No Time for June Gloom!

It’s June! School’s out and the wonderful promise of summer lies ahead of us.

We know that sometimes this enticingly empty stretch of unstructured time can seem daunting to fill. Here are some activities and suggestions for summer. As always, we’ve looked a little bit into the history of things because we can’t help but be passionate about American history. Buckle your seat belts because here comes summer!

Major Days in June

D-Day, June 6

June 6, 1944 was D-Day and the beginning of the end of World War II. On D-Day American, Canadian, British and French troops all joined forces to reclaim the beaches of Normandy. This day was a turning point in the war. If your kids are looking to learn more about D-Day they can check out the article on Ducksters.com This great article goes over the how, what, when, where and why of D-Day and explores our country connections with our Allied Forces; Canada, Great Britain and France.

Flag Day, June 14th

This June 14th America will be celebrating it’s 99th Flag Day! President Woodrow Wilson scheduled the first Flag Day in 1916. Flag Day never became a national holiday but just the same Americans love to celebrate our flag. Here are some fun facts we found about Old Glory. Check out Kids Konnect to learn even more!

• The American flag’s nickname is “stars and stripes” also referred to as “Old Glory”
• The flag’s design has changed 27 times over it’s history and was last changed in 1960 to include our 50th state, Hawaii
• The 13 stripes on the flag represent the 13 colonies
• There is a star for each of the 50 states, go ahead and count them!
• The design of our current 50 star flag was designed by a high school student for a class project and he only got a B- as his final grade (mentalfloss.com)

Fathers Day, June 19th

Did you know that Father’s Day was actually protested in the 1920’s and 30’s?

The first Fathers Day is attributed to Sonora Smart Dodd. She was one of six children raised by a single father and in 1910 decided that her dad deserved a celebration. President Coolridge tried to get the states to celebrate Fathers Day but most fathers “scoffed at the holiday’s sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving”(History.com). The 1920’s and 30’s saw such a backlash on Fathers Day that there were even rallies in Central Park in New York! World War II put a stop to all the controversy and in 1972 the day became a national holiday in America.

Mom, I’m Bored!

Well, if your kids have already downloaded both World of Liberty apps, “It’s Raining Pumpkins in Delaware” and “Chicago’s Green River Leads to the Emerald Isle”, we recommend you let them…stay bored! That’s right. It turns out that boredom is actually a state of mind that breeds creativity and helps children with problem solving skills. Several studies have recently been released showing the positive outcome of being bored. Aha! Parenting has a great article about it (read here).

Unstructured time gives your kids the opportunity to, “respond to the stirrings of their own hearts” (Aha!). So, boredom is actually good for you. Who knew?

The word boredom was first used in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House which was published in 1852. Of course, the state of mind has existed throughout human history. According to Simthsonian.com it turns out that even ancient Romans experienced boredom!

So, go ahead!Be bored this summer, you never know where it may lead you.