August Stories for Kids & Activity Calendar

Each day below follows an August special day or topic. If you scroll to the bottom of the post you can print the free printable August stories for kids activity calendar. Then check out books from the library and take a peak at this post for fun, clever activities for families to do together!  You’ll love this LOW PREP activity calendar!These books have been triple checked to ensure they can be easily found at most local libraries or on Amazon for your convenience!

>> Find other Monthly Stories for Kids <<

Being World Wide Web Day is the perfect day to introduce kids to the coding and/or the internet. Start off by reading How to Code a Sandcastle. then have them make a coding bracelet craft or try one of these coding activities for kids.  Depending on their age, this might be a great time to talk about safety on the internet.

On official Coloring Book Day it seems only natural that after reading the super clever The Day the Crayons Quit and classic Harold and the Purple Crayon, you spend some time coloring. You can grab one of our free coloring pages, try a color by number, get a new coloring book, or simply have kids draw their favorite part of summer.

After reading The Watermelon Seed and Watermelon Party  you can make this beautiful watermelon sun catcher craft. Other fun ideas for today are making watermelon puffy paint, watermelon moon sand, free watermelon counting book, or this watermelon counting set. Plus don’t forge to eat some yummy watermelon treats!

Have your kids ever wondered about guide dogs they see in the community? Today, on Assistance Dog Day teach your kids about Buddy: The First Seeing Eye Dog. Then make one of these fun dog crafts: easy origami dog craft, dog puppet,  clever puppy ear card, toilet paper dog, or dog footprint craft.

Start off Oyster Day by reading The Oyster’s Secret and Science Reader: Pearls . Then kids will have fun with these free pearl color matching or pearl counting activities. Or if you are in a crafty mood, try this cute  egg carton oyster craft.

Start out Farm-worker Appreciation Day reading some of these fantastic books about life on the farm: Big Red Barn, Barnyard Dance, Farming, and silly Cock-a-Doodle Dance.  Teach kids about farm animals with these free baby farm animal puzzles, practice cutting with these cute free farm cutting worksheets, practice writing with these free farm writing prompts, or practice numbers with free farm color by number.   Or grab our Farm Unit with tons of fun farm worksheets, activities, and experiments!

If you are feeling crafty again today, make handprint chicks,  bubble wrap carrots, little piggies foot art, shape pig craft, corn on the cob art, or see how it feels to milk the cow.

Of if the weather is nice, visiting a local historic farm is always loads of fun and makes a lasting impression on kids!

Start off reading The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge or The Lighthouse Cat and make a cute, lit recycled lighthouse craft. Depending on where you life, this would be a great day to climb up a historic lighthouse or have a picnic on the beach nearby.

Today is the perfect day to take the family bowling. Most bowling alleys have cheap rates if you get their early! You will also want to read Curious George Goes Bowling and Piny the Bowling Ball . If you can’t get out bowling, try this DIY backyard bowling activity or this cute bowling craft.

August is Peach Month. Besides obviously eating a delicious, juicy peach today… you should read Each Peach Pear Plum, Peach & Blue, or if you have older kids James and the Giant Peach (although I recommend reading it aloud as some of the words are too intense for conservative families).  Then either go to an orchard to pick fresh peaches, make some yummy food using peaches like these peach recipes, or make this simple peach craft.

The best way to celebrate Smores Day is by going camping and making smores around the campfire. Next best, you can make indoor smores then read Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems (great way to introduce kids to poems) and Indoor Smores. If you have more time, try these popsicle stick smores craft or try some smores science.

Kids naturally love playing in the sand so this will be a fun day for everyone! Start off by reading Llama Llama Sand and Sun , At the Beach, Goodnight Beach, or Beach day. Then, you can go to the beach, lake, or sandbox today. If the weather is not cooperating why not try making some sand slime, sand foam,  sand paper art, sandcastle engineering,  or make sand clay.

Start of World Elephant Day reading National Geographic Reader: Elephants, But No Elephants, Elmer, Stand Back, Said the Elephant,I’m Going to Sneeze, and Twenty-One Elephants and Still Standing.  Then either visit a local zoo with elephants or make newspaper elephants, cupcake liner elephant, and elephant hand art.

It seems only fitting that you take your kids out to try fishing during Fishing Month. Also today you will want to read Down by the River: A Family Fly Fishing Story,  Gone Fishing, and Bernstein Bears: Gone Fishin‘. If you really can’t get outside, try making a DIY Fishing set or pasta fish craft.

Kids will have fun learning about inventors today with Oh, the Things They Invented!: All About Great Inventors (Cat in the Hat), Mistakes that Worked, and Time: Everything Invented. Then spend the day trying out some inventions of your own like a hover craft, lemon clock, DIY Catapult, or dancing project.

August 15 – Water Quality Month

Help kids become aware of the importance of drinkable water today . Start out by reading Why Living Things Need Water (science book), All the Water in the World (teaching picture book), and Water (colorful, simple). Then spend some time in the water (pool, beach) or do some fun water experiments like colorful oil and water, a water xylophone, ocean zones in a jar,  walking water, or skittles science.

