Author: Lisa Mungovan

Furry little animals are cute. So are stuffed animal toys. But a squirrel hugging a tiny stuffed teddy bear, is cutest of all! Jill the squirrel fell out of her nest, during a hurricane 7 years ago. A family rescued her, and Jill and her teeny teddy are on Instagram. Her page is called this-girl-is-a-squirrel.

Some Ohio schools are trying an alternative, to traditional after-school detention. Instead of being forced to sit in a room, students are led in meditation, mindfulness training, and yoga classes after school. The schools have seen a positive effect in behavior, because students are learning to manage their stress, instead of acting out inappropriately.

A farmer in Argentina, has discovered 4 ancient glyptodonts, in a dry riverbed. Glyptodonts were giant armadillos, that roamed the Earth 20,000 years ago. Their bony plates were fused together, so they couldn’t roll up into balls like modern armadillos. They also weighed 4400 pounds, and had shells as big as a car!

If you live on a farm, every day might include horses and pigs. The rest of us should also think about them today, because it’s Horse Protection Day and Pig Day. Charlotte’s Web, and Black Beauty, are great books to read, to learn how to treat pigs and horses, with respect and kindness.

“You’re looking especially creamy today Ms. Peanut Butter.”
“Thank you Mr. Peanut Butter! You sound crunchy! And Lil’ Peanut, your jar is so shiny!”
“Aw shucks Mama, you guys are the best parents in the world!”
It’s Peanut Butter Lover’s Day and World Compliment Day. Eat peanut butter and say nice things to everyone!

If you like mayo on your sandwiches, but it seems too messy, the Bourbon company’s got you covered. They will soon sell sheets of mayonnaise. The mayo slices come in different flavors, like tuna, or spicy cod roe. If that doesn’t sound appealing, they also make apple butter with white chocolate sheets!

The Los Angeles Zoo welcomed its first baby gorilla in 20 years in January. After 3 weeks, they finally found out she’s a girl! She’s the first baby for 25-year-old mom N’dija, with 32-year-old dad, Kelly. Baby lowland gorillas only weigh 3-4 pounds at birth, and cling to their mothers for the first few months.

Fossils of a new type of lion, were discovered in Queensland Australia. The Lekaneleo roskellyae was a marsupial the size of a cat, that lived in the rainforest around 30,000,000 years ago. Although it was a tiny carnivore, you wouldn’t want to mess with Leo. Its teeth were sharp enough to slice through bones!

A special Happy Birthday, to everyone with a birthday today. Since you only get to celebrate your birthday on February 29th every 4 years, businesses like Build-A-Bear, Denny’s, and Olive Garden, have special deals for Leap Day babies. There are plenty of other Leap Day deals for everyone. Look up your local specials, and celebrate!

It takes the Earth 365.25 days to orbit the sun, so a year usually has 365 days. Every 4 years, those .25’s add up to one whole day, and we have a 366-day leap year. Today is Leap Day, when that extra day gets added to February. Without it, the winter months would eventually be summer!