September 28: Ask a Stupid Question Day

image from alisonimiller.com

Well, we certainly don’t want to teach kids that their questions are stupid, but we can celebrate asking questions in general with a variation on the game “20 Questions.”

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20 Questions

Materials:

• None

Directions:

1. One child (the guesser) leaves the room.
2. While child is out of the room, another child is picked to be “it”.
3. When the guesser returns, (s)he gets to ask up to 20 questions that can be answered yes or no to determine who was picked.

Variations:

• Can the guesser figure out who was picked with just ten guesses?
• What if two people switch places and guesser has to figure out who switched?

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s book 100 Game Activities for Kids (activity H5)

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 27: Dog Week

image from dogsonline.com

In honor of Dog Week, consider this tag game which kids in a school-age care program made up:

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Dog and Cat

Materials:

• a ball (optional)

Directions:

1. The dog starts in the middle of the room or playing area.
2. The cats start on either side of the play area.
3. The dog yells a color (or other means of describing at least two players) and those people must run to the other side of the play area.
4. Anyone tagged sits down right there and, with legs crossed and bottom on the floor, may reach out to tag others throughout the game.
5. The last cat becomes the new dog.

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s book 100 Game Activities for Kids (activity A4, also consider activity H2)

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 26: Hold a pancake day for family members.

image from bargainbriana.com

If your program’s guidelines allow for cooking in your program, today is an excellent day for combining three different holidays into one event. Not only is today Pancake Day, but it is also Ancestor Appreciation Day and Food-Service Employees Day. Why not hold a pancake day where the kids serve as the food-service employees and serve family members? Depending on the ages of children, they may or may not be able to help actually cook, but consider having kids serve as hosts and hostesses as well as waiters and waitresses.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 25: Comic Book Day

image from silive.com

Let kids make their own comic books!

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Create Your Own Comic Book

Materials:

• Paper
• Writing instruments
• Ruler
• Stapler

Directions:

1. Encourage kids to create their story idea first.
2. They can even plan out each picture and how it will tell the story.
3. Encourage kids to start simple with just a few pages.
4. Also consider developing a comic book as a group project.
5. Finally, kids can develop comic strips or comic books online. Check out SuperHeroSquad.Marvel.com.
6. Kids can also make their own super heros online at Marvel.com.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 24: First toy store opened.

image from plaidstallions.com

Let the kids create their own toy store!

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Toy Store Prop Box

Materials:

• toys
• stuffed animals
• board games/card games
• cash register
• play money
• blank stickers

Directions:

1. Prop boxes are items grouped together by a theme to allow children to pretend. They can be used as specific activities or put out during free time.
2. The materials listed above are merely suggestions. You may come up with additional ideas and leave some of these materials out.
3. The boxes that hold 10 reams of computer paper/typing paper are a nice size for prop boxes. They can be covered with nice contact paper to make them more attractive.
4. You might also consider a creative way of putting all the prop box materials into something that fits the theme. For example, a camping prop box might go in a backpack; a travel prop box could go in a suitcase.

Source(s): Toolbox Training book 100 Drama Activities for Kids (activity A21).

Also consider activity K4 from the nature card set.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 23: Eat a Hoagie Day

image from thehistorybluff.com

Ask kids to brainstorm ingredients to make their own sandwich bar. Here are some to consider:

• Bread (buns, rolls, wheat, white)
• Meat (salami, bologna, pepperoni, chicken)
• Cheese (Swiss, Colby-Jack, American)
• Vegetables (tomato, onion, pickles, mushrooms)
• Condiments (mayonnaise, mustard, salad dressings)

Directions:

1. Encourage kids to add their own ideas to the mix.
2. Allow them to be silly!
3. Consider hosting an event where kids make sandwiches for family members.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 22: First day of Autumn

image from betterbudgeting.com

For the first day of autumn, try out this activity to help understand why leaves change colors.

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Chlorophyll and Autumn Colors

Materials:

• Plant (geraniums work well for this)
• Black paper
• Paper clip or tape
• Alcohol

Directions:

1. Cover half of a leaf (still attached to the plant) with black paper.
2. Put the plant in sunlight for 48 hours.
3. Remove the black paper and one half of the leaf should be yellowish.
4. Chlorophyll, which is what makes a plant green, will break down if it does not receive sunlight for an extended period of time. The base color of many leaves is yellow, which is why some leaves turn yellow in the autumn; the other fall colors are due to chemical changes within the leaves.
5. Remove the leaf from the plant and soak it in warm alcohol until the chlorophyll has been removed from it. If the leaf is now dipped in iodine solution, the part that has received sunlight will turn blue, as iodine turns blue in the presence of starch.

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s nature card set (activity E11). Adapted from bizarrelabs.com. Also try activity F8 from the Toolbox Training book 100 Music Activities for Kids.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 21: International Banana Festival

image from

There are lots of banana-related cooking activities (see list below), but you can also use bananas for a science experiment.

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Banana/Yeast Mold

Materials:

• A banana
• Two sealable plastic bags
• Dry yeast
• Measuring spoon (½ tsp.)
• Marker
• Table knife

Directions:

1. Cut slices from a peeled banana.
2. Put one slice in each sealable bag.
3. Sprinkle ½ tsp. of yeast on one of the banana slices.
4. Seal both bags.
5. Mark an “X” on the bag with the yeast.
6. Record kids’ predictions on what will happen.
7. Check each bag daily for a week. Which slice decomposes fastest?

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s book 100 Science Activities for Kids (activity E9)

Also check out activities C3, D5, I9, and J4 from Toolbox Training book 100 Cooking Activities for Kids.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 20: Punch Day

image from

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Sparkling Punch

Materials:

• Sparkling apple cider, 750-mm bottles
• Carbonated water, 1 liter
• Large oranges, 3
• Lemons, 2
• Frozen lemonade concentrate, 1 six-ounce can
• White sugar, 1 tablespoon
• Large punch bowl
• Ice cubes, 2 trays
• Stirring spoon
• Cups

Directions:

1. Thinly slice the lemons and oranges and place in punch bowl.
2. Pour in thawed lemonade concentrate.
3. Stir in the carbonated water and sparkling apple cider.
4. Add sugar to taste.
5. Add ice and enjoy!

Source(s): Toolbox Training book 100 Cooking Activities for Kids (activity A2). Adapted from allrecipes.com. Also check out activity A1 from the cooking activity book.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 19: Butterscotch Pudding Day

image from nutrisystem.com

Pudding is a simple food for children to make. Consider creating your own “pudding bar”. Consider some of the same ingredients you might include on an ice cream sundae bar (but be sure to ask the kids for ideas as well):

• Whipped cream
• Nuts *
• Cherries
• Candy bar chunks
• Sprinkles
• Pieces of fruit
• Bits of candy

* Be aware of allergies with the kids in your program. This and other ingredients may not be appropriate for this activity.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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September 18: Thank You Day

image from positivepsychologynews.com

In honor of Thank You Day, get the kids to consider all the people for whom they should be thankful!

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Thank You Cards and/or Bulletin Board

Materials:

• Construction paper
• Writing materials (pens, pencils, crayons, etc.)
• Decorative material (lace, glitter, ribbon, etc.)
• Camera

Directions:

1. Brainstorm with the kids all the people for whom they should be thankful.
2. Encourage them to consider family, friends, people in the community, etc.
3. Let kids make cards for people.
4. If you are in a facility such as a school or child care center, consider making a “thank you” bulletin board. Kids can take pictures of the people in the facility and post the pictures on the board along with thank yous.

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Check out the full September calendar to see the month at a glance as well as floating holidays, specialty weeks, and themes for the month.

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