August 16 – Roller Coaster Day

Start your day off by reading Roller Coaster or  Curious George Roller Coaster. If you are close enough and have the means, I suggest heading to an amusement park to ride a roller coaster today! After all, that is a great summer activity and memory. If you can’t, either build a marble roller coaster from a marble run or engineer your own marble run out of straws!

August 17 – Vanilla Custard Day

Today is a great day to do some baking together. Baking is an important skill to learn, teaches following directions, is in fact science, and can help kids practice math. Start out reading Little Chef and then make vanilla custard together.

 

August 18 – World Honey Bee Day

Most kids just think of bees as the insect to avoid so they don’t get stung. But we NEED bees to have flowers, fruit and vegetables. Today, hopefully we will help your family learn the importance and beauty of bees! Start out by reading Explore Honey Bees (educational), The Honeybee Man, Flight of the Honey Bee, and In the Trees, Honey Bees! I highly suggest getting outside and observing bees pollinating flowers, buying some local honey, and eating some delicious honey today. You might alsy enjoy making this cute fingerprint bee and corn painted honeycomb craft , bubble wrap bee hive, or bee puppet crafts.

August 19 – Potato Day

Most kids love potatoes! Today will be a fun day for kids to explore how potatoes grow, what you can make with potatoes, and some fun things to make with potatoes too! Start out by reading From Eye to Potato (science reader), The Enormous Potato and Mr. Crum’s Potato Predicament. Then you can dive into making a potato battery, flower potato craft, or sprout potatoes.

August 20 – World Mosquito Day

I don’t know anyone that likes mosquitoes….but knowledge is power so let’s join in on World Mosquito Day. Start off by reading Mosquitoes: Tiny Insect Troublemakers (educational) , Mr. Mosquito Put on His Tuxedo, and Mosquitoes Can’t Bite Ninjas. Then make this cute buzzing mosquito craft.

August 21

Kids everywhere are getting ready to or have just started going back to school. Today read How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?, Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat!, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books!, First Day Jitters, and Llama Llama Misses Mama. You’ve probably already gotten you back to school supplies (if not this would be a good day to do so) so let’s have some fun making keepsake crafts today!  Make a yummy pencil cookie, school bus picture frame, school bus puffy paint, or pencil picture frame.

August 22 – Be an Angel Day

Today is all about helping others! Remind your kids to be kind and help others by reading The Giving Tree, The Lion and the Mouse, and Be Kind. I suggest taking time to brainstorm with your kids how you can be kind to each other and those in your community. See if each of you can do 5 acts of kindness today.

August 23 – Hamburger Day

Today you can explore What Happens to Hamburgers (digestion) or read silly books like City of Hamburgers or Hamburger Heaven.  You will of course want to eat hamburgers for dinner. In the meantime you might also want to make a fun hamburger craft too.

August 24 – Pluto Demoted Day

On August 24th, 2006 Pluto was demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet. Star off by reading Pluto’s Secret,  Pluto Dwarf Planet (educational), and A Place for Pluto. Then help kids remember how cold it is by making pluto ice cream in a bag, edible solar system, yarn wrapped planets, outer space playdough, or print any number of free printable solar system worksheets.

August 25 – Banana Split Day

Start out by reading Beautiful Bananas and then make homemade banana splits today – YUM!

August 26 – Dog Day

Today is a great day to spend time with your dog or visit a shelter and play with other dogs. Read Harry the Dirty National Geographic Dogs (educational), Dog, Charlie Goes to School, Dog (not available at most libraries, but super cute for young readers), Rags: Hero Dog of WWI, or The Dogs Who Had Kittens. Then have fun making hot dog puppy, puppy chow snack, adopt a puppy, puppy footprint craft, and spring dog craft.

August 27 – International Bat Day

Kids will be fascinated learning about nocturnal bats. (make sure to tell them bats eat pesky mosquitoes!). Start our reading Bats Love the Night, National Geographic: Bats (educational), and Bats. You can explore further by making these bag crafts: bat silhouette craft, handprint bat craft, cupcake liner bats, or coffee filter bat.

August 28 – Bow Tie Day

Today is a silly special day. I’d start out your day reading Mayor Sly and the Magic Bow Tie: A Kansas City Adventure. Then make your own DIY Duct Tape Bow Ties to wear all day. You can even cut your sandwich to make a bow tie lunch! Or, if you want to stretch it a little you can use bowtie pasta to make a Bowtie Pasta Craft or bowtie pasta salad.

August 29 – American Artists Appreciation Month

August is American Artist Appreciation Month. Today let’s take a peak at American Artist Jackson Pollock who had a very Unique style of painting. Read Action Jackson and create a n outdoor Pollock Style Painting or an indoor Pollock Painting.

August 30 – Slinky Day

Who knew there was a hole day devoted to slinkys!! Right? Well – that is our special day today. Start off by reading The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring: The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation . Next up, time to play with a slinky, paint with a slinky, make a paper slinky craft, and end your day watching Toy Story (look for lovable slinky dog)

August 31 – Golf Month

Start out by reading Tee Time with Daddy: My First Nine, Your First Golf Lesson, and Curious George Plays Mini Golf. Then I’d encourage you to go play mini golf as a family. Such a fun summer activity. If the weather is not cooperating, play button golf, make a golf tee hedgehog, golf foot art, or painting with golf balls.