March blows in this Sunday, possibly with a lot of wind, but with also a gust of neat ideas for young children as they take advantage of the seasonal characteristics of this month.

One is reminded of Mary Poppins singing “let’s go fly a kite up to the highest heights” and the looks of joy and glee on children’s faces as they dash outside to fun and freedom and amazement. I witness that same joy and smiles in young children’s eyes today as they join family or class on an afternoon kite adventure.

Kites have been around for some 3,000 years in celebrating special events and occasions. According to records and legends, the Chinese invented the kite, which Thailand and Japan have used in their celebrations.

Brightly colored kites are used in The Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan and Children’s Day in Japan. It has been used for scientific purposes; Benjamin Franklin discovered there was electricity present during a storm. It’s been used to record temperatures and for military purposes.

Our environment by the bay on the Eastern Shore, as well as on the beach at Gulf Shores, promotes favorable conditions in flying kites for family fun.

There are many sites on the Web to show parents how to make simple newspaper kites and box kites. It’s so much fun to work together on a project like this.

Sometimes it is just better to purchase a kite if you don’t have time to make one. This spring entertainment object is not expensive and well worth the investment for memorable family fun!

I’d like to remind  readers of just some common sense safety rules:

As I look at my March Teacher calendar and my lesson-plan book there are other neat events that happen during March. Here are some events that you might want to jot down for you and your child to celebrate:

This month is American Red Cross Month.

Take time to explain to your young child how important the American Red Cross is to our community in helping to take care of us after crisis hit an area.  Explain they provide needed items and take care of us after bad weather or other times we need help.

This is also Music in Schools Month, when you can make a lot of music instruments out of empty boxes, paper plates, rattles, etc. 

March celebrates “National Nutrition Month.” Take time to explain what are good foods to eat versus foods that are not good to eat.  During this month I love to bring to my classes the vegetable and fruit trays to guide them on what good nutrition is.

I really like this one: March 2-6, “Newspaper in Education Week.” Our newspapers are such valuable tools in teaching young children reading, comprehension as well as about the community and the world.

March 20-26 is National Bubble Week. Blowing bubbles provides hours of fun for young children.

Beth Pinyerd lives in Daphne and serves as director of younger children at Faith Family Fellowship in Spanish Fort.

Her column appears every other week in the Daphne Bulletin and Spanish Fort Sun.