Badge: Monthly Observances – October

Fall is in full swing. Halloween is the highlight of the month. However, there is still a lot of fun that doesn’t include the popular holiday.

Monthly observances can give you everything from ideas for activities to service projects.

Steps

1. October printable.
Download the Enrichment Project printable of October monthly observances in the United States. These are observances that occur all month long. For October, these include:

• American Magazine Month
• Bullying Prevention Month
• Computer Learning Month
• Diversity Awareness Month
• Energy Awareness Month
• National Arts and Humanities Month
• National Bake and Decorate Month
• National Book Month
• National Go on a Field Trip Month
• National Pizza Month
• National Roller Skating Month
• Photographer Appreciation Month
• Positive Attitude Month
• Vegetarian Awareness Month

Review the printable to find what monthly themes you can incorporate into your own activities.

2. Your own list.
Start your own list of October monthly observances, including ideas to help celebrate them. Expand on the list provided or create your own from scratch to meet the needs of your audience or group.

3. Theme.
Any monthly observance can be a theme for your meeting or event. You can have a great time with Halloween, decorating for the holiday, creating costumes and more. You might want to host a party or scavenger hunt for the holiday. There are many other themes to choose. Try an anti-bullying program or find somewhere new to take a field trip. You could even do a cookie or cake decorating theme. How can you build a theme around your chosen observance?

Start planning

4. Meetings, parties and events.
You can plan a meeting, party or event based on a monthly celebration theme. You might want to do one or more activities based on your observance. You may choose to focus an entire event around it. Don’t limit yourself to the stated themes. For example, for arts and humanities you might choose to go to a museum to experience art, see a play, create a skit or even host an art show. Why not try a photowalk to show your appreciation for photographers? For diversity awareness, allow others to bring their culture and beliefs to a meeting but limit this to a food or activity to show diversity in one area of our lives.

5. Create and design.
Use the October observances as a way to focus your creative energy. When you’re unable to come up with an idea, these can give you a jumping off point to start brainstorming. Some things you might create include:

• Art
• Blog posts
• Club activities
• Crafts
• Ebooks
• Games
• Gifts
• Podcasts
• Printables
• STEM
• Videos

6. Education.
Create your own curriculum and learn the way you want. For example, do some experiments in your classroom to explore different energy resources. Let your students share their favorite books for National Book Month. Find support for your chosen observance.

7. Sharing.
Sharing your ideas with others not only encourages participation but may bring greater variety into your activities. You can share:

• Cultural observations
• Hobbies
• Interests
• Recipes
• Religious observances

Explore ways to share with others in your community or group.

8. Service.
You can plan service around a monthly observance. For example, bullying programs are very popular. Try teaching older adults about their computer and the Internet. You could even host a vegan night to share information about this alternative health view. Look through the observances and find one or more that allow you to bring service into your monthly activities.

9. Communicate.
Use monthly observations in your communications. You can share your thoughts and ideas to move people to action. From blog posts to emails to newsletters, keep your communication fresh by incorporating these observances in your writing.

10. Brainstorm.
Brainstorm ways to incorporate observances into your own community or group. This might be a one-time event or a series for a group, club or community.

Continue the search

11. Explore offerings online.
Pick a monthly observance (or more) and start your online research. What is available online that you can download and use? Be sure to keep track of where you get the information so you can refer back to this resource.

12. Search for even more!
How have other people celebrated the month theme you chose? Talk to them to find out what they did. Ask about what worked, what didn’t and what they might change to make it better.

Can you incorporate their ideas into your own project? If not, what adjustments can you make?

Supplements

SUPP_10_October.pdf

• Printable sheet of monthly observances

NOTE: If you have additional observances you’d like added, please let me know.

Sites to Explore

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:October_observances
• www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/default.htm
• giftedkids.about.com/od/Monthly-Observances/a/Month-Long-Observances-In-October.htm
• www.nsc.org/news_resources/Resources/Pages/NSCSafetyCalendar.aspx
• library.thinkquest.org/2886
• www.brownielocks.com
• www.thenibble.com/fun/more/facts/food-holidays.asp
• www.gone-ta-pott.com
• www.tfdutch.com/foodh.htm
• www.welcoa.org/observances
• www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays
• www.mhprofessional.com/templates/chases/index.php