Hey, Back-to-School Preppers!

It’s been a fun-filled, coming-or-going three months of summer. But as August comes to an end, it’s time to change gears and get yourself and your kids organized and ready for going back to school. There’s a lot that goes into getting ready for the return of the school year, so we thought we’d help by giving you just a few little tips that you can put into action before the school season is here!

Sleep Schedule
This is a big one! From helping you remember to boosting your confidence, a good night’s sleep does so much for us and greatly affects our demeanor throughout the following day. A night of sleep can literally make or break the next day for you. Learn a great deal more about the importance of sound sleep in a previous Blog post I shared on January 3—the Festival of Sleep—right here.

Leftover Labels
If you ordered our Clothing Name Labels, Stick-Ons, or any of our other labeling alternatives and you still have some leftover, put it to use on your school clothes, rain coats, snowpants, shoes, and boots. And of course, you can order more if you need right here. Labeled school clothes and school supplies are a surefire way to avoid any confusion in the classroom!

Consider your Comeback
It’s happened to everyone. People ask how your summer was and you respond with a flat, resounding “Fun.” Instead of always giving a dud response, try scanning your summer before school starts for fun stories that you can share with school friends. It’ll make for much better conversation and might allow your friend a chance to tell a fun story from their summer too—something that never would have happened with a, “it was fun” kind of response.

Head into your upcoming school year with confidence and organization with these helpful tips and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Kiddies!

Today is Tooth Fairy Day. Has there been some awkward wiggling and dangling going on inside your mouth lately? Sounds like you’ve got a visit from the Tooth Fairy coming up. Get ready for a little extra coin in exchange for your tooth once it finally comes loose. That’s how it works: you take your tooth and place it under your pillow; that night, the Tooth Fairy comes and pockets the tooth while leaving you a little something for your troubles.

It hasn’t always been this way, though. The tale of the Tooth Fairy and the traditions associated with children losing their teeth have gone through some changes throughout the years and the cultures that celebrated them. Here are a few different things people would do:

Bury Teeth
Europeans in the 1400s were in the habit of burying children’s baby teeth when they fell out. It’s quite possible that this is what led to placing teeth under the pillow. And when a kid’s sixth tooth came out, it was customary for parents to slip a small gift in place of the tooth where it had been buried as a sort of ‘tooth fee’.

Burn Teeth
While the customs of burying teeth bear a similar resemblance to today’s customs, this one is completely unlike anything we do today. Kids, however, in England during the middle ages were instructed to burn their teeth to avoid hardship and suffering in the afterlife. I, however, on behalf of the Everything Summer Camp Blog do not recommend this.

Wear Teeth
Possibly where the concept for a ‘tooth fee’ came from, the Vikings of Norse culture thought children’s teeth to have good luck tied to them and would pay children for their loose teeth. Some warriors would wear the teeth they purchased for protection in battle.

Who knows where all these traditions and notions came from, but in any case, the tradition lives on as losing baby teeth is a rite of passage worth celebration. If baby teeth are so lucky, though, maybe you should hold onto those little gems! What does the Tooth Fairy need them for anyway? As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Hectic High Fliers!

Summer is a demanding season. There’s so much that we want to fit in that we run ourselves ragged in our attempt and may forget to actually enjoy any of it. After all, too much of a good thing quickly transforms into a bad thing. Take today for a great lesson in making yourself take a break—especially those of you who are always moving and always occupying your minds. It’s Relaxation Day and, believe it or not, it can feel like hard work to actually allow yourself to relax—especially when we’re prone to constantly exercising our bodies and our brains. Often times, we choose to simply stay in the mode of motion as opposed to switching gears and giving ourselves a break.

Even when we consider ourselves to be relaxing, we’re usually still being active in some way or another (reading a book, watching TV, playing video games, talking on the phone, and surfing the Internet all demand a good amount of work from your brain, despite how relaxed your body may be through the duration of these activities. No matter how relaxing they may seem, they’re still ACTIVities nonetheless).

Of course, we give our bodies and minds a break every night when we go to bed, but we need that time for recuperating from the day—it’s a deeper kind of rest. Wakeful relaxation is important too. Allow your mind’s rampant activity to dissolve, focusing on just one thing. Creating visual art can be a means of therapeutic relaxation, but even this can become too active.

