August is here, the new school year is about to begin, if it hasn’t already.  Take some time as a family to try some new activities!

1. Gather Flowers:  The August flower is the Gladiolus. The meaning of the August Birth Flower is
   sincerity and symbolizes strength of character.
2. Visit an Art museum: Or create your own master pieces as a family and share some art history with your kids- it’s American Artist Appreciation Month!
3. Have an Adventure: Get out as a family and have a great adventure this month is American Adventures Month!
4. Make a Happy List: August is also Happiness Happens Month. Gather the family and make a list of all the things that make you happy!  http://sohp.com/society-celebrations/happiness-happens-month/
5. Free Kids Workshops: Every other week, some of the major home improvement stores offer free kids workshops where kids can not only build a free project (that typically involves hammers, paint and stickers…or some combination of them all!), but will also receive an apron and certificate of completion.
6. Watch a movie a new way: take the kids to a drive in theater.
7. Encourage physical activity: go swimming, biking, hiking or just put on some music and dance!
8. Create your own Shark tank: August 10^th is the start of shark week. Learn all about these majestic animals and make some crafts to go along! (FIND SHARK WEEK CRAFTS).
9. Squeeze Summer’s Last Drop: “National Lemonade Day” is Aug. 20^th, have a lemonade stand or experiment with making your own flavors to celebrate!
10. Be creative in the Kitchen: Who doesn’t love making banana splits? August 25th is national banana split day, the perfect day to set up a table with toppings and let your kids have fun creating and eating!
11. Glow in the Dark: This recipe for glow in the dark slime is sure to incite lots of science and creative talk at home!  – http://domesticcharm.blogspot.com/2011/10/glow-in-dark-slime.html