The
Joys of January
By Sandy Fleming
The weather outside may or may not be
frightful, but here are some
suggestions for cooking up fun in January:
Why not have a family
game night or two? Gather everyone and take
turns
choosing favorite games to play. Besides being wholesome family
fun,
games help children (and adults) exercise their minds, improve
social skills, and draw closer as a family. Find, buy or borrow
a
Book of Hoyle and learn some new card games together. It's a
great
exercise in reading comprehension and communication skills for
children to read directions and then explain them to others.
January was named for
the Roman god, Janus. Use your library or other
resources to find out about this character from mythology. The
calendar
tells us that several famous people were born this month. Betsy
Ross
was born on January 1, 1752. Try making a flag or family crest
for
your
household. What symbols that tell about your lives together would
each
person like to include? Jakob Grimm, who collected fairy tales,
was
born on January 4, 1785. Why not read some of Grimm's Fairy Tales
or
put on a skit based on one of these classic stories? Carl Sandburg
was born January 6, 1878. Many children enjoy hearing his poetry
and
can recognize familiar quotations from some of the more famous
pieces. Jack London's birthday is January 12, 1876. Besides
Call
of
the Wild, he has written many other shorter stories about the
north.
Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706. Find out about his
inventions and Poor Richard's Almanac. This might be a good
time
to
start a family or neighborhood newspaper! You can use large sheets
of newsprint, or sometimes you can find preprinted "newspapers" at
teacher supply stores that have places for pictures, articles,
advice columns, and comics.
January 25 marks the beginning
of transcontinental telephone service
in the US in 1915. Celebrate this momentous and world-changing
event
by calling an old friend or relative. January 26 is "Australia
Day" down under and "Republic Day" in
India. Find out what these two
holidays commemorate and how they are celebrated. Lewis Carroll
was
born on January 27; try your hand at writing a fantastic adventure,
or take some time and read some or all of Alice in Wonderland.
The Library of Congress
had its beginnings on January 30, 1815 when
Congress authorized the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's library.
Visit your local library to celebrate! Several states claim
January
dates for their beginnings: Alaska on January 3, Utah on the
fourth,
New Mexico on the sixth, Michigan on the twenty-sixth, and Kansas
on
the twenty-ninth. Which of these states would your children most
like to visit? Use travel guides and other references to locate
points of interest and plan a pretend vacation. Most have a
Department of Tourism in the state capital that would be happy
to
send free information about the state's attractions, and children
can always use the practice writing business letters!
Lastly, have your children
make up their own game this month. A
trivia
game would work well, using information about famous people and
events in January. You can pattern it off of commercial games
your
family is
familiar with, card games, or board games. Use index cards if
playing
cards are needed, file folders for game boards, and plastic zipper
bags to store pieces. Try your game on a family game night!
Sandy Fleming
is an educator, author and workshop facilitator. She resides
in southern Michigan with her husband and three daughters.
Sandy leads workshops for daycare providers and parents
in the region, tutors students, volunteers for Girl Scouts
and her church, and teaches online classes for adults and
children. She loves to make new friends, so please drop
her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com
