Is your family enjoying the sights and scents of springtime? I hope you’ve observed the various shades and hues of azaleas, the lush purples of wisteria, and the brilliance of Georgia’s state flower, the Cherokee rose.
Keep watching blossoms and blooms this season and enjoy their fragrant aroma, too. Make every day a holiday with the ones you love with some of these silly, but actual holidays below.
➤ National Honest Day – Let’s hope we all practice honesty every day, but celebrate this one with some books about honesty.
Read some of these books during the remainder of the month: Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Pig the Pug Fibber by Aaron Blabey, Tell the Truth Pangolin by Melinda Beatty, A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts and Honest to Goodness Truth by Patricia McKissack.
➤ Greenery Day – In addition to all the beautiful spring colors bursting forth on shrubs and trees, every shade of green imaginable decorates roadsides, lawns, and forests. Celebrate the greens of the season with a fun craft. Use art paper in several different shades of green. Start with a rectangle that measures three inches by four inches. Fold in half lengthwise.
Draw an arc on the unfolded side, from top to bottom, to give the leaf an oblong, rounded shape. Let your child cut along the arc line.
Then have them make cuts along the unfolded edge, about every one-fourth inch, but be sure not to cut through the fold. Unfold the leaf to see the fringed edges on both sides of the leaf.
Glue the leaf onto a green, craft pipe cleaner. Make a large bunch of leaves and insert the pipe cleaners in a vase. Arrange the greenery leaves in the vase and place on a table for decoration.
➤ Save the Frogs Day – Go for an early evening walk, preferably soon after a rain shower. Look for frogs (and toads) that might be enjoying the nice warm sidewalk. Be careful where you walk to avoid stepping on a frog. Keep a count of how many frogs and toads you see on the walk. You might want to keep a chart for the rest of the month and tally the frogs for each evening walk.
➤ National Sense of Smell Day – Celebrate and appreciate the sense of smell with a fun game. Take turns, in pairs, to complete the challenge. Use a handkerchief or scarf as a “blindfold” and let one person tie on the mask. Make sure he or she cannot see through the blindfold and only cover the person’s eyes.
The other person picks an item from the refrigerator or pantry. Remove the lid and hold the item about two inches under the blindfolded person’s nose. That person gets three guesses to determine what the item is.
➤ World Book Night – As a family, visit a bookstore or department store to purchase new books. Spend an hour each evening of family reading time. When the hour is up, let each person share what happened in their book. Then when everyone has finished reading the book, plan to donate the book to a women’s shelter or church or classroom teacher so that someone else can enjoy the books.
Enjoy every moment of April. It’s a beautiful time of year. Take in your surroundings with all five senses and be cognizant of every color you see.
Stay outside longer and longer each night as the temps begin to rise. Play games, go for walks or play at the park until bathtime. Have fun making memories with those you love this spring.
Statesboro native Julie Lavender is the author of Strength for All Seasons: A Mom’s Devotional of Powerful Verses and Prayers and Children’s Bible Stories for Bedtime.