Awesome
October!
By Sandy Fleming
October is traditionally
a month of harvest. Farmers in many areas of our country are
busy bringing in crops, and many fall fruits are being picked
and enjoyed. Apples, grapes, pumpkins and squash are all in
season to enjoy. October is also Computer Learning Month. If
you are unable to access a computer at home, try your local
library or school. October is also National Popcorn Poppin'
Month. Popcorn can be grand fun just to make and eat, or brainstorm
other ways to use it; it makes wonderful packing material and
also can be used for art projects! What can be done with the
unpopped kernels? What makes it pop in the first place?
October 1 marks the beginning
of free rural mail delivery in the United States in 1896! To
honor this day, send a few letters to friends or relatives.
It's so much fun to receive mail, you may want to consider
getting a pen pal for your child. Have a contest on October
2; it's Name Your Car Day! See who can come up with the most
descriptive or creative name for the car.
October 5 marks the National
Storytelling Festival. Celebrate by telling or reading old
favorites and brand new stories. Your librarian will have loads
of suggestions if you need them. October 6 is a great time
to celebrate creativity and inventiveness; it's George Westinghouse's
birthday! Use an encyclopedia or other reference book to discover
what this inventor was responsible for. October 11 is a great
day to celebrate together for It's My Party Day! Why not plan
a party "just because" to celebrate? Be creative!
Choose a theme that the kids will enjoy and plan games, activities,
snacks and decorations. Or better yet, let them in on the fun
and have them help with the planning as far as they are able.
You set the guidelines, rules, budget, and guest numbers, and
then let them take over.
It's a great learning
experience and it will help them
appreciate all of the work that goes into planning a successful
event.
The cornerstone of the White House was laid on October 13,
1792. If you send a request to the Capitol, you can receive
an interesting
packet of
information for children. The address is 1600 Pennsylvania
Blvd., Washington, DC.
Poet e.e. cummings was
born on October 14, 1894. You can use this
opportunity to enjoy some of his poetry. Children often find
it
interesting because he used few, if any, capital letters. Franz
Liszt,
the Hungarian composer, was born on October 22, 1811. Check the
library or bookstore for some of his work and play it today!
October 24 marks the day that the first transcontinental telegram
was sent in 1861. Did you know that there are no longer any telegraph
lines remaining in service in our country?
Your children may
enjoy
trying to write telegraph messages. Give them a story or a
full message and see who can condense it to the fewest number
of words
while still keeping the message intact. Don't forget to use "stop" instead
of periods! This activity is wonderful practice for concise wording
and summarizing, which are both important writing and
comprehension skills. Many reference books contain Morse Code,
which
was used to send telegraphs. Can your children translate their
messages into Morse Code? Older children can also be sent on
a quest
to discover how the telegraph changed our way of life. What machines
have
made telegraphs obsolete, and why?
Finally, October 28 is
a GREAT day! It's Plush Animal Lover's Day!
Nearly everyone has a stuffed animal that they enjoy. You can
plan a
party to show off stuffed friends to celebrate. How about having
the
animals act as puppets in a play? Older kids may enjoy discovering
information about the animals represented by their stuffed pals
or
taking a survey of friends and family to see which kinds of stuffed
animals are most popular.
Have a great month!
---------------
Sandy Fleming is an educator, author
and workshop facilitator. She resides in southern Michigan with
her husband and three daughters. Sandy leads workshops for daycare
providers and parents in the region, tutors students, volunteers
for Girl Scouts and her church, and teaches online classes for
adults and children. She loves to make new friends, so please
drop her an e-mail at kids@busyparentsonline.com
