Considering that we hardly pay it any mind, May Day has a pretty interesting history, associated through the ages with an ancient Celtic festival, a medieval holiday, a Catholic ritual, and the modern labor movement. Plenty of room for exploration, education and fun. May Day began as an ancient Celtic holiday called Beltane (or some […]

Some years we make “natural dyed eggs” and some years we go for glitter and tie-dye. This year we tried looking for natural dye in our own backyard — where we found a little yellow flower growing all over. The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center site identifies it as an Huisache Daisy, a member of the […]

“Now the wellcome time of harvest aproached, in which all had their hungrie bellies filled.” Watched an eye-opening video from Izzit the other day. Called Yours and Mine: The Lesson of 1623, the free DVD focused on the early days of Plymouth Colony. Never learned this in school, but apparently the Puritans* who settled there […]

Sir Vladimir: How do you know she is a witch?Peasant: She looks like one! The people of Quebec have a story about a ghost-witch who haunts a road by the river (which she frequently crosses to attend witch meetings). La Corriveau they call her, and she has been known to terrify passersby: touching them with […]

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.” The Age of Discovery was filled with adventurers who bravely left sight of shore to risk falling off the edge of the world or being swallowed by sea monsters. Turns out, though, scoffing at sea monsters notwithstanding, being an Explorer was way more dangerous than that. […]