Swim With Gale

09/15/2026

09/11/2026

Rosh Hashanah: The New Year that begins in the seventh month!

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tonight and Jewish communities around the world will welcome the year 5787.

There is something many people may not know: the Torah does not call the holiday "Rosh Hashanah." The Torah calls the holiday Yom Teruah, meaning "Day of Sounding." The name refers to the shofar, the ancient ram's horn whose powerful call encourages people to pause, reflect and begin again.

The name Rosh Hashanah, meaning "head of the year," came into use in rabbinic writings, appearing in the Mishnah compiled around 200 CE.

Today, its traditions include hearing the shofar, gathering with loved ones and dipping apples in honey in hope of a sweet year ahead.

Shanah Tovah from Swim With Gale!
May the year ahead bring peace, good health and many sweet new beginnings.

09/07/2026

This 1909 Labor Day parade photo features members of the Women’s Auxiliary Typographical Union, offering a glimpse of organized labor in the holiday’s early years.

Did you know that the Labor Day holiday almost never came to pass?

On September 5, 1882, workers gathered in New York City for what was intended to be America’s first Labor Day parade. There was just one problem. Participants had no music, and almost no one was marching.

Then 200 members of a jewelers’ union arrived from New Jersey with a band!

The parade finally started, eventually growing to an estimated 10,000–20,000 people. Afterward, thousands of workers and their families gathered for an enormous picnic and celebration.

That first gathering helped launch a tradition, and in 1894 Labor Day officially became a national holiday honoring the contributions of American workers.

More than 140 years later and we are still celebrating with family, friends, food and a well-earned day to relax.

How will you spend the holiday?

09/01/2026

National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day celebrates tricky words in the English language that are difficult or sometimes impossible to rhyme. Some of those words are:

• Orange
• Month
• Silver
• Purple
• Ninth

In honor of the National Day, we decided to start a rhyme challenge.

The first word is: BACKSTROKE

What can you rhyme with it? (No help from Google please!)

If you solve it, leave a new challenge word for the next person.

08/31/2026

t is National Beach Day!

For many of us, some of our best memories happen at the beach. Swimming in the waves, building sandcastles, walking along the shore and spending long summer days with family and friends.

But National Beach Day is about more than enjoying the sand and surf. It was created as a reminder that the beaches we love also need our care.

Trash left behind can make its way into the water and threaten birds and marine life. Even small choices, such as picking up what we bring with us and leaving the beach a little cleaner than we found it, can make a difference.

At Swim With Gale, we spend a lot of time teaching people how to enjoy the water safely and confidently. National Beach Day is a good reminder that enjoying the water also means respecting the environment around it. The beach gives us a place to swim, explore, play and make memories. Taking care of it helps make sure those experiences are there for the next generation, too.

08/25/2026

August 23 -27, 2026 is World Water Week.

Water is part of everyday life in ways we often do not think about. We drink it, cook with it, grow food with it, play in it and, of course, swim in it.

World Water Week brings attention to the importance of protecting this precious resource and making sure people everywhere have access to safe, clean water.

For communities around the world, safe water is directly connected to health, food, sanitation and quality of life. What we do today helps determine whether future generations have the same access to clean water that so many of us rely on without a second thought.

08/21/2026

Losing a tooth is a pretty big deal when you are young. The Tooth Fairy turned that milestone into something children could actually look forward to. Leaving their tooth under the pillow meant a little surprise in the morning and that helped make the whole experience feel a bit magical.

The Tooth Fairy has a surprisingly interesting history and is actually a fairly recent American tradition. While cultures around the world have had rituals for children’s lost teeth for centuries, the American Tooth Fairy began appearing around the beginning of the 1900s.

Not every country has a Tooth Fairy. In Spain and many Spanish-speaking countries, a little mouse known as El Ratoncito Pérez is part of the lost-tooth tradition. The character became especially famous after appearing in an 1894 story written for eight-year-old King Alfonso XIII of Spain after he lost a tooth.

The Tooth Fairy is so special, she is celebrated TWO days a year (February 28 and August 22), which seems appropriate for someone working the night shift all year long.

Behind all the fairy dust, there is a nice little message: losing baby teeth is a normal part of growing up, and taking care of the new ones coming in is important.

What did the Tooth Fairy leave under your pillow when you were a kid?

08/19/2026

August 19 is National Soft Ice Cream Day!

Here is the scoop on one of summer’s favorite treats:

Believe it or not, a flat tire helped launch soft serve history. In 1934, ice cream vendor Tom Carvel got a flat tire and started selling his melting ice cream before it went to waste. Customers loved the softer texture and the idea eventually helped lead to Carvel, the original neighborhood ice cream shop.

Dairy Queen helped make it famous. The first Dairy Queen opened in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940 and built its name around that now-famous swirl.

Why is it so soft? Soft serve is made with air incorporated into it as it freezes, giving it that lighter, smoother texture.

And yes, there really is a National Soft Ice Cream Day. It is celebrated every year on August 19.

After a long day of work or school, a soft serve ice cream cone sounds pretty hard to beat.

What is your favorite flavor ~ chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or swirl?

08/14/2026

08/11/2026

Did you know Kinetic Sand is 98% real sand, never dries out, and sticks to itself instead of your hands? Kinetic Sand first hit shelves in 2012 and has been shaping creative play ever since.

All that squishing, shaping, and building is not just fun. Sensory play can also help children strengthen fine motor skills while giving them a hands-on way to explore and create.

What would your child like to make first?