As school begins and the weather begins to change, there are less outdoor activities and more indoor activities. Don’t let that stop you from having fun.
Monthly observances can give you everything from ideas for activities to service projects.
Steps
1. September printable.
Download the Enrichment Project printable of September monthly observances in the United States. These are observances that occur all month long. For September, these include:
- Adult Literacy Month
- American Heritage Month
- American Newspaper Month
- Backpack Safety America Month
- Better Breakfast Month
- Ethnic Foods Month
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- International People Skills Month
- National Beach Cleanup Month
- National School Success Month
- National Wilderness Month
- Read a New Book Month
- Self Improvement Month
- Women of Achievement Month
- World Animal Remembrance 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 September 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. September has a lot of themes you can incorporate with outdoor activities such as checking out your backpack, cleaning up the beach, and enjoying the wilderness. 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 skills and self improvement you can host classes or workshops, enjoy a painting party or plan ways to share your skills with others.
5. Create and design.
Use the September 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 or mind mapping. 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, share healthy breakfast foods or enjoy some Hispanic cultural activities. 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, use National Beach Cleanup to look at local beaches — not only cleaning them up but looking at ways to keep them clean. If you like World Animal Remembrance, look at animals that need help like shelters or abused animal centers. 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 Available
NOTE: If you have additional observances you’d like added, please let me know.
Sites to Explore
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:September_observances
- www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/default.htm
- giftedkids.about.com/od/Monthly-Observances/a/Month-Long-Observances-In-September.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
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