leap into learning with leap year fun

Leap into learning with leap year fun – #readilearn

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Next Saturday 29 February is a leap day. A leap day is an extra day added to every fourth year to keep the calendar in line with the solar year. Since we only have one 29 February every four years, it is a day worthy of celebration. Here are some ideas to get you started.

20 Fun facts about leap years

  1. A leap year occurs once every four years.
  2. A leap year has 366 days instead of the 365 days of other years.
  3. The extra day added to a leap year is 29 February.
  4. The extra day is added to keep the calendar year in line with the seasons and astronomical calendar.
  5. The number of leap years are all divisible by 4; for example, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028.
  6. However, although all hundred years are divisible by 4, not all hundred years are leap years. Hundred years are only leap years if they are divisible by 400. So, while 2000 was a leap year, the next hundred year to be a leap year will be 2400.
  7. Leap years were first introduced by Julius Caesar over 2000 years ago with the Julian calendar. His rule was to add a leap day to every year that was divisible by 4.
  8. The leap year as we now know it, with the hundred year rule, was introduced by Pope Gregory VIII in 1582. In that year, Pope Gregory had to remove ten days from calendar to keep it in sync with the solar year. The calendar we still use, the Gregorian Calendar, is named after him.

Continue reading: Leap into learning with leap year fun – readilearn

19 thoughts on “Leap into learning with leap year fun – #readilearn”

  2. Anne Goodwin (Annecdotist)

    I think it must be great fun for kids learning about leap years for the first time – there’s something almost magical about it, although perhaps a little disturbing also for some in discovering the world doesn’t fit together as neatly as we might like. I imagine a great opportunity to explore the concept of number in general too.

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    1. Norah Post author

      I find the leap years fascinating, Anne. So much about our world is almost magical, and not just the human constructs. Numbers are such an important part of our everyday lives, no one should miss out on having fun with them.

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    1. Norah Post author

      I’m sure they had the help of some scientists, Patricia, but they seem to be the ones credited with the decision. I find the information fascinating and wonder how it was all worked out. It’s pretty clever and we just take it all for granted.

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  8. petespringerauthor

    I’ve had students (I’ll bet this happened to you too, Norah) who were born on Feb. 29th. They took great pride in telling their classmates that they were only two or three years old since that date popped up only once every four years.

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    1. Norah Post author

      That’s funny, Pete. I wouldn’t mind being able to work that maths now. 🙂 Strangely enough, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a leapling. Hopefully, one day …

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