Sorting Through Life's Lessons: St. Patrick's Day

Showing posts with label St. Patrick's Day. Show all posts

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Why Do Boston School Children Have a St. Patrick's Day Holiday?

I used to stump my students with this question when I taught fourth graders. They came up with some very creative answers to imagine why St. Patrick's Day would be a day off for their fellow students in Boston. Why would they be in school and Boston children have the day off?

It was a trick question. While the media focuses on the St. Patrick's Day events in Boston, it is not the official reason students have the day off from school. March 17 is Evacuation Day in Boston. Tell kids that and they jump off into another whole train of thought as to what would cause Boston to be evacuated.

Start nudging children towards history and you get them closer to the mark. Evacuation day is celebrated as the day British troops left Boston during the American Revolution.

I always find it a fun challenge to find out how many people know about the paid holiday and its origins.

Friday, March 4, 2011

St. Patrick's Day Resources Updated

Just a note to let you know that the St. Patrick's Day Free Education Resource Page has been updated and added to the index. I am not sure why I missed adding it last year, but I noticed it was missing when I went to find it this year.

As a freelance writer, I have been worried about the changes to Google's ratings for content. However, as I searched for new resources to update the St. Patrick's Day page I can gladly state I only had one Trojan attack instead of the thirty or more Kapersky generally protects me against when I go off on these hunts to locate free resources to share.

I hope these resources are helpful and that all of you have a happy, safe, and healthy St. Patrick's Day.