20th

20th June

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http://worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/samerica/argntina.htm

National Flag Day (Argentina)/Día de la Bandera Nacional: Make flag (toothpick, post-it note) and stick on map. This is a day for learning to tango and practising your football skills.

Eritrea Martyr’s Day: Eritreans around the world celebrate this day, reminding themselves of the sacrifices made by nearly a quarter of their country’s men and women trying to gain independence from Ethiopia (after British rule abandoned them and the UN said, oh be a federation with Ethiopia as a compromise). Ethiopia loses its access to ports if Eritrea becomes its own country, and they fought about it for 30 years. They celebrate with a lot of songs and poems about the sacrifices made by their people. Older children might be interested in listening to some and trying to write their own.

dragonboats

Dragon Boats Festival: (2015: actually held on the fifth day of the fifth moon). Celebrates the peak of masculine energies with the symbol of the dragon (it’s midsummer, the Sun is masculine, dragons are masculine, it’s all very logical). We make dragon boats out of the bottoms of plastic milk bottles (the six-pinters) and decorate with sweet wrappers and paints; float on sea, pond or stream but fish them out before you go home – no littering! Make or buy Chinese dumplings (zongzi), tell the story of Zhong Kui.

West Virginia founded (1863): famous for lumberjacks, caves, coal mines.

20th May

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/OrteliusWorldMap1570.jpg

1570 Theatrus Orbis Terrarum published, first modern atlas

1609 Shakespeare’s Sonnets first published

1927 Charles Lindberg sets off on the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic; 1932 Amelia Earhardt does the same, first time by a woman.

 

Josephine Baker Day – an American-born French entertainer who helped in the civil rights movement in America by refusing to perform for segregated audiences.

 

World Metrology Day (celebrates the use of the metre) – how tall are you in metres? How far can you throw a ball? How far can you throw a flipflop?

http://ohhappyday.com/2012/05/veggie-boats/

European Maritime Day – so make boats out of everything!

Cuba Independence Day (from America, 1902)

combined-map-of-usa-and-cuba

Cuba was originally inhabited by ‘American Indians’ – the Taino/Arawak people. Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1492 and claimed it for Spain, whose settlers wiped out the natives in the usual manner (disease, oppression).

In 1549 the new governor, Dr. Gonzalo Perez de Angulo. liberated all remaining natives.

During the Seven Years’ War, Britain took Cuba from the Spanish. We already owned North America and other parts of the Carribean, so actually this was good for Cuba’s trade. Also we brought thousands of West African slaves to work in the sugar plantations. But then we swapped Cuba for Florida.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

In 1868 Carlos Manuel de Céspedes offered to free any slaves who fought with him for Cuban Independence, leading to the Ten Years’ War. In the end Spain offered them more self-control and in the 1880s abolished slavery.

An exile, Jose Marti, founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. In 1895 he joined Maximo Gomez, who led the war against Spanish rule then. The Spanish army outnumbered the rebel army and put them in prototype concentration camps called reconcentrados, where they died of starvation and disease. The US was against the Spanish on this, and declared war.

After the Spanish-American War (1898 – America won), Cuba belonged to America until it was granted independence in 1902. There followed a series of presidents, included the dictator Batista who took the seat through a military coup.

Then Fidel Castro took over, also by military force, and Batista fled to exile. Castro executed any rebels and legalised the Communist Party which Batista had banned. The US sent in CIA-trained Cuban exiles to assassinate Castro. This was the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961.

The next year Cuba asked Russia if it could have some of its nuclear missiles stationed on it, to put the US off further invasions. This was the Cuban Missile Crisis and was perhaps the closest the Cold War came to full-on nuclear war. Economy was poor, but this was partly because all American states had imposed trade sanctions. Soviet Russia had been supporting Cuba with about $5 billion a year, and when it collapsed in 1991 that was….bad. But Cuba refused American help until 1993.

Now China supports them. In 2008 Fidel stepped down and his brother Raul took over. In 2013 Cubans were allowed to go abroad without even having to be invited by the government (the previous terms). 180,000 left and returned. They don’t have democracy or perhaps much freedom of expression, but they have good healthcare and education. People from around Latin America and America itself go to Cuba for medical care because it’s good and cheap.

Cuban music is called Son, and the Rhumba comes from here. Ernesto Lecuona is a classical Cuban composer.

Other events today:

  • Cameroon National Day – see 1st October
  • East Timor Independence Day (from Indonesia, 2002)- see 30th August
  • Indonesia National Awakening (leading to independence from the Netherlands in 1945) – see 17th August
  • Cambodia Day of Remembrance (remembers Communist rule of Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, which killed and tortured masses of opponents) – see 9th November

20th April

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1951 Romanian surgeon Dan Gavriliu performs the first human organ replacement – so play Operation!

http://www.feelingretro.com/toys/Games/operation.php

UN Chinese Language Day – so learn Chinese or try Chinese calligraphy.

Ridvan begins (Baha’i faith): a 12-day festival celebrating Baha’ullah becoming a prophet. Baha’ullah stayed for 12 days in the Garden of Ridvan outside Baghdad after the Ottoman Empire exiled him.

20th March

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Spring Equinox (2018) celebrated in all different ways:

Chungfen: The Chinese spring equinox celebrates the swallows flying back from Southern China. They stand eggs up, eat spring vegetable soup, eat Tang Yuan and hang tang yuan on bamboo sticks in the fields to keep the sparrows away. They sweep their ancestors’ tombs and worship them with offerings, etc.

Ostara: The olde worlde Germanic Pagan Easter, so decorate eggs:

http://www.outnumbered3-1.com/2011/04/time-to-color-eggs.html

http://bigsislilsis.com/2010/04/02/natural-dye-colored-easter-eggs/

 

First Day of Spring: So plant some seeds:

eggheads-cress-hair1

http://nurturestore.co.uk/eggheads-with-cress-hair

Make a nest out of whatever, yarn, cut grass, cotton wool, etc.

