Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

Expressions of love such as Valentine Day greeting cards, boxes of chocolates, flowers, presents or special events mark the occasion.



A Frenchman, Charles, Duke of Orleans is credited with writing the first Valentine.




He was captured by the English during the battle of Agincourt in 1415. On Valentine's Day he sent his wife a rhyming love letter from the tower of London, where he was imprisoned.
The Roman's celebrated a festival called Lupercalia on February 15. This festival was held to ward off the danger of wolves to their flocks and honored their God Lupercalia. This is one idea. The Christian Church had two Saints named Valentine and two other ideas center around them. The Roman Emperor, Claudius the II forbade young men to marry in 200 A.D. He believed single men made better soldiers, free of family concerns. A priest named Valentine disobeyed the Emperor and married couples in secret. The next Saint Valentine was a lover of children but, was imprisoned when he would not honor other gods. The children missed him and wrote messages of affection to him. They threw their notes through the bars of his cell. This may have been the beginning of exchanging messages. He was executed on February 14, 269 A.D. Pope Gelasius in 496 A.D. named February 14th, Valentine's Day, after him. The fourth idea concerning the celebration of Valentine's Day is based on the belief that birds or fowl pick their mates on February 14th. It was believed love birds in particular, chose this day to begin mating.
handmade cards for special people in their life. Glitter, markers and pictures
can add special sparkle to any card. Many people like to place these cards in
strange spots for their loved one to find, like in a refrigerator, on a mirror,
on a computer or on a pillow.
Cupid was the symbol for the Roman God of Love.



There are different ideas as to where or how the celebration of Valentine's Day began.




Today, people exchange cards with symbols of love and affection on them. Children and adults use various colors of printer paper to make distinct


The modern day celebration of Valentine's Day seems to have begun in France and England. On Valentines Eve young people would gather and pick names becoming a valentine to whose ever name they chose.

Cupid, Doves, Love Birds, Roses, Hearts and Arrows are all symbols of the Valentine's Day Holiday.

GIFT CERTIFICATES....always a Welcome Gift for your Child's Teacher.

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We changed out the window display today...
Dr Seuss- Oh the places you'll GO!!! It
a brand NEW Set and the art work is STUNNING!

February is African American History Month

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.

As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.

By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.

The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.

(Excerpt from an essay by Daryl Michael Scott, Howard University, for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History)