During the month of November, I will be sharing KNOW-VEMBER: FUN NOVEMBER FACTS from all around the world. Take a few moments from each November day and share the KNOW-VEMBER fun, knowledge, discovery and smiles with your kids and grandkids. ************************************************************************* Day 329 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids:  Fun, Easy & Do-able Daily Activities for Kids! November 25th [...]

Every TOY or GAME has a STORY… a WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW to share with kids. Today, it’s the JUMP ROPE’s turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)… WHO invented the Jump Rope:  The first “Jump Ropes” were, in fact, flexible bamboo and vines. WHAT is a Jump Rope:  A Jump Rope [...]

Every TOY or GAME has a STORY… a WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW to share with kids. Today, it’s the SQUIRT GUN’s turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)… WHO invented the Squirt Gun:  Metal Squirt Guns have been around for a very long time (some date back to the late 1800′s), and [...]

Every TOY or GAME has a STORY… a WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW to share with kids. Today, it’s the BARBIE DOLL’S turn to tell her story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)… WHO invented the Barbie Doll:  The Barbie Doll was invented by Ruth Handler, a co-founder of Mattel, and named for Ruth’s daughter, Barbara.  (Barbie’s [...]

Every TOY or GAME has a STORY… a WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW to share with kids. Today, it’s the HULA HOOP’s turn to tell its story (with a little help from Grandma Sharon)… WHO invented the Hula Hoop:  Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin, founders of WHAM-O toy and sporting goods company,  trademarked this ancient form of [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the LOVEBUG: The Lovebug lives up to its name in the black fly world… but not in the human world. Let’s begin in the black fly world. The Lovebug, Plecia nearctica, is a small black fly with a red thorax (the area behind the head).  The [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ANT LION: The Ant Lion has two interesting nicknames… the Doodlebug and the Sand Dragon.  Each of these nicknames tells us a little something about the habits of the Ant Lion. First, the Ant Lion’s movements make little doodle-like figures in sand as it looks [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the CHAN’S MEGASTICK: Have you ever seen or heard of an insect that measures 22.3 inches in length? No? Well, meet the Chan’s Megastick. Discovered in 2008 in Borneo, the Chan’s Megastick beat its nearest competitor stick-insect, the Phobaeticus kirbyi (14 inches), by 8+ inches.  Very [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ASSASSIN BUG: Aggressive, accurate, ambushing and acutely toxic… the Assassin Bug doesn’t mess around.  It gets an A+ in killing. The Assassin Bug has a license to kill (other insects, that is).  It uses its beak to stab its insect victims with great speed.  Once [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ZEBRA SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY: It doesn’t take much guessing to know that the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly resembles a zebra. Distinctively black-and-white striped, the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly is considered a rather common butterfly and is found in Southern Ontario, Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, the Gulf States and [...]