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/03/spring-fling-week-sneak-peak.html

Get rid of that one lone glove left over from winter:

http://www.littlebitfunky.com/2011/12/christmas-times.html

Go on a spring walk and bring a colour-sorting egg box:

http://www.littleecofootprints.com/2011/12/a-frugal-nature-play-travel-game-for-kids.html

Look out for a walking stick to paint:

http://www.mssticks.com/custom_sticks.html

Make flower cupcakes:

808c253cf379edbcc19727288a6751b1

https://www.jellybelly.com/spring-flowers-cupcakes-recipe

Make mud pies:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pies-Other-Recipes-Marjorie-Winslow/dp/1590173686/

 

 

Other events today that might inspire your play:

  • 43 B.C. Ovid born
  • World Storytelling Day
  • International Day of Happiness
  • International Francophone Day
  • World Sparrow Day
  • Tunisia Independence Day – see 25th June
  • Novruz Bairam (Turkmen New Year)

20th October

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1720 Carribean pirate Calico Jack captured by Royal Navy; his flag was the Jolly Roger with the skull and two crossed swords – have a pirate day!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wren

1632 Sir Christopher Wren born

Kenyatta Day/ Mashujaa Day/ Heroes’ Day (Kenya)

Guatemala Revolution Day:

http://www.operationworld.org/guat

Guatemala was the home to the fascinating ancient Mayan civilisation until around 900 A.D., when they were killed off by drought. The Spanish came in in 1519. The capital city moved around a lot, and was finally moved from Antigua to the Ermita Valley after an earthquake in 1773.

In 1821 Guatemala declared its independence from Spain. They then had a bunch of revolutions and civil wars, accidentally got caught up in the Cold War on America’s side. In 1996 (!!) the civil wars finally ended and history has embarrassed America in showing their support of the Guatemalan government’s genocide of all those dangerous possible socialists, like students and farmers.

We learnt about hurricanes, because Guatemala is kind of in a hurricane basin, by creating ‘hurricanes’ by stirring a pint glass of water very fast, and spinning ourselves in to hurricanes too, and watching some clips of how they are formed on Youtube. You could also learn about the Mayans or draw the iconic cross in Antigua.

20th May

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/OrteliusWorldMap1570.jpg

1570 Theatrus Orbis Terrarum published, first modern atlas

1609 Shakespeare’s Sonnets first published

1927 Charles Lindberg sets off on the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic; 1932 Amelia Earhardt does the same, first time by a woman.

 

Josephine Baker Day – an American-born French entertainer who helped in the civil rights movement in America by refusing to perform for segregated audiences.

 

World Metrology Day (celebrates the use of the metre) – how tall are you in metres? How far can you throw a ball? How far can you throw a flipflop?

http://ohhappyday.com/2012/05/veggie-boats/

European Maritime Day – so make boats out of everything!

Cuba Independence Day (from America, 1902)

combined-map-of-usa-and-cuba

Cuba was originally inhabited by ‘American Indians’ – the Taino/Arawak people. Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1492 and claimed it for Spain, whose settlers wiped out the natives in the usual manner (disease, oppression).

In 1549 the new governor, Dr. Gonzalo Perez de Angulo. liberated all remaining natives.

During the Seven Years’ War, Britain took Cuba from the Spanish. We already owned North America and other parts of the Carribean, so actually this was good for Cuba’s trade. Also we brought thousands of West African slaves to work in the sugar plantations. But then we swapped Cuba for Florida.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes

In 1868 Carlos Manuel de Céspedes offered to free any slaves who fought with him for Cuban Independence, leading to the Ten Years’ War. In the end Spain offered them more self-control and in the 1880s abolished slavery.

An exile, Jose Marti, founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. In 1895 he joined Maximo Gomez, who led the war against Spanish rule then. The Spanish army outnumbered the rebel army and put them in prototype concentration camps called reconcentrados, where they died of starvation and disease. The US was against the Spanish on this, and declared war.

After the Spanish-American War (1898 – America won), Cuba belonged to America until it was granted independence in 1902. There followed a series of presidents, included the dictator Batista who took the seat through a military coup.

Then Fidel Castro took over, also by military force, and Batista fled to exile. Castro executed any rebels and legalised the Communist Party which Batista had banned. The US sent in CIA-trained Cuban exiles to assassinate Castro. This was the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961.

The next year Cuba asked Russia if it could have some of its nuclear missiles stationed on it, to put the US off further invasions. This was the Cuban Missile Crisis and was perhaps the closest the Cold War came to full-on nuclear war. Economy was poor, but this was partly because all American states had imposed trade sanctions. Soviet Russia had been supporting Cuba with about $5 billion a year, and when it collapsed in 1991 that was….bad. But Cuba refused American help until 1993.

Now China supports them. In 2008 Fidel stepped down and his brother Raul took over. In 2013 Cubans were allowed to go abroad without even having to be invited by the government (the previous terms). 180,000 left and returned. They don’t have democracy or perhaps much freedom of expression, but they have good healthcare and education. People from around Latin America and America itself go to Cuba for medical care because it’s good and cheap.

Cuban music is called Son, and the Rhumba comes from here. Ernesto Lecuona is a classical Cuban composer.

Other events today:

  • Cameroon National Day – see 1st October
  • East Timor Independence Day (from Indonesia, 2002)- see 30th August
  • Indonesia National Awakening (leading to independence from the Netherlands in 1945) – see 17th August
  • Cambodia Day of Remembrance (remembers Communist rule of Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, which killed and tortured masses of opponents) – see 9th November