September Celebrations

   When working with kids, one of the things I've quickly discovered is that they love a good party. While it would be more chaos than I could cover to celebrate every single day, that doesn't mean that there isn't something worth celebrating everyday so that you can easily find what works best for you and your kiddos.

Monthly Observations

Classical Music Month
Women of Achievement Month
Library Card Sign Up Month
Better Breakfast Month
Hispanic Heritage Month (Begins September 15)

Weekly Observations

Week 2
    National Arts in Education Week

Week 3
    National Keep Kids Creative Week
    National Farm Animals Week
    Tolkien Week

Week 4
    National Fall Foliage Week
    Banned Books Week

Daily Observations

September  1:  Cherokee National Holiday, American Chess Day, College Colors Day

September  2:  Calendar Adjustment Day, World Beard Day, National Hummingbird Day

September  3:  National Doodle Day, Skyscraper Day

September  4:  Labor Day, National Wildlife Day, Newspaper Carrier Day

September  5: National Cheese Pizza Day

September  6: National Read a Book Day

September  7: Grandma Moses Day

September  8: International Literacy Day, Actors Day
September  9: Wonderful Weirdos Day, Teddy Bear Day

September 10: Harvest Moon Festival; Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Grandparents' Day

September 11: National Day of Service & Remembrance, Hot Cross Buns Day

September 12: National Video Games Day

September 13: Roald Dahl Day; International Chocolate Day

September 14: National Coloring Day, National Live Creative Day

September 15: Make a Hat Day; Batman Day; Greenpeace Day, Rosh Hashanah begins

September 16: Oktoberfest, National Play-Doh Day, Collect Rocks Day, Mayflower Day

September 17: Constitution Day, Citizenship Day
September 18: Smithsonian Day

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

September 20: German World Children's Day, National Fried Rice Day, National IT Professionals Day

September 21: International Day of Peace, National Chai Day, Miniature Golf Day

September 22: Autumnal Equinox, Elephant Appreciation Day, Hobbit Day

September 23: National Checkers Day, Native American Day, Redhead Appreciation Day

September 24: World Rivers Day, International Kite Festival

September 25: National Daughters Day, Math Storytelling Day, National Comic Book Day

September 26: Johnny Appleseed Day, National Dumpling Day

September 27: World Tourism Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day

September 28: National Sons Day

September 29: National Coffee Day, Michaelmas, Sukkot begins

September 30: National Ghost Hunting Day, Orange Shirt Day

With so many great options in September there's sure to be lots of ways you and yours can celebrate the season!

Graphics used in this post have been purchased from EduClips and Thistle Girl Designs (now closed)

Celebrating September 2022

Asters, deep purple,
A grasshopper's call,
Today it is summer,
Tomorrow is fall.
- from "September" by Edwina Fallis

Monthly Observations

Classical Music Month
Women of Achievement Month
Library Card Sign Up Month
Better Breakfast Month
Hispanic Heritage Month (Begins September 15)

Weekly Observations

September 12-18
    National Arts in Education Week

September 19-26
    National Keep Kids Creative Week
    National Farm Animals Week
    Tolkien Week

September 26-October 2
    National Fall Foliage Week
    Banned Books Week

Daily Observations

September  1:  Emma M Nutt Day, Cherokee National Holiday

September  2:  Calendar Adjustment Day, College Colors Day

September  3:  National Doodle Day

September  4:  National Wildlife Day

September  5: Labor Day

September  6: National Read a Book Day

September  7: Grandma Moses Day

September  8: International Literacy Day, Actors Day
September  9: Wonderful Weirdos Day

September 10: Harvest Moon Festival; Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

September 11: Grandparent's Day

September 12: National Video Games Day

September 13: Roald Dahl Day; International Chocolate Day

September 14: National Live Creative Day

September 15: Make a Hat Day; Batman Day; Greenpeace Day

September 16: National Play-Doh Day, Collect Rocks; Mayflower Day

September 17: Oktoberfest, Constitution Day

September 18: Smithsonian Day

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

September 20: German World Children's Day, National Fried Rice Day, National IT Professionals Day

