Apps For Kids

Last week was a special birthday, for Samantha the gorilla. The Grand Ol Lady of the Cincinnati Zoo, turned 50! She celebrated her birthday with a fruit and yogurt cake with peanut butter icing. Her family group helped her eat the cake, as well as favorite snacks like forsythia, bamboo, and melons.

Do you hate getting up early for school? A high school in Michigan is trying something new. They are offering classes from 3 to 8 PM, for students who want to do other things during the day. Students might work, take college classes, take care of family responsibilities, or just get more sleep every day!

Today is Carrot Cake Day. The natural sweetness of carrots, makes it one of the few vegetables that sound good in a dessert! You can even make a version for dogs, to celebrate Golden Retriever Day. The gentle dog is one of the most popular breeds for families in the United States. Good doggie!

Did you know today is Play Your Ukulele Day? They look like little guitars, but the Hawaiian instrument has unique tuning. Find a ukulele tuner online to make sure your strings sound right, then strum away! Pop some little potato balls in your mouth between songs, because it’s also Tater Tot Day!

Let’s celebrate World Wetlands Day! This year’s theme is Wetlands and Biodiversity. Wetlands are swamps and marshes that act like a sponge, absorbing water to reduce flooding during wet seasons, and releasing it to delay droughts and water shortages during dry spells. Wetlands are also important animal habitats. Explore some wetlands near you!

The Super Bowl takes place today in Miami Florida, to determine this year’s American football champions. But millions of people like watching much cuter bowls. Team Fluff plays Team Ruff in the Puppy Bowl, while the North Shore Bengals, Little Longtails, Last Hope Lions, or Courageous Cougars will end up in today’s Kitten Bowl.

It’s Groundhog Day! The official weather-predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, will emerge from his burrow and look for his shadow. If he sees it, that means 6 more weeks of winter. But Martinsburg Maxwell, a groundhog with a degree in meteorology, said, “Phil’s only right 20% of the time; it’s impossible to accurately predict weather that way!”

You might know about Groundhog Day, but what about Marmot Day? Marmots are large ground squirrels. There are 15 species of marmot, and groundhogs are one of them! It’s also Hedgehog Day! They look like spiky balls, with quills that feel like toothpicks. Don’t forget Sled Dog Day! Take your dog sledding, and yell “mush!”

The state of Minnesota, is encouraging people to make their lawns more bee-friendly. They are paying people to stop spraying their grass with pesticides, and to plant white clover, creeping thyme, and dandelions. The rusty patched bumblebee is close to extinction, and yards full of wildflowers will help them survive. Hooray for flowering weeds!

Only 2 weeks ago, a giant Snickers candy bar made by the Mars Wrigley company, earned the title of world’s largest chocolate nut bar. That record was just broken by the Hershey Company. Their massive Reese’s Take 5 bar, weighs 5,943 pounds and is over 9 feet long. I wonder which candy company will be next!