It’s fun to add a little spice to your curriculum and daily routine by celebrating unusual events and holidays. In July we celebrated great things like National Blueberry Month, and National Ice cream Day. . .did you try any of the recipes?
Here is now the second installment of my home schooling activity calendar. Peruse through to find interesting facts, unusual holidays to celebrate and even better: ideas, links and activities to go with these special days! I would also like to invite those of you who are adventurous souls, to post pictures on your site of you and your kids doing an activity from the calendar. Please let me know if you do so, so I can link to it! Have fun learning!
August is National Inventor’s Month. Well, I have to admit that I could not find that it was actually being celebrated in 2006. However, do we as homeschoolers really want to pass up on the opportunity to let our kids practice their creative thinking skills by inventing something new? A great website to look at is the Kid Inventor Challenge. This is an actual contest that kids can enter. Plus, their website has step by step directions for how to invent something new. You never know, you may be parenting the next Einstein!
August 4 is National Chocolate Chip Day. While there seems to be some discrepency as to when to celebrate this yummy date, the Educating About Agriculture website is one of those rare gem resources on the internet. This site has lots of activities to keep you busy for quite awhile. Don’t forget to make your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe while you’re learning about agriculture!
August 5 is National Mustard Day.
I must admit I was so intrigued by the idea of mustard having it’s own day, that I had to include it in this blog. There is actually a mustard museum, mustard recipes and a mustard mystery contest! The deadline for this year’s mustard mystery has passed (May 31) but you could host your own mustard mystery contest in your home school group. (Anything to work on good writing skills!)
August 8 is Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night. I say sneak some zucchini onto all your neighbor’s porches! This holiday was created to get rid of the summer bounty of unwanted squash. If you happen to be the recipient of extra zucchini, make chocolate chip zucchini bread!
August 10 is National S’mores Day. Of course it is the opinion of this blogger that you can’t make s’mores without going camping so pitch a tent. . .if even in the back yard, make s’mores and create a nature journal of all the things you see. That way, you can call your camp out “educational”!
August 12 is International Youth Day. This is a day organized by the U.N. that celebrates the contributions youth make to the communities in which they live. This year’s theme is Tackling Poverty Together. We are commemorating the day by organizing a Lemonade Stand. All the proceeds will go to a charity. My children have also actively been involved in cleaning out the closets and donating their unused things to charities who can use them. Get together with your kids and talk about how you can help solve poverty together. If you are near New York City, there are activities during the day at the U.N. Headquarters.
August 13 is National Left Hander’s Day and while I can’t say that it’s really educational, the website looks fun. Check out these left handed brain teasers!
August 15-21 is National Aviation Week. Perhaps it’s because my husband’s family is into flying, but I couldn’t pass on listing National Aviation week as something to be celebrated in August. Believe it or not, you can plan a whole unit study using materials from the FAA’s kids section.
August 24 is Vesuvius day. This is just oozing with educational possibilities. First of all you can look at the actual historical account of Mt. Vesuvius burying the city of Pompeii. You can also take the time to make a home made volcano:
Make the mountain out of clay.
Place a small Dixie cup in the top of the volcano. (A beaker would work as well.)
Measure 1 tsp. of baking soda into the Dixie cup. Add a capful of vinegar and watch your volcano work!
Regardless of what you do to celebrate August together, take the opportunity to make learning fun for your kids and spend some extra family time together. Remember, if you take pictures, put them up on your site here at families.com!