Labor Day Weekend is a great little break for your family right around school time. Whether your children start after the holiday or before, they get to relax and you get to enjoy a longer weekend as hopefully the weather cools down. But if you all are hoping for a little different of a weekend, you can find some creative and fun activities to do as a family!
Remembering the Holiday
The holiday’s meaning can also get lost in the shuffle of planning and getting out and enjoying yourselves, so always remember to take note of the celebration. Make sure your children know what Labor Day means, and why it is a holiday. Ensure they are understanding it is about all the workers out there making sure the world runs smoothly on a daily basis, even if that means working long hours, overtime, weekends, and holidays. Your kids may only think about the holiday in terms of time off, but make sure they understand the deeper message behind it as well.
Incorporating the Holiday
If you want to really get into the Labor Day spirit, you can even plan a few activities centered around workers and how their jobs impact our daily lives. If your children are a little younger, you can print out workers (either a cartoon version or a real-life version – or both!) in various backgrounds and professions, and try to have your children guess what they do! You can have doctors, plumbers, nurses, construction workers, farmers, painters, you name it!
Whether your child guesses the job correctly or not, also make sure to ask them what they do exactly, and how this helps others around them. It is a good way to get your kids thinking about how the world works and that every job matters, whether it is large or small. After they guess the jobs, they can even act them out as well! They can pretend to be a waiter, a doctor, a farmer, or a fast-food worker and serve you dinner. This can also show them how hard the job can be, and how it directly affects them and those around them.
Community Service
And if you really want to get out there and get involved over Labor Day Weekend instead of vacationing, you can also get involved in your community. Check online and with friends or parents on whether there are any specific activities going on, such as book fairs, library activities, scheduled street clean-ups, soup kitchen needs and more. These activities are a great way to give back and help your children learn the values of hard work, community, and giving.
Katie Kyzivat