Holidays - December 8th

According to Holiday Insights, December 8th is National Brownie Day. There are a variety of activities that you can do with children to celebrate this "holiday." You may want to make a batch of brownies--you can do it the easy way and buy a box of mix; or, if you want to do it the old-fashioned way, there are plenty of recipes to choose from to make brownies from scratch.

According to the same site, it is also Take It in the Ear Day. This is one of those lesser-known holidays. Mention of it is mostly on sites where people are asking what the holiday is (And none seem to have been given a precise, definite answer.)... Few reputable sources give answer to exactly what the holiday is. Perhaps, though, this is a good day to practice being good listeners--and to teach our children to do the same (That, or to take our daughters and have them "take it in the ear" by getting their ears pierced...perhaps that is too literal for some though...)... Perhaps, read them a story or play a game that exercises their listening skills.

Helpful Links for National Brownie Day:

This recipe, from ifood, has chocolate pudding in it and has been well-reviewed:
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/chocolate-pudding-brownies

This recipe, from food.com, is for Nestle Toll House Double Chocolate Brownies ad has also been well-reviewed:
http://www.food.com/recipe/nestle-toll-house-double-chocolate-brownies-19441

This recipe, from allrecipes.com, is for Nestle Toll House Blonde Brownies and is ideal if you are looking for something a bit different from the traditional chocolate brownie:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/toll-house-blonde-brownies/Detail.aspx

Helpful Links for Take It in the Ear Day:

A list of sites and listening activities from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association:
http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster4/part88.html

A list of sites and listening activities, for children of all age groups, from iVillage:
http://www.ivillage.com/activities-build-listening-skills-skill-builder/6-a-129313

A list of fun listening activities from Baby Center:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_fun-activities-to-promote-listening-skills_68099.bc

Enjoy!
-Sus.