Themes and Plans for August

I love celebrating each season. Bringing a bit of what is happening outside into the home helps to purposefully mark and celebrate the year. Time passes far too quickly, more so as we get older it seems ;o)

By embracing the seasons and doing a little something to mark them within our homes, helps create a secure and loving place for our children. Let me explain. Childhood is all too fleeting. It is our safe place, memories created here are taken with us into adulthood. They become a source of strength and inspiration. I know because I feel that my childhood was wonderful. It was not free of troubles. Our family had its fair share of heartache, financial pressures and experiencing life’s turbulence’s. I was a small child when my father was often away fighting a war, my mum raising three small children on her own. So our life was not fee of troubles. What it was bathed in however, was unconditional love. As my parents loved us, nurtured us and protected us from life’s harsh realities, they gave us a carefree childhood.

For me now, as we raise our children, I remember how precious and (in hindsight) how fleeting childhood is. It is vital to give our children memories – happy, carefree, joyous memories. Everything we do creates memories for them to draw on later in life. So by planning in some small things to change a house into a home, I know that I am feathering the nest that will go with my children as they walk through life.

Here are a few of my August notes.

Nature: (things that come to mind when I think of the month and what I see around me)

late Summer

busy insects

long warm days

wild raspberries, blackberries and blueberries (picking, baking and preserving to be done)

very active pond life

Perside’s Metor Shower

Home: (seasonal ‘must do’s’)

summer holidays

Clear out schoolroom for next academic year

order curriculum

refresh stationary supplies

begin Christmas gift making (start Christmas planning notebook perhaps?)

decorate our schoolroom notice board – Autumn or Ancient Egypt theme??

Begin making jams and marmalade’s

Food: (seasonal and what we enjoy eating this time of year)

BBQ’s (while we can)

frozen watermelon

corn on the cob

berries of all kinds – off the bush & collect and freeze for winter

wild nettles

Folklaw: (Farmers Almanac and Local Observances or here)

Full moon this month – Sturgeon Moon

Sayings: – As August, so February

              – If the first week of Aug is unusually warm. The winter will be long and white

cultural observances: Well Dressing

                                 Plague Sunday Service in Eyam, Derbyshire (last Sunday in Aug)

Birthstone: Peridot

Birth Flower: Gladiolus or Poppy

Faith (liturgical occasions we observe in our home)

Feast of Assumption (15)

Life: (Any holidays, events, birthdays or national this or that days)

International Your Day (12)

World Water Week (21-27)

National Zoo Awareness Day (31)

Tasha Tudor’s Birthday (28)

Crafts and Activities: (related to this months seasonal themes and observances)

This month focus on light summer feel and exploring paint

bubble prints

draw and spritz

finger paint flower garden

fireflies in a jar

lots of dots landscape

We certainly won’t do everything on this list, but it helps to get a feel for the season and to be more observant of what is going on around us. The crafts we will probably do as I like to set aside Fridays for the girls to get their hands dirty and try something new. I have one very arty crafty child and one that needs to be encouraged and introduced to new concepts. Crafty child will often take the project and run with it – creating other things within the theme. Reluctant child will often only do what I ask and no more – but at least she has tried her hand ;o)

My lists are ever changing, being added to etc. There are endless ways to make the seasons unique in your home and to your family. I hope you enjoy bringing a bit of daily celebration into your home.