Surfnetkids.com
Surfing the Net with Kids FREE Newsletter
#1. March 28, 2012
Dear Reader,
As I traveled through France with my daughter, I was constantly reminded that learning languages is so much easier when you are young! Did you take high-school French? I studied Spanish, and it is some sort of strange brain connection that makes me want to speak Spanish when confronted with a foreign language I don’t know, such as French. Has that ever happened to you? Ha ha ha!!
Back to the topic of kids, I was recently introduced (thanks Scott!) to a new program for teaching French to your kids. I love this idea! It is the brainchild of Kristin Jangro and her site LanguageMom.com. With family in France, Kristin decided she wanted her two boys to learn French. She spent an extensive amount of time and money buying all the programs she could find, but found them all lacking three key elements: personal interaction, consistency and progression. Frustrated, she set out to develop her own program.
Her program for 3-7 year olds includes 26 weekly lessons, each with a different theme. Each lesson includes a study plan, study sheets and a video. The LanguageMom.com website also includes some great free resources for parents who are raising kids interested in other countries, cultures and languages.
See ya on the Net,
Barbara J. Feldman
"Surfing the Net with Kids"
https://www.surfnetkids.com
#2. What is April Fools’ Day?
by Barbara J. Feldman
https://www.surfnetkids.com/what_is_april_fools_day.htm
What is April Fools’ Day? Printable (** for premium members only)
https://www.surfnetkids.com/printables/files/printables-club/what_is_april_fools_day.pdf
The first day of April is a day to watch out for. Although not a national holiday, it is widely celebrated as April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day. Kids can join in the fun by playing silly jokes on friends and family, as long as everything is done in good spirit! Tricks like placing a bowl of cereal and milk in the freezer then serving it to someone for breakfast are things even small children can do, and can be funny for everyone involved.
April Fools
Did you know that until our current Gregorian calendar was introduced, New Year’s was celebrated during the week of March 25 to April 1? In 1582, the new calendar moved it to January 1. Some people didn’t like this change and they “refused to acknowledge [it] and continued to celebrate on April 1.” The people who did accept the change played jokes on the people who didn’t, like inviting them to nonexistent parties and pinning paper fish to their backs. If you want more than just a history, check out the links to different funny pranks to play listed on the left-hand side of the screen.
April Fools.com
Did you miss some of the great online pranks of years gone by? No worries, here at AprilFools.com you can peruse a collection of past pranks from brands such as Google, YouTube and Nike. Laugh along at how in 2010, Google’s Gmail ran out of vowels and the entire website was written only in consonants! Follow the links in the left-hand menu to read about fake news headlines that really fooled people, and ideas for harmless pranks for both kids and adults.
Infoplease: April Fools’ Day: Origin and History
Celebrating spring with a day of fun and foolishness is almost universal. “The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim.” Even though the origins of April Fools’ Day itself may be unclear, what is certain is that something silly is in the air in the springtime. Visit Infoplease to explore more theories about the origins of April Fools’ Day and check out the “Related Links” section to learn more about hoaxes, phobias, and calendar changes.
… Click to continue What is April Fools’ Day? .
#3. Printables Club Members Also Get …
Surfnetkids Printables Club Members also get the following printables to use in the classroom, the computer lab, the school library, or to send home with students:
What is April Fools’ Day? Printable
April Fools’ Day Wikipedia Printable
April Fools’ Day Pranks Printable
*** Are you curious? Get your own ten-day trial membership:
https://www.surfnetkids.com/printables-club.htm
#4. Related Games
April Fools’ Day Printable Word Scramble
https://www.surfnetkids.com/games/aprilfools-pp.htm
April Fools’ Day Word Scramble
https://www.surfnetkids.com/games/aprilfools-sw.htm
April Fools’ Day Word Search
https://www.surfnetkids.com/games/aprilfools-ws.htm
April Fools’ Day Coloring Pages
https://www.surfnetkids.com/coloring/holiday/april_fools_day/
April Trivia Quiz
https://www.surfnetkids.com/games/april-quiz.htm
#5. Surfing the Calendar
Vincent van Gogh Birthday
Mar 30, 1853
U.S. Agrees to Purchase Alaska From Russia for $7.2 Million Dollars
Mar 30, 1867
Eiffel Tower Opened
Mar 31, 1889
National Kite Month
April
National Frog Month
April
California Earthquake Preparedness Month
April
National Humor Month
April
National Mathematics Education Month
April
Zoos: Zoo and Aquarium Month
April
Aquariums: Zoo and Aquarium Month
April
King George III Reacts to the Boston Tea Party by Closing the Boston Port
Apr 1, 1774
National Week of the Ocean
Apr 1-7, 2012
April Fools’ Day
Apr 1, 2012
Ponce de León Discovers Florida
Apr 2, 1513
Hans Christian Andersen’s Birthday
Apr 2, 1805
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi’s Birthday
Apr 2, 1834
Death of Pope John Paul II
Apr 2, 2005
#6. Quote of the Week
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” ~~ James Thurber ~~ (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) American humorist and cartoonist. Click here for more experience quotes.
#7. Subscription Management
To get your own free weekly subscription:
https://www.surfnetkids.com/newsletter/
Need help? Get support at:
ReplyToBarbara.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright © 2010 by Surfnetkids.com, Inc.
991C Lomas Santa Fe Dr #415, Solana Beach, CA 92075
Publication in any medium is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission. This means you are NOT allowed to post this
newsletter on your website, in your school publication, nor distribute
it to an email list. You are however, allowed and encouraged to forward
this newsletter to a few friends. Thank you for your help in protecting my
copyright.
ISSN 1520-4588
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a cool website! I love it and so do my friends!