Are you future-focused? I love to plan ahead for tomorrow, and the day after that, and next week. So it’s no surprise that at the beginning of the month, I like to take a big picture look at the month ahead. My list of what to do in August offers holidays and dates to remember, an August bucket list, and a few home maintenance tasks to tackle.
What to Do in August: Holidays
It’s National Sandwich Month! Go for a classic PB&J or try a gourmet sandwich recipe for dinner this month.
August 10th is National S’mores Day. We’ll be celebrating that one for sure. Check out my post “A Holiday a Day: 365+ Ways to Celebrate” for a whole year’s worth of unique holiday ideas you can use to celebrate with your family.
I’m one of those moms that loves having my kids home for the summer. I’m never ready for school to start – except on those days when they are driving me up the wall. (Do people even use that expression anymore?) I’ll admit that I’ve done the deep sigh…”how many more days till school starts?” for dramatic effect more than once this summer. For the love…how can we possibly have that many toys on the floor after I lugged out three carloads of the stuff since June? I think my kids have figured out how to use some Harry Potter mumbo-jumbo to magically reproduce toys during the night.
By August, I’ve been ignoring the school supplies for a month already, so I accept the reality that summer is winding down and schedule time for back-to-school shopping.
One thing that I look forward to every year is the Perseid meteor showers. They actually start in July, but usually peak around the second week of August. I pick a night when the kids don’t have to get up early the next morning and let them stay up late to try and spot some meteors with me. Sometimes, they will even sleep out on the trampoline that night for even more excitement!
Free Printable List of Fun Holidays
Download a free printable list of fun holidays to celebrate with your family!
Complete Set of Monthly Lists
Monthly Fun Calendars / Monthly Bucket Lists / Monthly Home Maintenance + more!
On sale this month
There are tons of places online to find “what to buy when” lists. You can check out THIS one from www.cheapism.com for a run-thru of the whole year, but in August, I look for summer apparel clearance. If you’ve got kids, this is a great time to buy flip-flops, swimsuits, and shorts for next summer. Obviously, school supplies are on sale in August. Don’t forget to grab some for craft and office supplies while they are discounted. Also, if you’re in the market for it – outdoor furniture gets marked down so you can snag a deal on a patio set in August.
Shop ahead
At the beginning of every month, I scan the calendar for the couple of months ahead to see if there are any birthdays, anniversaries, holidays or other special occasions coming up that I need to shop for. September has Grandparent’s Day, so I start thinking about ideas to celebrate that when I go over my list in August.
Seasonal Fun
August is HOT, so I’m thinking about water activities this month. Water parks, splash pads, and the beach are all on my radar for possible August activities. In addition, there are loads of opportunities for outdoor concerts and outdoor movies. We put up a screen on the side of our shop a couple years ago so we can do our own outdoor movies, which is super fun! The other thing we try to do in August is visit some of our local farmer’s markets. I didn’t plant as much in the garden this year as I normally do, so the farmer’s market is especially awesome this summer.
For the kids
In August, I set up my school binder to keep track of important school documents and papers. Read How to Organize Important School Papers to see how I set up my school binder. This is home to all information related to school policies, classroom policies, and teacher communication.
Also, if you don’t already have a binder set up to store kids’ artwork and schoolwork that you want to keep as memorabilia, check out How to Organize Kids’ Artwork to get you started.
I also start thinking about my fall schedule in August. I think through any sports, after-school classes or activities, and visualize how that will affect my meal planning. For instance, it’s helpful for me to recognize in advance that on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I’ve got kids in classes from 4:30pm-7:30pm. Those days have us eating in shifts, so I need to plan meals that can stay warm in a crockpot, or something that kids can microwave as individual portions. This is the kind of stuff I think about while I’m sitting at a park in August watching my kids play. A little bit of mental energy expended now will pay off with me feeling less overwhelmed in September.
Don’t forget the important stuff
If I don’t schedule the IMPORTANT stuff, it gets lost in all the “urgent” stuff that comes my way daily. By important stuff, I mean date night, one-on-one time with my kids, family fun nights, or spending time with friends. When I sit down at the beginning of August, I want to plan for this important stuff. One area that I have really struggled to make happen is date nights with my husband. I want to make this more of a priority so that when the kids are off doing their own thing in 10 years, we’re not looking at one another wondering what to talk about!
The one-on-one time I schedule with my kids doesn’t have to be anything big or expensive. It just means that I need to be present and actively involved with them. I don’t always schedule a special event or occasion, but I take time at the beginning of the month to think about how to connect with each of my girls individually. That might mean planning to take just one child on an errand with me once a month, or it might be my husband taking each of them on a bike ride individually. Sometimes, it does look like a more special “date” time. I’ve got a great list of ideas for fun one-on-one activities with your child if you need inspiration.
Family fun nights are my absolute favorite times and the best memory makers. In August, family fun night might mean a water balloon fight in the backyard, s’mores over the campfire on National S’mores Day, or a game of cornhole.
Plan ahead
The final thing I do in August is to plan ahead for September. The first week of August means Labor Day weekend is four short weeks away. I think through the first day of school for my kids. Where do I want to take pictures of them? Do I know where my “first day of school” signs are? I’ll also ask my kids if they have any special breakfast requests for their first day.
Since the first few weeks of school can feel chaotic as we settle into a new routine and get used to our fall schedule, I like to have the first two weeks of dinners planned out before school starts. I will use August to think about simple, easy meals (referencing the fall schedule for extra-curricular activities) and do as much prep work in advance as possible. Ideally, I will have at least a couple of meals in the freezer fully prepped and ready to pull out on a busy weeknight.
Enjoy this last month of summer. Soon enough we’ll be baking pumpkin pies and decorating for Christmas. Savor the (slightly) slower pace of summer!
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