The phrase "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" originates from an iconic movie — The Wizard of Oz (1939). It's an expression to describe wonder or apprehension and is often substituted with three other words.
Some examples:
- "Drooling and burping and pooping, oh my! Babies are messier than I anticipated."
- "Jokes and trivia and puzzles, oh my! There are so many things to learn this week."
And speaking of learning... here are five fun tiger-themed things to teach your kids this week:
1. A silly joke.
Things are about to get wild with our laugh-out-loud tiger joke...
What's the difference between a tiger and a lion? A tiger always tells the truth. The other is always lion.
2. A new vocabulary word.
You've probably heard the phrase "eeny, meeny, miny, moe," but do you know what it means? "Eeny" isn't even in the dictionary!
Bonus fun fact: Meeny, miny, and moe are all valid Scrabble words!
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe is the start of a children's counting rhyme. Variations of the rhyme stem back to the 1800s.
Have you ever used the rhyme yourself to make a decision? A common way to do so is by adding, "My mother says to pick the very best one, and that is Y-O-U" to the end of the rhyme. Whichever object/person you land on is "it."
3. A word puzzle.
How well do you know your '80s music? Time to find out with our rebus puzzle!
To solve a rebus, consider not just the words, but the placement, size, color, and quantity of everything within the box (and sometimes just outside the box!) when trying to decipher the puzzle.
Survivor released "Eye of the Tiger" in 1982. Now that you have this iconic song stuck in your head, go play it on YouTube and be sure to turn the volume way, way up! Here are some quick links to the original video, audio with lyrics, or karaoke-style.
4. A fun fact.
What do you know about tigers? They are large cats with stripes and... well, that's all I knew about tigers before I did some research. Here are three fun facts to add to your repertoire.
Did you know that a group of tigers is called a "streak" or an "ambush"? Did you know that tigers are terrific swimmers? Did you know that tiger urine smells like buttered popcorn?
Okay, perhaps you didn't need to know that last one, but next time you're in a movie theatre, you may want to look around just in case a 600-pound feline is walking around the lobby.
Learn more fun facts about tigers from the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute and the Ranthambore National Park.
5. Teach a personal discovery.
Chinese New Year for 2022 began on February 1st. This is a Tiger year which represents a time of strength and courage. Were you born in a tiger year?
Which animal represents your birth year on the Chinese zodiac? Each new year is represented by one of twelve animals on the zodiac calendar.
Use a Chinese Zodiac Chart or Chinese Zodiac Calculator to learn about your animal sign, common personality traits, lucky numbers and symbols, and more!
"Anyone who keeps learning stays young." –Henry Ford
Did you learn something new? Now's the time to pass that knowledge on! Be sure to come back next week for another five FUN things to teach your kids.
