September Family Fun Ideas...

September is known as the harvest month. It is a time when Mother Nature gets to do her thing. Crops are harvested and leaves begin their glorious changes. September is the ninth month of the year and has 30 days.
In ancient Rome, September was the seventh month. The name September is derived from the Latin word septum which means seven.

Flower: Aster/Morning Glory Birthstone: Sapphire

1 Canada Day : The Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were established in 1905. There are 10 Provinces in Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Learn other interesting things about Canada. Gather Maple leaves and talk about Canada’s flag. Have kids draw a picture of the flag of Canada. Read or rent videos of some of the Anne of Green Gables books that took place in Canada on Prince Edward Island.

2 Hawaii Day: Hold a Luau with your family this day in honor of the discovery of Hawaii. Make flower leis out of colorful tissue paper. Dress in colorful clothing and have lots of fun. Lydia Kamekeha Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, was born in 1838. Captain James Cook in 1778 discovered Hawaii.

3 American architect Louis H. Sullivan was born on this day in 1839. An Architect is a person who designs buildings and supervises their construction. Have each one design and/or construct their own building out of scraps of wood, Lego’s or other material of your choice.

4 Pledge of Allegiance was first learned in school on this day in 1892. Hold a family flag ceremony and recite the pledge of allegiance.

Camera & Pictures Day: George Eastman patented his camera and the name Kodak in 1888. Sort through pictures and family albums today. Organize them and work on scrapbooks for those memories.

Newspaper Carrier Day. First "newsboy" in U.S. was hired in 1883. Make some cookies and give to your newspaper carrier today as a “thank you” for delivering your paper every day without fail.

8 International Literacy Day: Be sure to go to the library with the family and check out books for everyone to read this week. If someone in the family is having a hard time with reading skills, then play a phonics game or other reading game to help them develop the needed skills. Also have each family member learn 5 new words today.

Antonin Dvorak, a Czech composer, was born on this day in 1841. See if you can find some of his music at the library to share with the family on this day. She if you like his style of music.

9 California Day: California became the 31st state on this day in 1850. California’s nickname is “the Golden State”. Learn interesting facts about this state and share with your family. List some of the things that are unique or are your favorites about California. California has lots of beaches and lots of movie studios. Have a pretend family beach party or make a family home movie.

10 Elias Howe patented his sewing machine on this day in 1846. If you have a sewing machine, teach each your children, both boys and girls if they are at least 8 years old, about how to thread the machine, how to sew a straight line. Make a family flag or sew some quilt blocks together.

11 National Neighborhood Day : Think of some nice things to do for your neighbors. Also go on a “trash trek” around your neighborhood. Help by keeping your neighborhood free of unsightly litter.

Short story writer, 0. Henry, was born on this day in 1862. His real name is William Sydney Porter. Find some of his short stories to read to the family this evening.

13 Hershey’s Chocolate Kiss Day: Milton Hershey was born this day in 1847. Hide some kisses around the house for family members to find.

Football was first played professionally in the U. S. in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Play a family or neighborhood game of touch or flag football today. Stress the importance of not tackling because of no protective gear. Watch a football game together if there is one to watch either locally or on T.V.

14 In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner. Have family members learn about the history of this song and sing it together. Discuss the words and have all family members memorize this song.

15 English writer Agatha Christie was born on this day in 1890. Read one of her mysteries or check out a video of one of her mysteries. See if any one can solve the mystery before it’s finished. Another fun thing to do is to put on a mystery dinner.

James Fennimore Cooper was born in1789. Find what he wrote and read some of his published works.

William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States was born in 1851. Learn something about this president.

17 Citizenship Day. The U. S. Constitution was signed In 1787. Talk about what a good citizen does. (takes care of litter and public property as well as respects the property and rights of others, votes, shows respect to all people, is honest with dealings, etc.) Go on a trash trek at a park or around your block. Look for ways to praise the good citizenship behavior that you see in your children.
The constitution of the United States was signed on this day in 1787. Find out about your constitutional rights as a citizen of this country.
Moon Festival: The moon will give off its brightest light of the year this month. Read books and poems about the moon. Go for a moonlight walk.

Take paper airplanes and have flying contests today. Visit the museum in Clearfield, Utah. In 1947 the U. S. Air Force was established .

19 World Peace Day: All family members try to promote a peaceful atmosphere for the whole day. Make a poster with this quote on it: PEACE BEGINS WITH ME.

Mickey Mouse Day: Mickey Mouse made his debut in “Streamboat Willie” in 1928. It was the first animated talking movie. Rent some videos with Mickey Mouse in them. Make mouse ear hats. Eat some cheese for a snack.

21 The first day of autumn: (can also be on the 22nd depending on the calendar year ) Go for a walk today and see how many signs of fall you see. Gather leaves and make leaf rubbings or pictures out of the gathered leaves. See how many different leaves you can gather. Do you know the names of the trees that they belong to? Be sure to fix some autumn stew or soup.

This is also World Gratitude Day: Have everyone in the family make a list of the people they are grateful for and why. Each pick just one of them that they can write a thank-you note to or do something nice to show their appreciation.

22 Ice Cream Cone Day: The Ice Cream Cone was patented on this day in 1903. Be sure to have ice cream served in cones today.

23 The planet Neptune was discovered in 1846. Look through binoculars or a telescope tonight.

24 Devil's Tower established as First U. S. National Monument in 1906. This is located in Wyoming. This famous Monument is in the movie, Encounters of the Third Kind.

25 Banana Day: This is the usual time of year when they hold an International Banana Festival. Dress in yellow and be sure to eat some bananas today.

26 Johnny Appleseed Day: Johnny Appleseed was born in 1774. His real name was Jonathan Chapman. His life shows a life of service in that he planted orchards of apples all over the frontier where he lived. Be sure to serve apples in several different ways today. Do a service project as a family and be of service to someone just as Jonathan Chapman was.

Musical composer George Gershwin was born on this day in 1898. Find some of the music he composed in the library and play it on this day. Do you like it?

Other holidays celebrated this month:
Labor Day (first Monday of September): Do something fun with the family. Go to a celebration in your area if there is one or go camping. Think about the labor a family does around the home. Think of ways to work together to get family work done. Remember that family work is a good thing that builds character and values.

Rosh Hashanah

Yom Kipper (Day of Atonement)

Native American Day (last Friday in September): There are 300 federally recognized Native American Indian tribes. Decide what Indian Tribe you and your family would like to learn about. Do some of the games or activities that tribe would do. Fix some of the foods they would eat.

Grandparent’s Day: 2nd Sunday of the Month-----Do something special for your grandparents. Make goodies for them and deliver it to their house if possible. Have a nice visit with them. Talk to them about some of the games they played when they were a child. If they are able, see if they will play the game with you.

National Breakfast Month: Stress the importance of breakfast. Make a nutritious breakfast and enjoy it together. Maybe each family member could fix one of their favorite things for breakfast throughout the week. Another fun thing to do is have an Earlybird Breakfast. Travel up to a canyon and fix breakfast in the early morning and be sure to watch the sun rise. Nothing tastes as good as a good hot breakfast in fresh canyon air. You could also just do this outside in your back yard.