Wasn’t it just Christmas? It seems like we just took the tree down. And watched the ball drop. But the new year, she is a harsh taskmistress… and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

(Okay, fine, you have about three weeks to prepare. Plenty of time! No, I’m not laughing, honest!)

If you have little kids, you either already know or are about to be introduced the fun of the Box O’ Valentines. It doesn’t matter if your kids go to public or private school, it doesn’t even matter if you homeschool (or so my friends who do so tell me), if your child ever leaves the house for an organized educational-type thing, you will need to do the Valentine’s Day card thing.

When I was little, I seem to remember carefully choosing who would get which card. Oh, not the one with the bunny for the boy I thought was cute! Never! He should get the smirking puppy. Clearly. And I seem to remember that we got to pick and choose to whom we gave cards, resulting sometimes in some children getting very few (or none).

Nowadays, the good news is that most schools declare that everyone give to everyone else, so no one ends up left out. (While I am often opposed to these sorts of blanket rules, this is one I stand behind. There are plenty of opportunities for children to be cruel to one another; let’s not like some brightly-colored little cards be the agent of meanness, shall we?) The bad news is that—unlike when we were kids, and you could go choose from maybe four different varieties—there are almost limitless card choices available.

There are simple cards to be folded over and sealed with a sticker, there are cards with envelopes… nowadays there are cards meant to hold a lollipop or other treat, or small packages of candy meant to be giving in place of a card. The cards themselves can feature practically every cartoon character you might imagine, as well as various pop idols. (I’m running a pool—be sure to get your guess in before the big day; how many Hannah Montana cards do you suppose my kids will get?)

What do you do? Do you take your child to one store and have her pick something there? Do you give her free rein, no matter the choice? Do you pick something for her? Whatever your habit, if you need to buy cards for your kid, get a move on. Pretty soon only the “reject” cards will be left, and then you could have a crisis on your hands. A whining, complaining crisis.

Once again, Scholastic comes through with a great website for kids that will get them thinking. ACT GREEN! is the newest destination for families looking for ways to get inspired about environmentally responsible behavior.

Here’s what I received as part of a press release about the site:

Developed in consultation with an environmental scientist from the University of California at Berkeley, ACT GREEN! provides kids, parents and teachers with free actionable information that will help them preserve the environment. When kids enter the site, they are first directed to the Green Quiz, to test how environmentally conscious they are. Upon completing the quiz, kids receive a customized Green Plan and are automatically entered into the Greenerator, where they can activate their Green Plan and turn it into reality. As kids check off the green actions they have accomplished, they earn green points that power up the Greenerator. They can also earn green points throughout the site by selecting action items from the “100 Ways to Act Green!” list, reading articles, sending e-cards and more. Kids will enjoy tracking their own green points, as well as the overall power of the Greenerator, generated by all ACT GREEN! members.

Here’s what I suggest, as a parent: Start by checking out the section for parents—it’ll give you an overview of everything available to your kids on the site. Although the Greenerator is definitely the biggest draw (not only because your kids can work towards goals, but because they can get a sense of how many other kids around the world are doing it, too), it’s not the only feature by a long shot.

The Live Earth video clips are informative as well as chuckle-worthy. (I think the one about light bulbs is my favorite. “Most stores have signs at the ends of the aisles. Look for the one that says, ‘light bulbs.’”)

The Green Tools section has great downloadables, including tags you can put on your household objects either to mark them as being green or to remind folks to unplug them. What kid doesn’t love labeling everything?

There’s plenty more, but I’ll let you explore it for yourself. Personally, I think this sort of thing is way better than the two hundred and fifty-seventh game of Cash Cow on Webkinz, but be forewarned that your child may become concerned about saving the world after spending time on the ACT GREEN! site. That could be— well… wait a minute.

That could be pretty awesome, actually.

I think there’s a temptation, in our society, to become to inured to that which we celebrate by national holiday. “Oh, a day off of work/school!” we crow, without much thought to why we have the day off.

I distinctly remember having a conversation with my children, last year, about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They’d both studied his life in school; it wasn’t that they didn’t know who he was or what he did. What came to light, during a discussion with my daughter, was that she really hadn’t grasped the reality of life before King and others fought for race equality in this country. It’s not that she hadn’t listened, it was that it was so foreign to her sphere of reference that she seemed to have categorized it as another interesting fiction.

And if that’s not testament to the amazing changes King made in our society, I don’t know what is.

Should you wish to spend some time talking to your children, today, about the holiday, the man behind it, and the history of human rights in the United States, here’s some resources for you:

Happy Martin Luther King Day, everyone!