Tag Archives: family fun

Valentines Day February 14

A little history about Saint Valentine’s Day

valentines day

On Thursday, February 14th we celebrate Valentine’s Day in the United States by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, “Who is St. Valentine”? Time to brush up on your Valentine’s history!

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger army. Supposedly, Valentine, decided this decree was not fair and married young couples in secret. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine’s actions he had his head cut off making him a martyr of love. Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor’s daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first ‘valentine’ himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it ‘Your Valentine’, words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we’ll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure…February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent. For some fun children’s activities including crafts, coloring pages, games, puzzles and poems go to:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/index.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/valentines-day/

Football season kicks off this month

Photo by Kevygee

Photo by Kevygee

American Football Simplified:

A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field, in the End Zone, one for each team.  A Football Game is made up of 60 minutes of play time. The 60 minutes is divided into four Quarters of 15 minutes each. At the end of two Quarters, there is a break called Half Time. On the Scoreboard you can see the minutes and seconds running out. The team with the most points at the end of four Quarters wins.  Each team has an Offense and a Defense. If the Offense has the ball and tries to score by getting it across the Goal Line – the line where the playing field and the End Zone meet. The Defense tries to stop them. The Offense gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards toward their own goal post. These are called Downs. If they make the 10 yards or more, they get another four tries to move the ball another 10 yards. If they don’t move the ball 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes to the other team, or the team “loses the ball.”  The Super Bowl is the final game of the Football season when two teams play each other for the championship. The game takes place in late January or early February. For some people the TV commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl.  For the full rules of American Football visit:  http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp

Family Fall Festival in Gambrills, MD – Sept 12th

Come out and join us at the Family Fall Festival in Gambrills on September 12th from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  at Kaufman’s Tavern located at 329 Gambrills Road.  There will be four bands; a Kid’s Korner with moon bounce, climbing wall, and face painting; food, beer and wine for sale by Kaufmann’s (steamed crabs, seafood, burgers & hotdogs, and more!),  and performances by Studio180 Dance. All proceeds benefit local schools.  Admission for adults is $5 and children 12 and under are free.   Parking at Arundel High School.  The counselor from Annapolis, a host mother and a current au pair will be at a table to answer any questions you may have about the Au Pair in America program. 

Au Pairs at a pumpkin patch

Au Pairs at a pumpkin patch