Creative Connections for August

Below are a few ideas with links to crafts and recipes you can create with your children this August!

8/3 According to the Watermelon Board, watermelon is considered both a fruit and a vegetable. Like fruit, watermelon has seeds & juicy sweet flesh. A watermelon is also considered a gourd related to cucumbers and pumpkins and it is cleared from the field like a vegetable crop! So, eat your fruits and vegetables on National Watermelon Day!

8/4 Today we celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! We have Ruth Graves Wakefield to thank for chocolate chips, we can also celebrate her on Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, because without her adding chocolate chunks to sugar cookie dough, who knows when the decadent simple treat would’ve been created!!

8/7 On August 7^th, join your local police department in building police-community partnerships and help make your neighborhood safer, by attending a local National Night Out initiative. Neighborhoods host block parties, parades and other community events helping to bring the police and public together under positive circumstances.

8/15 We have C. Goodfellow to thank for National Lemon Meringue Day! She founded the dessert; her own cooking school & is the inventor of lemon custard! Served as a dessert, the lemon meringue pie is a baked pie made with a shortbread pastry, with a lemon curd filling and a fluffy meringue topping. Have you ever made your own lemon meringue pie? It’s not hard to do but does take a little time. You can use a short cut and buy a pre-made frozen pie shell to cut down the time! 😉

8/16 On National Airborne Day, we honor the U.S. Airborne Forces & the first parachute jump on August 16, 1940. During WWII the U.S.  Army conducted the first parachute jump during combat! President George Bush created National Airborne Day in 2001.

8/18 Started in 2009 by a group of bee keepers, National Honey Bee Day honors honey bees and bee keepers. The concept behind this day is to bring together bee keepers & bee associations to connect with communities to advance beekeeping.

8/21 To honor our population over the age of 60, President Ronald Reagan issued a Proclamation creating National Senior Citizen Day! To quote his Proclamation, “For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older.” On National Senior Citizen Day, we should spend time to appreciate those grandparents and older adults in our lives for all they have done for us and society.

8/24 In honor of the anniversary of the waffle iron, National Waffle Day is observed on August 24^th. Waffle’s are created by heating waffles between two iron plates which give the waffle it’s unique characteristics. Belgian waffles originated in the U.S. at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. Do you prefer your waffles as a breakfast food or a dessert?

8/26 The Women’s Equality Day Proclamation was passed in 1973. The U.S. Congress designated August 26^th, as the official day to commemorate the 19^th amendment which granted women the right to vote.

8/28 Do your kids love the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Did you love to watch them as a child? Who was your favorite? The first episode in this now iconic TV show aired on August 28^th, 1993. Take a rainy afternoon and share some original episodes with your child(ren). It is a fantastic way to start a dialogue with your child(ren) about differences and problems, how you felt as a child about them and how to resolve them!

8/31 Today, National Trail Mix Day, honors this healthy snack. Traditionally, trail mix consists of granola, nuts & dried fruit. Many hikers take it with them as an easy, lightweight, nutritious and portable snack. Whether you make your own or buy it pre-made, it’s a great meal on the go!

August Snacks & Crafts

Bring out the inner chef and artist in your child. Try your hand at these recipes and crafts with your children!

8/2 To help reduce stress levels and to share some quiet time with your child(ren) break out the coloring books and crayons for National Coloring Book Day! There are some great free coloring pages on this website. https://snoqualmievalley.macaronikid.com/articles/582649e424d8f4da3aab26d2/national-coloring-book-day-free-printable

8/4 Do you have a favorite family chocolate chip cookie recipe? I know in my family, I have several recipes based on each of our family members cookie preferences. Some people like them crispy and crunchy and others like them soft and gooey. Do you make yours with butter, Crisco or a combination of both? Whatever your preference, why not bake up a double batch, one for your family and one for your child’s class?

8/18 While honey bees can be intimidating, they create something very tasty for us to eat and cook with! Honey! Create this simple thumbprint craft with your little one(s)!

8/21 On National Senior Citizens day take some time to let the older adults in your life know that you appreciate them. Perhaps take some time to make these colorful placemats for your local senior center to use!

8/24 How do you like your waffles? I love homemade buttermilk waffles while my younger children love the frozen boxed variety! I prefer them as a breakfast food while my husband prefers them as a dessert with ice cream! If you’ve never tired to make waffles before, it’s super simple, the hardest thing about making a waffle is waiting for the timer to go off on the waffle iron or the toaster!

8/31 Need a quick healthy snack recipe that your kids can make by themselves for themselves and the family? Reach for trail mix ingredients you likely have in your pantry already. Put out bowls of different nuts, small crackers, cereal, pretzels, dried fruits, and small chocolates for your child to make a trail mix that they like! They will feel proud they were able to make a recipe without help!

Things to do:

This is a great website that details fun FREE things to do in New Jersey every month! Call ahead and make sure the activities are happening before you head out for your day!

Depending on what county you live in, On August 7^th, join your local National Night out group in their scheduled activities! Somerville is hosting an event at Exchange Field! Branchburg’s event will be held at White Oak Park. Look online and see if your township or county holds an event closer to you!

On 8/18, World Honey Bee day, contact one of these farms on the NJ Beekeepers Association website and find out if they give out educational information on honey bees or tours of their grounds! You can also find out if they have a batch of local honey for sale. Local honey when consumed is supposed to help lesson the symptoms of seasonal allergies!

Every Friday night in Somerville, you can attend Cruise Nights! Cruise on down, grab some pizza at Alfonso’s, check out the vintage cars and stop by Division street for dessert and some live outdoor music! Your kids will love seeing the balloon guy and sometimes there is even a face painter!!!

On summer Sunday evenings at Duke Island Park, pack a picnic and a lawn chair and listen to some live music!

From August 8-10, attend the Somerset County 4-H fair in Bridgewater. It’s a no frills, free fair, with tents full of animals, 4-H club groups, local vendors and a food tent. It’s a perfect inexpensive fun outing for the whole family.

For additional things to do within Somerset County, check out the Somerset County tourism page weekly! https://visitsomersetnj.org/

If you have not checked out https://hulafrog.com/bridgewater-nj this is another place to look for things happening in the local area!