Celebrating Columbus Day can be fun, meaningful, AND easy.  Start with the question, "What do I want to have happen?"

* Think about Columbus Day, why it's important, and what you want to teach.  

* Think about your family, what they would benefit from, and what they enjoy.

* Choose a few activities that reflect your values, interests, and priorities. 

* Take pictures and record highlights from your
  experiences in a family journal or scrapbook. 
 
If you can't celebrate on the designated day, you can create your own "Christopher Columbus Day" (or week) and celebrate when it's more convenient for you.  

Holidays are just a way to help us remember, learn about, and celebrate the things that matter most to us and to pass them on to our kids.    We can even create our own "family holidays" that reflect the things our families care about most. 

Here are some fun and meaningful ways to celebrate Columbus Day.  Some of these ideas are better for young children and others are good for adults and older kids.  Choose a few that your family will enjoy and have fun!  (Click on the colored links to find helpful resources.) 


Learn about Christopher Columbus 
 
  * Read what Columbus said about his life.
     - Christopher Columbus: Man of Faith

  * Read selections from a book together.  
     - The Life of Christopher Columbus 
     - The True Story of Christopher Columbus 
     
  * Tell stories.
     - Christopher Columbus Short Stories for Kids
     - All About History: Columbus
     - 10 Things You May Not Know About Christopher Columbus

  * Watch a video.
     - Animated Hero Classics: Christopher Columbus
     - History.com Videos about Columbus
     - The Spiritual Foundation of Christopher Columbus

  * Sing a song.
     - In 1492

  * Recite a poem.
     - The Things That Haven't Been Done Before


Create something about Columbus

  * Write a story, poem, or journal entry about an experience Columbus had, or write about 
    something you can learn from him.

  * Draw pictures about Christopher Columbus and the experiences he had, or color pictures: 
    - Columbus onboard ship with a spyglass
    - Columbus sees signs of land
    - Columbus flagship Santa María

  * Make a simple diorama with the pictures you color.
    (The example is about natural habitats, but you can adapt it to your Columbus pictures.) 

  * Make paper boats, carve a boat out of wood or soap, or make a boat out of a plastic container,
     milk carton, or anything that floats.  


Enjoy a fun picnic together

Create a meal that seamen might have eaten in Columbus’ day.  Some of the foods Columbus took on his voyages were sardines, anchovies, cheese, chick peas, lentils, beans, rice, honey, almonds, raisins, biscuits, garlic, oil, and vinegar. 

Pack up your meal and the boats you made.  Go to a place where there is lake, pond, stream, or some other kind of water.  (We have even done this by our swimming pool before.)  Eat your picnic.   Talk about what it must have been like to be Columbus and his crew and to be out on the ocean for so long.  After your picnic, you can float your boats in the water or have boat races.


Reflect on your dreams together
 
Explain that Columbus was a man with a dream.  He worked hard for many years before he finally accomplished his dream.  He needed to develop great faith, courage, patience, humility, and perseverance to succeed.  Talk with your children about their dreams.  Write them down and keep them in a special place.  Encourage your children as they take steps to accomplish their dreams.


Learn about people in history who have risen to their dreams

Many times the great things people accomplish are "impossible dreams" until they actually do them.  Then their example charts the course for others.  Columbus Day can be a good time to learn more about wonderful people who have worked to accomplish challenging goals.  

Mitt Romney is one great example.  So are some of the other heroes we've talked about on Patriotic Moms.  (There are five pages of posts on heroes -- be sure to click on the tiny "Previous" link at the bottom left corner of the page to see more.)

I've often heard it said, and believe it to be true, that "a family who prays together stays together."

It's also true that a family who plays together likes to stay together.  With that in mind, here are some fun family activities for October.  Choose some your family will enjoy and have a great time!

Please feel free to share your favorites in the comments below!  


Outings

• Take a walk, hike, bike ride, or drive to see the beautiful autumn leaves.  Take pictures.
• Gather or purchase pussy willows, leaves, acorns, etc. and make a fall wreath.
• Collect leaves and make leaf rubbings for a nature journal.
  
• Attend a state fair.
  
• Go apple picking in an orchard.
• Walk through a corn maze.
• Visit a pumpkin patch or festival.
• Take Saturday morning walks.
• Fly a kite.
• Play soccer at the park.
• Watch baseball games together.

Columbus Day  (Click link for details.)

• Learn about Christopher Columbus.
  
• Create something about Columbus.
  
• Go on an outing and talk about Columbus' experience.
  
• Reflect on your family and individual dreams together.
  
