11.11.11

On the 11th of the 11th of the 11th at 11mins past 11am we still had 11 days of school left for the year but when the clock ticks over to 11mins past 11pm we will only have 10. Can I fit any more 11s.

This is what myself and the two healthy children were doing at about 11:11am today ...

Today is Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, the day that the 'war to end all wars' ended in the November of 1918. With the simple signing of paper by a German delegation at sometime around 5am, in a railroad car parked in a French forest, that stated there would be a cease fire at 11am, the lives of many changed.

So if I may ask why, if that was the end of the 'war to end all wars', are we still fighting today?

Today is the day, as a tradition, we as Australians along with many others around the world, set aside a minute from our busy days to remember and be thankful for those who have fought for this country and think of those that still do.

We discussed in our schoolroom yesterday what the significance of the 11 of November and why it is an important day in history.

From this came the discussion about having the day, month and year line up like the 11.11.11. From this came the discovery that after next years 12.12.12 this won't happen again until 2101 when we (unlikely considering I would have to live to 114), or our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and possibly great great grandchildren (could even go further depending) will see this phenomenon again with another 01.01.01. From this we have worked out how old everyone in our schoolroom will be the year this happens again.

Isn't it amazing the interesting incidental conversations you can have with kids that involve learning and thinking outside the box without even thinking about it. Much more fun than schoolwork.