January 1~New Year’s Day – The first day of the New Year is a federal holiday.  For many people, January first also means making a New Year’s resolution.  The most common being to lose weight/get in shape, stop smoking and get organized.  What is yours and how do you plan to achieve it?

In some communities families visit each other for New Year’s Day brunch and lots of watching football bowl games.  There are five “bowl” games today, including the Outback Bowl in Tampa Florida, The Rose Bowl in Pasadena California  and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.  To learn about football visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp

January 16~ Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Martin Luther King Jr. was an important leader of the civil rights movement here in America during the 1950s and 60s. The holiday was created as a day to remember his fight for the freedom, equality, and dignity of all races and peoples and as a time to remember the message of change through nonviolence.  Usually schools are closed this day.  If so, take your children to the library to get a book on Martin Luther King.  Read it together.