Vernal Equinox | JOY for Today

Reawaken, restart, rejuvenate, renew. Spring - a time of growth, new life, and warmth - is full of JOYful possibilities. Welcome to the Spring celebration!

"Daisy Flowers in White" by Karen Arnold via Public Domain Pictures

Vernal Equinox Offerings:

• Did You Know... 
• Wolfe Stew Connects
• Bible Verses and Quotes 
• Activity Suggestions (For families, classrooms or individuals)

Did You Know:

1. Two "first days" of spring exist? One, the equinox, is astronomically based, but the other, used by climate scientists, is based on the temperature cycle. So, dear reader, you may choose to celebrate the first day of spring on March 1st (meteorologically) or March 20th (astronomically).
2. Some cultures recognize the vernal equinox as their new year? While we celebrate the New Year in January, some countries in the middle east wait until spring to officially mark a New Year. To celebrate, they jump over bonfires, clean their homes, feast, paint eggs, bang pots, and picnic.
3. A snake shadow descends El Castillo pyramid in Mexico each equinox? Historians suggest the shadow serves as tribute to Kukulan, the serpent god.
4. When properly positioned, a stick will have no shadow at noon today. Follow the instructions on number nine at Time and Date to try it out where you live!
5. Those cute baby animals born in spring help humans focus. Scientists believe baby animals trigger our care-giving impulses, increasing concentration, slowing impulsive behavior, and encouraging friendliness.

We'd Love to Know:

Any other spring fact you'd care to share.

Wolfe Stew Connects

Of all the seasons, spring is my least favorite. Not that there is no JOY in it, there is plenty of JOY to be found. While I harbor no specific disdain for the season, I just find more fondness in the others. However, many family birthdays, flowers budding, birds chirping, and temperatures rising, all bring spring JOY to me. And, as nature RESTARTS, it is an ideal reminder to FIGHT for areas in your life where you need a RESTART.

To encourage you in your RESTART(s), we've made a GROWTH for Today calendar with daily tasks. Each day is new, each moment is new, and each breath is good fuel for a RESTART. Know that we are learning to embrace RESTARTS with you.

We'd Love to Know:

What you anticipate each spring.

Bible Verses and Quotes to Inspire

Verses

• "Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants." Deuteronomy 32:2 NIV
• "They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain. Job 29:23 NIV
• "For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;" Song of Solomon 2:11-12 KJV
• "And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years." Genesis 1:14 ESV
• "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with JOY and singing." Isaiah 35:1-2 KJV

Quotes

• "It is spring again. The Earth is like a child that knows poems by heart." - Rainer Maria Rilke
• "She turned to the sunlight / And shook her yellow head, / And whispered to her neighbor: / 'Winter is dead.'" - A. A. Milne
• "Spring is painted in daffodil yellows, robin egg blues, new grass green and the brightness of hope for a better life." - Toni Sorenson
• "The deep roots never doubt spring will come." - Marty Rubin
• "Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade." - Charles Dickens

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote would you turn into a coloring page?

Activity Suggestions

Welcome spring with one (or two) of the activities below.

• Clean
• Your workspace with a 6-item list from Dr. Dianna Lindsay at Education World
• Inside your home with tips from Sarah Aguirre at The Spruce
• Outside your home 7 home improvement projects from Architectural Digest
• Explain
• The day night cycle with this manipulative from Wolfe Stew
• The changing seasons with this online scavenger hunt from Education World
• Your observations with this five senses recording sheet from My Teaching Station
• Grow
• A garden
• Start basic planning with Texas A&M
• Identify your planting zone using the Gilmour map below
• Make a planting calendar with Farmer's Almanac
• A plant that matches your personality with ProFlowers
• Read The Thing about Spring by Daniel Kirk. Rabbit is having a hard time leaving winter behind. Her friends remind her about the many good things about spring. After reading, have learners write a list of things about winter that they enjoy. Then have them turn each winter positive into a related thing about spring that is also good.

We'd Love to Know: 

How you welcome spring.

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow.

Fighting the Good Fight with You,

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.