Spring Equinox!!!
Learn:
Hooray! This week we are celebrating the first day of spring (Sunday, March 20), St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) and pi day (March 14 - aka 3.14). In our house, seasonal traditions like this call for special dinners and snacks.
Mentally, we love the spring equinox - also known as the vernal equinox) because we know that the longer days have finally arrived and that extra sunshine does wonders for our overall happiness.
In addition, it’s time to begin searching for those signs of spring: summer birds rejoining us, plants beginning to sprout or bud, and everything greening up a lot more.
What does the vernal equinox mean? Well, let’s break those words down.
Vernal = spring
Equinox = “equal” + “nox” = equal night
Basically, we get about 12 hours of daytime and 12 hours of nighttime on the spring equinox. Here in Wisconsin, the sun will rise around 7:00am and set around 7:09pm on March 20th.
Going one step beyond this, if you look up “vernal equinox 2022”, you might see that it is listed as March 20, 2002; 10:33am. Why is there a specific time listed? An equinox is the exact instant when the Sun is directly overhead the Equator and the Earth's rotational axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun.
Read:
One wonderful book to highlight the changing seasons is When Spring Comes by (Wisconsin author!!!) Kevin Henkes and illustrated by Laura Dronzek. It’s simple enough to use with small children, and easy for them to compare what’s happening in the book with what is happening outside each day!
Do:
One way to celebrate the return of the sun is by doing some yoga! One sequence of moves is called “Sun Salutation” and it’s a great way to wake up your bodies and enjoy the sunshine! Check out this video by Yoga with Cassandra and give it a try today!