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Leap for Leap Day!

by Neighborhood-Kids.com2/28/2008 4:25:06 PM

Once every four years (except years that are divisible by exactly 100 but not 400), users of the Gregorian calendar (the most widely-used calendar in the world and the calendar that the United States follows) tack on an extra day (February 29) to keep the calendar year synchronized with the solar year (which is 6 hours longer than 365 days). Which is a complicated way of saying that it’s Leap Day!

Enjoy the view of the bay as you traverse the boardwalk.

In a world where there never seems to be enough time, Leap Day can be a catch-up day to clean out the garage or to (finally) prepare those taxes that are due in April. While you're checking off your To-Do list, try to have a little fun and enjoy the unique features of our community too.

In case you haven’t thought about what to do with those precious extra hours today, here are 29 Ways to Keep the Family Busy on Leap Day.

1. Ride your bike from Fairhaven to Boulevard on the boardwalk.
2. Count the Taylor Street Stairs.
3. Buy 29 beads at the Bead Bazaar to make some original jewelry.
4. Clean out the closet and make a donation-run to Goodwill.
5. While you’re at Goodwill, find an inexpensive green outfit for St. Patrick’s Day.
6. Trek down to the Woodland Park Zoo for their special Leap Day activities.
7. Depending on visibility, cloud gaze at Fairhaven Park.
What interesting shapes do you see as the clouds roll by?
8. Make sack lunches to pass out in the downtown area.
9. Return any overdue library books or movie rentals.
10. Visit a nearby museum.
11. Lead a round of "29 Bottles of Boundary Bay Root Beer on the Wall."
12. Make and send postcards by gluing white paper on the back of 4x6 photographs.
13. Watch or listen to Washington State High School Basketball semifinal games.
14. Enjoy an extra day of the Boomers Drive-In Sale.
15. Play Leap Frog.
16. Finish the Friday Sudoku in less than 29 minutes.
17. Get your Mother’s Day gift ready by painting at mug at CreativiTea.
18. Practice handstands.
19. Bake cookies for your mail carrier.
20. Swim 29 laps at the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center (or 2.9 laps for little swimmers).
21. Search the couch cushions for loose change and put your findings towards a tasty treat at Mallard Ice Cream.
Leap Day: A great day to celebrate our amphibious friends.
22. Read for an extra 29 minutes.
23. Get a haircut.
24. Learn about Edward Eldridge, a founding father of Bellingham and namesake of Eldridge Avenue.
25. Think of as many words you can that rhyme with “leap” and write some poems.
26. Learn to play the nose flute.
27. Organize your sock drawer and use all those lonely unmatched socks to make hand puppets.
28. See if you recognize any of these Famous Leap Day Babies.
29. Make a list of 29 things to accomplish before Leap Day 2012.