July is the seventh month. It is a time for picnics, parades and vacations. This calendar month used to be named Quintilus which means fifth. It was the fifth month in the calendar of the ancient Romans. Julius Caesar was born in this month. When he became emperor of Rome, he readjusted the calendar and added an extra day to Quintilus. After his death, the Roman Senate renamed this month in honor of Julius Caesar and it became July.
Flower: Water Lily Birthstone: Ruby
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2 POLISH THE FURNITURE DAY: Bring out the rags and furniture polish. Furniture designer, Robert Adam, was born in 1728.
3 Idaho became the 43rd State. Have a Birthday Party for Idaho on this day. Be sure to fix meals that use potatoes.
4 INDEPENDENCE DAY: Go to a parade and have a picnic at the park, in the mountains or in your own back yard. . Display the flag and be sure to go see a fire works display.
Stephen Foster was born on this day in 1826. See if you can find some of his songs at the library and play them on this day.
Calvin Coolidge was born today in 1872. He was the 30th President of the United States.
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9 Elias Howe was born in 1819. He invented the sewing machine. Teach or learn some basic sewing skills on the sewing machine. Challenge family members to make something useful.
10 Wyoming became the 40th State in 1890.
11John Quincy Adams was born in 1767. He was the 6th President of the United States.
12 WALK ON THE WILDSIDE| DAY: Henry D. Thoreau was born in 1817. Go for a walk in the woods today. Walk quietly so that you can observe the wild life. Jot down the animals that you see. Observe the plant life in the area you are at. Draw pictures of the plants that you are more intrigued with. Find out what the name of the plants are in a field guide.
Oscar Hammerstein was born in 1895. Be sure to watch a musical that he was involved with such as Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific and Flower Drum Song.
Julius Caesar was born in 100? B.C.
Josiah Wedgewood was born in 1730. He was a famous British porcelain maker. Find out what porcelain is and how it is made. Do you have any porcelain pieces in your home?
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14 Gerald R. Ford was born in 1913. He was the 38th President of the United States.
15 St. Swithin’s Day: Custom says that if it rains today, it will rain 40 more days. If it’s sunny, blue skies will prevail. Be sure to observe the weather today and see if the custom is right! Mark a calendar with rain or sunshine.
Rembrandt, a Dutch painter and etcher was born in 1606. See if you can find some of his paintings in the Library.
16 NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY: This is the day to make ice cream or buy some!!!!!!
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20 CLIMB A MOUNTAIN DAY: This is the day that Sir Edmund Percival Hillary was born. He was famous for being one of the first to climb Mount Everest. Find a mountain near you that you and your family would like to hike. Take along a picnic to reward the feat.
Neil A. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon in 1969. If there is a moon in the sky this night, take binoculars and family members out to gaze at the moon. Have a moonlight snack and lie on your back on a blanket and just gaze at the heavens. See if you can also see the constellation Scorpius which appears in the July night skies.
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22 PIED PIPER DAY: This was the legendary day that the Pied Piper of Hamelin cleared the German town of rats and also the children. It’s an interesting story to tell because we can also teach about honesty and integrity and keeping our word. Play a long and involved game of Follow-the-Leader.
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24 PIONEER DAY: Have fun learning about the pioneers in your family. Have an old-fashioned pioneer picnic. Play pioneer games.
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This may be a good night to play FIREFLY TAG: After the sun goes down, every one brings a flashlight and plays this game. Lightening Bugs or Fire Flies send signals of blinking light to attract a mate. To begin, players should pair off and create a signal to find each other with. Partners must then separate and go to opposite ends of a large, open playing area such as a park or field. Players are given one minute to scatter before they may begin flashing signals. Each pair tries to reunite as soon as possible by sending flashlight signals to the other partner. NO TALKING!!!! The first pair to reunite wins the game.
28 Another version of FIREFLY TAG 2: It has a flashlight. The rest of the players scatter and hide. It tries to find those hiding. If it sees someone hiding, he/she tags the person by shining the flashlight onto them. They must go back to the starting point of the game or else you can have them tag along helping to find the others.
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30 Henry Ford born this day in 1863. He made it possible for most Americans to afford to buy an automobile. He made Model T Fords in assembly line fashion. Be sure to go for a ride in the family car and then have a sandwich and salad assembly line when you return.
31 INVENTION DAY: This day is the anniversary of the U.S. Patent Office in 1790. Set out to invent something that will help your family in some way. It may be a better way to wash the car or take care of the extra lengths in the cords of electrical appliances, etc. Work on the plans and then try them out. All inventors get a royalty such as a night out to eat or payment for their invention.
OTHER ACTIVITIES FOR JULY:
National Hotdog month: Be sure to roast hotdogs and marshmallows this month. Set out a hotdog fixin’s bar. Containers filled with chopped onions, green peppers, olives, grated cheese, chili beans, and anything else you think would be good on a hotdog. Let each member of the family or guests fix their hotdog as they would like to. Have chips and salads to go along with your meal and don’t forget cake and homemade ice cream.
Cool Off Days: July is so hot, be sure to cool off at the county pool or in the sprinklers. Serve up Popsicles for every one. Wash the car and have a good old water fight!
July Activity Jar: Everyone write down on slips of paper things they would like to do, relatives they would like to visit, places they would like to see in the state of Utah or food they would like to try. Draw a paper each week and do the thing listed.
31 Things to do in July:
Fly paper airplanes.
Organize a block party.
Freeze some ice cube juice pops.
Sip a 4th of July float-----Raspberry soda, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a few fresh blueberries on top.
Have a bicycle parade. Decorate your bike with streamers and crepe paper in the spokes. Plan a bicycle obstacle course.
Play tag. How many different tag games can you think of to play.
Roast some corn on the cob. Pull down the husks without removing them. Take the silk out. Pull the husks back up and twist together the tops; soak in water for 15 minutes. Roast the ears on a grill or directly on coals for 8-16 minutes.
Press some of those pretty flowers of summer in the pages of a book. Make pictures from them when they are dried.
Play horseshoes.
Have fun on the road----Play ABC’s; How many license plates from other states can you find; write down 10 numbers on a paper, then find those numbers on the license plates; sing songs; play “I’m going on a picnic.”
Make some lemonade.
Get lost in the clouds-----Lie down on your back and stare at the clouds. What pictures can you make from the shapes of the clouds?
Make mud pies from mud, then wash your hands and make a mud pie you can eat with chocolate cookie crumbs, ice cream, fudge topping and whipped cream.
Start a Good Deed Club.
Sleep under a full moon together in your back yard.
Produce a talent show.
Tour your hometown.
Go on a bug safari. Be sure to watch what they do for a few minutes. Look for millipedes, sow bugs, ladybugs, spiders, grasshoppers, etc.
Earn some money.
Read a good book.
Play Frisbee golf.
Make vegetable dips and cut up some vegetables to dip and eat.
Fly a kite.
Visit a national park in your area.
See some fireworks on the 4th or 24th of July
Have a storybook picnic. Example: The story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, then make a caterpillar out of Hostess Snowballs and licorice. The story, If You Give a Moose A Muffin, then serve muffins.
No TV for the day.
Do leaf rubbings.
Make can lanterns. Punch holes in the can. Hang from a dowel and thin wire. Put votive candles in them and light at night.
Play a game of sardines. One person hides while the rest count to 20. After counting, they all search for the one who is hiding. When you find that person, you just sit down with him/her and are quiet until all the others find you too. The last person to find all of you is the next “it”.
Go on a family bike ride.
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