A few leaves in golden yellow and fiery red have turned loose their grasp and fallen to the ground, littering the floor in patchwork colors of fall. Let every shade of autumn, from the brilliant display of colors on the trees to the oranges and yellows of scarecrows, pumpkins, and gourds remind you to capture each moment fall has to offer to make fun memories with your family. Try some of the celebrations below or make up a few crazy ones of your own. (After all, what could be much crazier than Moldy Cheese Day?)    
    Columbus Day – Make soap boats to commemorate the long-ago voyages of Christopher Columbus. Cut triangles from craft foam and encourage your kids to embellish the foam sail with glue and craft shapes, beads or buttons or simply color with markers or use fabric paint. When the sail is dry, glue it onto a wooden craft stick. When that part dries, push the craft stick into a bar of soap, like Ivory. Make sure it’s one that will float. Then, put the fleet of soap boats in the tub and send them off on an adventure!   
    National Knock Knock Jokes Day – Knock. Knock. Who’s there? Dishes. Dishes who? Dishes me. Whois you? Now, who can ever tire of a good knock knock joke? But then again, is there really a good knock knock joke? Or just plain silly. Silly or not – knock knock jokes have been around forever. Celebrate their silliness and longevity by sharing Knock Knock jokes at the dinner table. Check out books from the library or find some on kids’ joke sites online. Look for old familiar ones, but find some new ones, too.
    National Sausage Month – Let the kids help you prepare this breakfast casserole the night before you need it; refrigerate it, then bake in the morning for a filling and scrumptious meal. Bring two cups of water and one-half teaspoon salt to boil. Add one-half cup of uncooked, quick grits. Return to a boil; reduce heat. Cook for four minutes, stirring often. After four minutes, add four cups of grated, sharp cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Let this mixture cool somewhat. Combine 4 beaten eggs, one cup milk, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir this into the cooled grits mixture; then stir in two pounds of cooked, crumbled, drained, and cooled pork sausage. Pour into a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, let stand for 15 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Enjoy!
    National Newspaper Week –The theme for this year’s newspaper week is: “Newspapers – the number one source for local news.” Treasure this freedom of the press by reading the paper from front to back, throughout the month of October. Look for local stories and pictures of homegrown friends and acquaintances and find out what’s going on in the ‘boro and Bulloch County. Share the happenings with your kids; teach them at an early age to appreciate the gift of the printed word. To add fun to the celebration, save papers for a couple of days. Give each person in the family an edition of the paper and have each one cut out individually all the letters from the headlines. Then, play a game of scrabble to see who can get the most points by using cut letters to make as many words, scrabble-form, as possible.
    Moldy Cheese Day – Now who thought of this one? I wouldn’t suggest that you eat molded, smelly cheese to celebrate this day. Instead, check out a few of these books from the library, A Big Cheese for the White House: The True Tale of a Tremendous Cheddar; Archibald’s Swiss Cheese Mountain; or Who Moved My Cheese? For Kids. Snack on some FRESH cheese and fruit while reading one of these entertaining books with the family.
    Pick out a tree in your neighborhood or along the path you travel often and watch as it paints autumn beauty, just for your family to behold. Treasure each autumn moment and share warmth with those you love. Happy Fall, Y’all!       
     
    Statesboro native Julie Bland Lavender celebrates with husband David and children Jeremy, Jenifer, Jeb Daniel, and Jessica.