think of leprechauns. I think it´s a lot of fun to learn about leprechauns on St. Patrick´s Day. They are little Irish fairies, and they are thought to be shoemakers. It is believed that they´ve got a pot of gold hidden at the end of the rainbow. How much do you know about these strange and magical creatures?. Are you ready for my leprechaun quiz?.
With the luck of the Irish I invite you to test your knowledge and have fun. Answer these questions, you only have five seconds to answer them . Good luck!.

You might also like :



*" Irish Heritage" on Photopeach.
*" Enchanting Ireland" on Photopeach.

Chinese New Year 2011: The Year of the Rabbit.

Hi guys!
Next week, Chinese people around the world will be welcoming the New Year with parades, festivals and parties. Chinese New Year 2011 date is 3rd February. Here there are some interesting and funny links to join to the celebration.

1. Which chinese animal are you?. The Chinese Lunar (Moon) Calendar groups years into sets of twelve. Each of the twelve years is named after an animal.
According to the traditional Chinese calendar, 2011 is the year of the rabbit. Click on the link to find out your animal sign and your personality. Place your cursor on an animal to find your date of birth and discover things about yourself. I was born in the year of the Tiger and so was Marilyn Monroe. And you? . Find out and share with us.

2. Welcome to the Chinese Zodiac Zone. In this Chinese Zodiac Zone you can:
- Find out which animal year you were born in and which famous people share the same Chinese Zodiac sign.
- Let Magic Monkey read your mind and guess your Chinese Zodiac sign.
- Test your knowledge of English Idioms that use the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
- Download and print your own fun Chinese New Year Posters.

3. Write your name in Chinese. This is my name in Chinese. Simply type in your first and last name, select what kind of characteristics you want to be expressed in the name, select your gender, enter your birthdate and press "Get a Name!".

4. To celebrate Chinese New Year, why not get creative and make a Chinese dragon ?.
5. Play the game " Musical Lanterns" and make a tune.
6. Lots of New Chinese Year games ( decorate, ready for the parade?, dress up..). Start at the botton and click on a moon to play. Have fun.
7. Let´s celebrate the Chinese New Year with this interactive book and learn about traditions . After reading this book , try to match the words with the pictures in this game. You can do it!.

Thanksgiving Day.

Hi guys!

Why do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day ?
Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada.Traditionally , it is associated with giving thanks for the harvest .This year it´s celebrated on November 25th. Americans usually celebrate Thanksgiving by spending a meal with their family. The main course of the mean is traditionally turkey.
The biggest Thanksgiving celebration of all is the spectacular parade organized in New York City by Macy's, which bills itself as the world's largest department store. Giant balloons shaped like animals and cartoon characters float above the streets, and bands from high schools nationwide march in the parade.
1.- Click here to visit an interactive site to learn about the first Thanksgiving Day : Voyage on the Mayflower,the Thanksgiving Feast, Daily life of the Pilgrims...

2.- Create a hand turkey and join the parade!.
3.- Three thanksgiving poems .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

Bonfire Night.

Hi guys!

November the 5th is a special night in U.K. It´s Guy Fawkes Day /Night. This holiday is also called Bonfire Night. They "celebrate" the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot against the King and Parliament in the early 17th century.Guy Fawkes was one of the perpetrators of the Gunpowder Plot, but for some reason is the one that is remember.
People enjoy a good bonfire, firework display , sausages roasted in the fire, jacket potatoes and toffee apples .
Children make life-sizes effigies of Guy Fawkes which are called Guys, to put onto the bonfires.
Learn more about this celebration with these activities:
1.-Listen. Jenny explains how she used celebrate Guy Fakes on November 5th.
2. Design your own fireworks display.Choose style and colours for up to fireworks bursts, then sit down and watch the show you´ve created online. Remember, fireworks are pretty to look at but very dangerous to touch.
3.Create a poster about firework safety.

October 31st: Halloween night.

Hi guys!
How much do you know about Halloween ?. Why do people celebrate Halloween? . What can you see ?. What do children do? . What do children say on Halloween?. What´s the meaning of "Trick or treat"?. What is a Jack-o- Lantern? What do people wear on Halloween?. Watch this slideshow and answer these questions .
HALLOWEEN on PhotoPeach

Carve your pumpkin online.

Hi kids!
You can personalize a Halloween greeting and send to your friends . Carving a pumpkin online is easy and you can create your own Jack O´Lantern . Click on pumpkin, drag the mouse while holding the left button and release to finish.You can also change the tool to " straight cuts". To use it : click on pumpkin, click in another place to create a cut and then click close to the first point to finish. Join in the fun of Halloween making your own spooky Halloween lantern and scare away ghosts and skeletons. Don´t forget to choose a pumpkin to create your Jack O´ Lantern for our school pumpkin exhibition. Carve your pumpkin with your mummy or daddy, it´s fun to share these activities with your family.