September 21: International Day of Peace, National Chai Day, Miniature Golf Day

September 22: Autumnal Equinox, Elephant Appreciation Day, Hobbit Day

September 23: National Checkers Day, Native American Day, Redhead Appreciation Day

September 24: National Ghost Hunting Day, World Bollywood Day, Bluebird of Happiness Day, Kite Festival

September 25: National Daughters Day, Rosh Hashanah Begins, National Cooking Day, Math Storytelling Day, National Comic Book Day

September 26: Johnny Appleseed Day, National Dumpling Day

September 27: World Tourism Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day

September 28: National Sons Day

September 29: National Coffee Day, Michaelmas

September 30: National Love People Day

Clipart used in this post was purchased from EduClips and Thistle Girl Designs

October Ideas for PreKinders and Kinders

Little learners require special activities designed for little hands and developing minds. One of my previous life experiences was teaching preschool (my first class was a group of 10 little boys and that was a bit of a culture shock for me). Our club doesn't have little ones (membership starts at 6) but I know there are a lot out there who do take PreK so I wanted to share some ideas of activities that can be done with the club or as family projects.

Clipping Tubes - Cut cardboard tubes into 2-inch lengths. Have your child use spring-type clothespins to clip the tubes together to make simple designs. You can also ask your child to clip specific numbers of tubes together.

Torn-Paper Pumpkin - Give your child a small paper plate and a piece of orange construction paper. Let you child tear the orange paper into small pieces and glue the pieces all over the paper plate. Then let your child glue on a green construction paper stem to complete the pumpkin.

Ghostly Family - On a sheet of white paper, help your child trace around your family's hands. Cut out the shapes. Have your child turn the hand shapes into ghosts by turning the hand shapes upside down and using black crayons to draw eyes on the palms of the hands. Glue the ghosts onto a large sheet of black construction paper so that they appear to be floating in the night sky. Which ghost is the smallest? Which is the largest?

Trick or Treat Container - Cut the top off a plastic gallon milk jug, leaving the handle attached to the bottom. Cut out shapes from construction paper and help your child glue them onto the jug to create a funny or scary face. Glue pieces of yarn around the top edge of the jug for hair.

News for Everyone - Share the newspaper with your child. Read the comics and captions under interesting pictures. Point to letters that are in your child's name. Look for numerals in the advertisement pages.

Measuring a Pumpkin - Set out a pumpkin. Let your child cut off a length of yarn that he or she thinks will fit around the pumpkin. Have your child try wrapping the yarn around the pumpkin to see how well it fits. Measure and cut off a piece of yarn that fits around the pumpkin exactly. Let your child compare his or her yarn to the piece that fits the pumpkin exactly. Ask "Is your yarn piece longer or shorter?"

Journals - Spend some quality time with your child by setting aside some time each day or week to write in a journal together. Just staple several sheets of paper together to make a journal and have your child dictate something for you to write. Try offering a topic each time such as "What did you do last night? What makes you happy? What is your favorite game?"

What is Litter? - Set out various pieces of litter (soda can, gum wrapper, plastic bag, paper, etc.) and nature objects (leaf, branch, rock, etc.). Ask your child to point to the objects that are litter. How does your child know that the objects are litter? What should be done with them? Hide some litter around the room, and let your child search for it and put it in a garbage bag.

Marble Fun - Tie several marbles in the toe of a large sock. Have your child fell the sock and try to guess how many marbles are inside. Take out the marbles and count them. Take turns placing marbles in the sock and guessing.

Jack-O'-Lantern Flashlight - From orange construction paper, cut a circle to cover the end of a flashlight. Cut jack-o'-lantern features out of the circle. Tape the circle to the end of the flashlight. Darken the room, play music, and let your child use the flashlight to shine jack-o'-lanterns on everything while dancing around the room.

Tennis Ball Carry - Place a large spoon and a basket filled with tennis balls at one end of the room and an empty basket at the other end. Let your child balance a tennis ball on the spoon, walking carefully across the room, and put the ball in the other basket.

Sniffy Name - Place a sheet of construction paper inside a box lid. Help your child print his or her name by squeezing glue onto the paper. Then let your child sprinkle fruit flavored gelatin powder on the glue and tap the excess into the box lid. After the glue dries, let your child let everyone sniff his or her name.