Tuesday (or Twosday), February 22 — 2/22/22 — was a one-of-a-kind day in the second grade. Some might even say it was a two-of-a-kind day.

Palindrome dates (ones that read the same backward or forward) are rare, and once February passes, there will be no more this year using the American (month/date/year) format. But this day is especially extraordinary because all of the numbers on the date are 2, and even the day of the week — Tuesday — sounds like the number.

This was a cause for celebration, especially for students in grade 2. They began their morning with a word search for things that go in pairs like Batman and Robin and salt and pepper. Boys created crowns to wear, and their teachers dressed in tutus (or some might say two-twos!) and shirts that read “Teaching 2nd grade on Twosday 2/22/22.”

Students shared two things they were grateful for and wrote their names as many times as they could before the two-minute timer went off. Boys in Karen Cooper’s class worked in groups of two to count how many times they could jump up and down in two minutes.

At two separate moments teachers Lisa Shapiro and Caroline Way unwittingly told the boys they had two more minutes to finish their activity.

In language arts, second graders discussed things that come in pairs, and during math, they played dice games. Later, they read books that highlighted the number two: “2 Bad Ants” and “Two of Everything.” The whole grade joined together in the afternoon for a game of Guess That 2-Year-Old, where a photo of a second grader at age 2 was shown on the projector and his friends tried to identify the future Gilman student. At 2:22 p.m. the whole Lower School stopped for a mini dancy party. It was a lot of excitement for one day, but certainly not two much.

Although there is no day of the week called Threesday, those who are the most excited about palindromes may start preparing early for the next big celebration on March 3, 2033 (3/3/33).