MAKING THE MOST OF MARCH--YOU'VE GOT THIS!

 While there are 31 days in March, some mark events so much fun they worth a little extra.

CHECK THESE OUT!

March 1: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK was established by Congress in 1872. It became the first National Park in the US. But soon people became worried that the wolves living there were killing the deer. So, wolves were hunted until by 1926 no more remained in Yellowstone. That turned out to be a DISASTER! 

The deer herds grew so large they ate and ate all the plants they could find till there wasn't enough to eat--especially during the winter. Not only were the deer dying, the forest trees were struggling because the starving deer were eating the buds and bark, killing the trees. Finally, in 1995--almost 70 years later--people decided wolves needed to be reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park to restore the natural way the habitat functioned.  

Of the books I've written, one of my favorites is FAMILY PACK (Charlesbridge). It tells the true story of one very special wolf, Female #7, who was one of the first wolves released into Yellowstone. 

You see, those working on reintroducing the wolves believed they could capture wolves in Canada and put them together when they released them in Yellowstone to create packs. They knew wolves do best when they have other wolves to hunt with them. But Female #7 wanted no part of that! In fact, she went out on her own as soon as she was released into the park. And what happened next was AMAZING! HISTORIC! Enjoy this special story.

Read on your own or share my reading it.

March 7: NATIONAL CEREAL DAY  

What's your favorite kind cereal? Make a bar graph by asking that question of at least 20 people. And record the results.  Here are some fun cereal facts:

• The cereal industry uses over 800 million pounds of sugar a year
• The average American consumes over 160 bowls of cereal a year
• CheeriOats was the original name for Cheerios
• Corn Flakes was the first boxed cereal to offer a prize

We don't usually think of food as being an invention--but cereals were invented. 

March 13: EARMUFF DAY It really is. And time to thank Chester Greenwood for creating them in 1877. He called them "Champion Ear Protectors".

Now, it's your turn to create a really useful invention. Create an earmuff--face mask combination so people can stay healthy and have toasty warm ears on frosty March days. Draw a picture. Give it a name!

ONE MORE DAY TO CELEBRATE

March 29: EARTH HOUR was founded by the World Wide Fund for Nature in Sydney, Australia in 2007. The goal is to have people think about climate change by turning off all non-needed lights for one hour. But here's another way to celebrate on March 29th. 

Take time to appreciate all of Earth's oceans because climate change will hit them hard--in fact it already is. And that effects all the ocean animals from the surface to the deepest depths. Explore the different layers and investigate some of the animals living in each layer as I read to you...