Apps For Kids

Today is World Bamboo Day. The favorite food of adorable giant pandas, is also used to make everything from furniture, to paper, to socks. It’s the fastest growing plant in the world. Some types grow 36 inches per day! The evergreen bamboo makes a great garden hedge, if you plant the non-invasive kind.

Today is Reed An Ebook Day. Check out a library e-book, from home. New York Public Libraries offer their Books For All collection, to anyone in the country, on a free e-reading app, called Simply-E. The Brooklyn Public Library is also offering free library cards to young adults, through Books Unbanned.

Today is World Manta Day. Manta rays are fish, with flexible cartilage instead of hard bone for skeletons, just like sharks. Their pectoral fins resemble wings, so they look like they’re flying instead of swimming. Mantas can grow 23 feet long, and give birth to babies called pups. They are friendly, so wave hello!

Today is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The Constitution of the newly formed United States, defined citizens and their rights, in 1787. Over the years, amendments were added. Native Americans were already there, and many people were brought unwillingly as slaves. Everyone else settled as immigrants. How did your ancestors start out in your country?

Have you ever tried a pawpaw? It’s the largest edible fruit native to North America, and grows in forests. Some people call it the Hillbilly Mango, or the Kentucky Banana, because it has a tropical taste. The custard-like fruit has a hint of pineapple, banana, and mango flavor. Try one today for Pawpaw Day!

Today is Apple Dumpling Day! Peeled and cored apples filled with butter, cinnamon and sugar, are wrapped in dough. After they bake in the oven, they’re like balls of delicious apple pie! While your treats are baking, celebrate Country Music Day, by listening to Ring of Fire, by Johnny Cash.

Get out of the summer heat, by visiting a museum for Smithsonian Day. If you live near Washington DC, you’re lucky. All of the Smithsonian museums are always free! See dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum and planes at the Air and Space Museum. Visit art museums, the zoo, and so much more!

Today is Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The ozone layer is the region of Earth’s stratosphere that protects us from the Sun’s radiation, and chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, had formed a hole in it. CFCs were banned decades ago, but the molecules can take 100 years to leave the atmosphere.

Today is Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day, so begin your day with a slice of tasty fruit-filled toast. Keep the sweetness going, with some chocolate-hazelnut spread on top, since it’s also Choose Your Chocolate Day. I’m sure you won’t mind having to sample all the different kinds of chocolate, to make the best choice.

If you play sports, you get plenty of physical activity during practice. But exercise is good for everyone, so make it a part of your daily routine. Today is Teenager Workout Day, to help teens focus on healthy habits to take them into adulthood. In between sleeping late and video games, get some exercise.