Monthly Archives: January 2014

Happy Chinese New Year!

Temple at night illuminated with light from decorations

2014 is the year of the horse!

The most spectacular event of the Chinese New Year festivities is the Lion Dance. If there is a Chinatown in a city nearby you can visit and watch the “lion” dancing through the streets. Be prepared for lots of firecrackers! Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year may vary, the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members and friends.

Visit http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm for your fortune and more information about this celebration.

National Puzzle Day!

Don’t be puzzled by today. National Puzzle Day honors puzzles of all size, shape and form. Crossword puzzles are by far the most common. Sudoku, a number puzzle, is the most recent puzzle rage. There are easy puzzles, and there are puzzles for experts.

 They fit the needs of every person, and every skill level.

puzzle

 

Puzzles are a favorite pastime of millions of people, young and old. So, what’s with this fascination over puzzles? There are numerous reasons for their popularity. For many, doing puzzles is fun. Some people just like the challenge of completing them, and graduating to evermore complex and difficult puzzle solving levels. For others, it is a way to kill time, and to eliminate boredom. Others still, do puzzles to keep their mind sharp, or to learn new words.

It’s Mozart’s birthday!

How many songs do you know, that Mozart wrote?

mazart

Did you know that Mozart wrote the popular kids’ song “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?” The same tune is also used for “The Alphabet Song” and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.” Amaze your host parents by teaching the children about Mozart and singing the song at dinner.  Listen to some classical music today and find out that it can be calming and delightful at nap time and mealtime or can inspire the children when they are drawing  on paper with crayons or markers.

ABC’s of Winter Fun

snowflake

A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
F is for Friends – invite some over
G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment
L is for Library – borrow some new books
M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
V is for Variety – try something new everyday
W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
X is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
Z is for Zoo – visit the animals

It’s Australia Day!

A koala holding onto a eucalyptus tree with its head turned so both eyes are visible

People across New South Wales join together in celebration of what it means to be Australian. Australia is unique because it is an island country that is also a continent.

You can learn more about Australia by visiting the “for kids” section ofhttp://www.nationalgeographic.com/downunder/.

You’ll find directions to make a Boomerang and fun facts about kangaroos and koalas.

Winter driving safety tips

Driving safely on icy roads

  1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
  2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
  3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
  4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
  5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
  6. Don’t use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
  7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
  8. Don’t pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you’re likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
  9. Don’t assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

Want to rent a car?

Avis rents to customers between the ages of 21-24 with an Avis-honored credit card and valid driver’s license. At time of rental, we will automatically apply an additional $27-per-day underage surcharge in the US and $35 per day in Canada for these drivers.

Exceptions:

In Washington DC., the minimum age to rent is 25. Except at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD), which now rents to customers between the ages of 21-24 with a valid credit card and driver’s license.

In New York State the minimum age to rent is 18 with a $52 per day surcharge for renters age 18-20 and a $35-per-day underage surcharge for renters age 21-24.

Michigan will continue to have a minimum age of 18 with a $41-per-day surcharge for customers between the ages of 18-20 and $28-per-day surcharge for customers between the ages of 21-24.

In Quebec, the minimum age to rent car groups A, B, C, D & E is 21 with an under age fee of $20 per day for renters age 21-24. For all other car groups, the minimum age is 25.

In Saskatchewan, the minimum age is 18. No under age fee applies.

Government Personnel (civilian or military) minimum age policy is as follows:

For Personnel (FEMA, U.S. Postal Dept., Navy and Army) not using the Government Leisure Pass, minimum age is
* 18 years (No underage surcharge will apply) with Government Travel or Purchase order
* 21 years (No underage surcharge will apply) without Travel or Purchase order

When using the Government Leisure pass the renter is subject to underage fees as specified by renting location.

Renters between the ages of 21-24 may not rent vehicles in the following car classes:

  • Luxury
  • Specialty
  • Minivans
  • Passenger Vans
  • Full-Size SUVs
  • Premium SUVs

The local Avis is in the Sears store at the mall and also at:

315 Garrisonville Rd, Ste 117
Stafford, VA, 22463 , US
(1) 540-288-2764

University of Mary Washington audit registration date changed to Jan 22

Registration for those wishing to audit classes will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in Lee Hall, Room 206. The fee for auditing is $30 per credit hour. You must complete the Audit Application and Registration form. Citizens over 60 are exempt from the fee, but you must complete the Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver. Au paires should bring their visa.

Happy Birthday Albert Schweitzer!

Born in 1875 in Germany, Schweitzer studied music, science and religion. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and is probably best remembered for bringing modern health care to Africa in the early 1900s. Here are two quotes from Schweitzer to think about and discuss with the children. How can these quotes inspire you to act?

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”

– Albert Schweitzer