Celebrate Leap Year on Feb. 29

On Feb. 29, we'll celebrate Leap Year with one extra day in 2012. Why do we need the extra day? We all know it takes the Earth one full year to take a trip around the sun, but did you know that it's actually a little more than 365 days? Five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds more to be exact. To keep things even, an extra day is added to the calendar every four years.

Here are a few fun facts about Leap Year:

The very first calendar that provided for leap year was introduced in 238 B.C. By King Ptolemy.

Astrologers believe that anyone being born on Feb. 29 has unusual talents and personalities befitting of their special birth day. People born on leap year’s day are called leaplings.

Leap year babies born in the year 1884 did not celebrate a single birthday on their actual birth date throughout entire teen age years. Feb. 29 fell on the year they turned 12 and then not again until they turned 20.

The tradition of women proposing to men on leap year day dates all the way back to 5th century Ireland.

Anthony, Texas, is the self proclaimed leap year capital of the world. Every year this little town that sits on the border of New Mexico holds a festival and leap year birthday celebrations complete with a carnival and hot air balloon rides. People come from all over the world to celebrate their special birthday in style.

There are about 4 million people in the world who have been born on Feb. 29. The chances of having a leap year birthday are 1 in 1,461.

Even though it's not an actual holiday, it seems like a great reason to celebrate! The frog is the unofficial mascot of Leap Year, but you can create a great celebration that includes any leaping or hopping animal! You can make the extra day extra-special for your family with leaping activities and "froggy" treats.

Encourage your family to get outside for some Leap Year fun building and jumping hurdles or playing leap frog.

If you want to keep your celebration indoors, create an origami jumping frog or go on a Frog Hunt. Print or cut out pictures of frogs and hide them. Have the kids search for hidden frogs around the house.

Ribbit, Ribbit, Jump: Here is a different version of “Duck, Duck, Goose”. The player is tapped on the head when the word “jump” is said. They must hop and try to catch the other player who must also hop around and get back to the empty spot.

Musical Lily Pads: Cut out large lily pads for kids to stand on. If there will be 10 kids then cut out 9 pads. Arrange the pads on the floor, use masking tape to tape down.  Play some music and when the music stops the kids must hop onto a lily pad. Each round eliminate a player and a lily pad until there is one winner.

It's no celebration without snacks, so whip up some Leap Year Frog Cookies!

Or make Frog in a Pond Snacks: Color cream cheese with blue food coloring. Give each child wax paper square with a dolp of colored cream cheese, 1/2 muffin, three cucumber slices, one gummy frog, and a plastic knife. Have children spread cream cheese on muffin (pond) and arrange cucumber slices on top (lily pads). Add gummy frog and eat!

Have fun and make Leap Year something to look forward to every four years!