Halloween Fun Stuff.

Hi kids!.

Now I´m scared. Halloween is coming. Skeletons, witches, cats, black bats, ghosts , vampires, monsters, big spiders, goblins will be after you. Take a digital journey while learning about this spooky holiday. Reading some great Halloween stories is a fun way to extend the fun and excitement of Halloween ( Winnie the witch, Meg and Mog, Aratminta Spooky, Where the wild things are , The Room on the Broom ). Have fun making origami, listening to songs, sending free Halloween ecards... Click on the images to watch videos, read books, write ecards...

Mother´s Day.

Hi children,
Don´t forget: Mother´s Day is celebrated this Sunday.Tell mum how much you love her and have a good time watching with her this funny video about famous mothers .

April Fool´s Day.

Hi everyone!.
Today it´s April´s Fool Day. It is an unofficial holiday celebrated by many people around the world on April 1st.It´s a day where people play all kinds of tricks on friends and family.It´s the only day when you can pull the leg on someone. Another name for April Fool´s Day is All Fools´Day. Celebrate this funny day by sharing a slice of smile after watching this e-card.

Father´s Day.

Next Friday, 19th March is St.Joseph´s Day and Father´s Day.It´s the perfect day to tell your dad how special he is to you.Celebrate this festival with a funny card.Click on the image to watch this e-card.It´s just for fun.

The legend of a Leprechaun.

Hi again!.
On of the traditions of St.Patrick´s Day is the leprechaun.Tiny leprechauns are in many folktales from Ireland. Let´s learn about leprechauns:
They look like an old man and dressed like a shoemaker. A Leprechaun´s personality is described as unfriendly. They live alone and pass the time by mending the shoes of Irish fairies.The legend is that the fairies pay them for their work with gold coins, which the "little people" collect in large pots-the famous "pots of gold" often associated with leprechauns. He always wears a suit that´s made of green. He lives by a rainbow and hides his gold.To protect the leprechaun´s pot of gold the Irish fairies gave them magical powers to use if ever captured by a human or an animal.



Now play on line games with leprechauns.
- Sliding Puzzle Game.
-Spot the differences.
-Word Search Puzzle Game.

-A story "Three leprechauns"by Daniel,age 11,Palisade,Colorado.

Irish Heritage.

Hi kids,
Next week on March 17th Irish people from all the world celebrate St.Patrick´s Day. This slideshow is about some Irish traditions. Here you can learn vocabulary related with this festival.

And some activities and games to discover St.Patrick´s Day, the most important Irish festival:- Four Limericks: A man with a 4-Leaf Clover, A fellow named Ben, A flautist named Knute, St.Patrick´s Day Blues. But What are limericks?.  What would St.Patrick´s Day be without limericks?.  These silly five-lines poems originated in Ireland in the 18th century.
- Leprechaun Matching Game: Match the Leprechauns. There are four cute pictures. Try to match the sets of two in twelve clicks or less. You won´t be needing the luck of the Irish. You can do it on your own!
- Irish Lass Dress Game: Dress the lovely lass in traditional garments. Of course, in green.

Valentine´s Day

Hello everyone!.
Valentine's Day is coming up soon. For a second, just forget about all the presents and greeting cards being advertised to you and appreciate a holiday that focuses on telling people close to you that you love them.Here you´ve got the song Skidamarink.It´s very easy and fun .A great big hug and a kiss.

Valentine´s vocabulary:a book about heart´s Valentine crafts.

And now one of my favourite romantic songs: "You´re beautiful" by James Blunt. Enjoy it.

Which Chinese animal are you?

The Chinese year 4708 begins on 14th February,2010.Chinese New Year is a big celebration in China and in other countries where there are big Chinese communities. The Chinese use the lunar calendar for their festivals.Chinese New Year celebration last for two weeks and end with the latern festival,on the full moon about 15 days later. The dragon is an important part of the new year celebration and is paraded through the streets.
The Chinese calendar: Each year is represented by one of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac:Rat,Ox, Tiger,Rabbit,the Dragon,Snake,Horse,Ram,Monkey,Rooster,Dog and Pig.
2010 is the Year of the Tiger. I´m a tiger.This is my year.Hurray!
Hi again. Now a game about the Chinese Zodiac: Which Chinese animal are you?.Place your cursor on an animal to find your date of birth.When you have found it, click, and discover things about yourself!.Don´t forget: just clicking on the dragon to start.

Light a candle for PEACE.

On 30th January we celebrate the" School Day of Peace and Against Violence" to promote Peace and prevent violence.You can participate lighting a candle for PEACE. Click on the unlit candle to light your candle for Peace.You can invite your friends.

Listen to the song"Give Peace a chance " by John Lennon .