Really try giving yourself a break today. Take a relaxing bath, sit in a comfy chair, or go lay in the grass and try not to let your mind wander too much. Just focus on enjoying the moment without any demands or problems to contemplate. It’s not always so easy, but it’s incredibly refreshing when you can make it happen. Go ahead—REALLY relax today and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Lighthouse Lovers!

Not only picturesque buildings, but symbols of hope, lighthouses are beautiful towers designed to emit light great distances with the purpose of helping pilots at sea navigate their ships through dangerous waters in the blanket of night. With radio, GPS, and other means of modern communication, lighthouses are now more-or-less poetic relics of our technology preceding the digital age, but still they stand like gentle giants peering out to the distant horizon.

Today we celebrate Lighthouse Day. Trips to visit a local lighthouse are a popular family activity in the summertime—not to mention a great way to observe Lighthouse Day! I recall a handful of trips my family made to check out lighthouses in our surrounding area. It was an awesome experience each time.

To celebrate on the Blog today, let’s explore the past for a little history lesson on lighthouses. As is the case with many things, the history of the lighthouse goes back farther than you likely expect. The very first lighthouse was built around 280 B.C. in ancient Egypt. An enormous bonfire was lit each night at the very top of the tower which stood taller than 450 feet! The beacon was visible from over 30 miles away!

This Egyptian Lighthouse was so big that it was included as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was toppled by an earthquake in 1303 A.D.

Since ancient times, people have experimented with the materials to use in lighthouse construction. Early American lighthouses were short for towers and made out of wood or stone. The bulk of the towers built before 1800 have either fallen or caught fire. It was understood that lighthouses would have to be made sturdier and the 17th Century started building tall towers like they had in ancient times.

Gentle giants of the coast, they were made of brick and cut stone. It became customary for a lighthouse to include living quarters for the keeper of a lighthouse—after all, somebody had to be there day after day to light the lantern and perform all the general maintenance duties to keep the lighthouse in operation!

Eventually, lighthouse towers were constructed from iron and concrete and automated signals have done away with the need for a keeper or those quiet days they used to live along the shore.

Lots of lighthouses still remain in operation as the only tangible and reliable means of navigation—whereas radio or GPS signals can be lost—but a growing number of towers are being decommissioned and their lights are going out.

Lack of funds has led to lack of maintenance and lighthouse structures have been left to weather the elements without the help of human hands. Rough weather over time has already toppled abandoned lighthouses and these towers will continue to fall as time wears on their neglected foundations.

In short, lighthouses will certainly span your lifetime, but they won’t be around forever. Appreciate the opportunity to explore these interesting towers of our history and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Watermelon Lovers!

Does your mouth start watering at the mention of this melon—the juiciest of all other melons? It’s no surprise if your answer is yes. Few people would argue that watermelon is one of the most refreshing summertime treats known to the human palette. That’s why we have today: National Watermelon Day to celebrate our love! And in our celebration on this Blog, today’s post offers up three rather surprising facts about watermelons!

Enjoy!

1.) Did you know that the stuff that gives watermelon its red tint is the same stuff that makes tomatoes that radiant red hue? It’s called lycopene—an essential nutrient for human consumption and very high in antioxidant activity. And there’s a lot more lycopene packed away in every bite of watermelon than what tomatoes deliver!

2.) The rules get pretty funky when we venture into the realm of classifying melons. A watermelon is sweet with seeds on the inside—that’s a fruit. However, watermelon is of the same family as cucumbers, pumpkin, and squash. It’s actually part vegetable and part fruit. When it comes to classifying identifying our fruits and veggies, we haven’t got a clue! Did you know strawberries aren’t even berries?!

3.) The parts you spit out and throw away are not only edible, but actually the healthiest part of the watermelon! That’s right. Contrary to what I was always told as a child, the black seeds are actually very healthy for you, containing iron, zinc, protein, and fiber. They will not start growing a watermelon inside your stomach. And the watermelon rind—a great source of citrulline—is apparently a delicious treat when you put it in a blender with a little lime.

I have one last bonus fact about watermelons for you, but it’s not very surprising. Still, it’s fun to know—watermelons are comprised of more than 91% water! No wonder it makes such a refreshing treat! Enjoy some watermelon for yourself today and, as always, thanks for reading!

 - John