• Learn about other people who have risen to their dreams.
  

Halloween

• Decorate the house and yard together.
  
• Tell Halloween stories by candle light or flashlight.
  
• Choose and carve pumpkins as a family, or
  
• Have a pumpkin carving party, with bobbing for apples, hot cider, and hay rides.
• Invite friends and family to come visit in costume. Take pictures.
• Visit a "haunted house."
  
• Watch "Monster's Inc."
  
• Volunteer to give out candy at the mall on Halloween night.
  
• Hold a neighborhood Halloween party with games and treats.
  
• Go trick or treating.
  

Food Fun

• Make a harvest basket to share.  Fill it with garden bounty or other treats.
• Make doughnuts, scones, cinnamon rolls, or pumpkin bread.
• Make applesauce from scratch.
  
• Bake apples or make apple cinnamon rolls.
  
• Roast pumpkin seeds.
  
• Make pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread.
  
• Read the book, "Stone Soup," and make a nice pot of soup to share.
• Eat dinner by pumpkin candle light.
• Build a bonfire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows.
  
• Have a picnic at the park.
  
• Eat outside at night.

Fun at Home

• Play in a pile of leaves, then rake them up together.
  
• Clear out the garden together.
  
• Make a scarecrow.
• Have a yard sale to get ready for new items. 
  
• Play board games together.
  
• Gather together at night time and visit or tell stories in the dark.
• Watch "The Pride of the Yankees" or "The Rookie."

Celebrating Columbus Day can be fun and easy.  Start with the question, "What do I want to have happen?"

* Think about Columbus Day, why it's important and what you want to teach.  

* Think about your family, what they would benefit from, and what they enjoy.

* Plan a fun event and record the happy memories in a family journal for your kids to remember. 
 
If you can't celebrate on the designated day, you can create your own "Christopher Columbus Day" (or week) and celebrate when it's more convenient for you.  

Holidays are just a way to help us remember, learn about, and celebrate the things that matter most to us and to pass them on to our kids.    We can even create our own "family holidays" that reflect the things our families care about most. 

Some of these ideas are better for young children and others are good for older kids.  Choose a few that your family will enjoy and have fun!  (Click on the colored links to find helpful resources.) 

1) Learn about Christopher Columbus. 
 
  * Read what Columbus said about his life.
     - Christopher Columbus: Man of Faith

  * Read selections from a book together.  
     - The Life of Christopher Columbus 
     - The True Story of Christopher Columbus 
     
  * Tell stories.
     - Christopher Columbus Short Stories for Kids
     - All About History: Columbus

  * Watch a movie.
     - Animated Hero Classics: Christopher Columbus

  * Sing a song.
     - In 1492

  * Recite a poem.
     - The Things That Haven't Been Done Before

2) Create something about Columbus.

  * Draw pictures about Christopher Columbus and the experiences he had, or color pictures: 
    - Columbus onboard ship with a spyglass
    - Columbus sees signs of land
    - Columbus flagship Santa María

  * Make a simple diorama with the pictures you color.
    (The example is about natural habitats, but you can adapt it to your Columbus pictures.) 

  * Write a story, poem, or journal entry about an experience Columbus had, or write about 
    something you can learn from him.

  * Make paper boats, or make a ship out of a plastic container, milk carton, or anything that floats.  

3)  Enjoy a fun picnic together.

Create a meal that seamen might have eaten in Columbus’ day.  Some of the foods Columbus took on his voyages were sardines, anchovies, cheese, chick peas, lentils, beans, rice, honey, almonds, raisins, biscuits, garlic, oil, and vinegar. 

Pack up your meal and the boats you made.  Go to a place where there is lake, pond, stream, or some other kind of water.  (We have even done this by our swimming pool before.)  Eat your picnic.   Talk about what it must have been like to be Columbus and his crew.  After your picnic, you can float your boats in the water or have boat races.

4)  Reflect on your dreams together.
 
Explain that Columbus was a man with a dream.  He worked hard for many years before he finally accomplished his dream.  He needed to develop great faith, courage, patience, humility, and perseverance to succeed.  Talk with your children about their dreams.  Write them down and keep them in a special place.  Encourage your children as they take steps to accomplish their dreams.

5)  Learn about people in our day who have accomplished great things.

Many times the great things people accomplish are "impossible dreams" until they actually do them.  Their example then charts the course for others.  One recent example in the news is Steve Jobs.  Here is a cool video of Steve telling some of the struggles he faced and the lessons he learned:  Steve Jobs Changed the Way We See the World.