August Family Connections Calendar
Draw closer as a family this summer with the August Family Connections Calendar and Scripture reading plan. Each month includes simple and easy ways to connect as a family as well as a Scripture plan to read aloud together.
August is an interesting month. For some, it’s a final full month of summer fun but for others, school has begun or will start soon. This month’s August Family Connections Calendar helps to bridge the gap between the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. Continue to enjoy the warm, long, lazy days of summer by building memories and start a brand new school year with a fresh start!
Each month, you will receive a calendar with thoughtful, yet intentional, activity ideas for your family that doesn’t require much preparation and are almost always free!
You can view January’s calendar here, February’s calendar here, March’s Calendar here, April’s Calendar here, May’s calendar here, and June/July here.
You will also receive a Scripture reading plan to read aloud one chapter from a specific book of the Bible together.
Let’s take a closer look at each of these calendars:
Family Activity Calendar
Included in the activity list are seasonal appropriate ideas as well as conversation starters to have at mealtimes.
These are simple and easy activities to do with your family no matter what season or stage you are in. They can also be adapted to meet the needs of your specific family.
Don’t have kids or are an empty nester? Connect with your spouse with some of these ideas!
Have itty bitty little ones? Older children or teens? There are plenty of ideas that appeal to all ages!
Are you single? Grab a friend or serve your neighbors and family with some of these ideas!
The best part of this calendar is that it is designed to help you and your family better connect this year. So whether you do 2 things off the list or all 31, the point is that you are being intentional!
How to Use
Print off the list and stick it on your refrigerator or place near your family command center. Go through the list today and pick at least 5 activities and schedule them on your family calendar.
Almost all of the ideas are free or require things you probably already have on hand in your home. Some do require a little bit of preparation and making room in your calendar but get your family on board to help with the planning!
You can also just pick and choose the activities that best fit into your family’s schedule and routine. Maybe this list even gives you some new ideas!
Make this connection calendar work for your family and watch how just a few simple activities can really draw your family closer together!
Family Scripture Reading Plan
Perhaps the best way you can connect as a family this year is to spend time reading the Bible together.
Last year one of my favorite books I read was a simple account of a mom starting the practice of reading aloud her Bible to her young kids.
Not a children’s Bible but the actual Word of God.
The results were profound and it seriously convicted me to read the Word aloud to my kids too. But sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start.
This family reading plan makes it simple for you!
Each day you only have one chapter to read aloud. That’s it!
Five days of chronological Scripture reading with a selected Psalm or Proverb for the weekend and a built-in Grace Day because we all know life is unpredictable and busy!
How to Use
Print off the Family Scripture Plan and place in your family Bible, your Bible book basket, or somewhere you and your family will see every day.
Pray together as a family before you read the Bible aloud and then just read.
If your children are old enough, take turns reading aloud or you can even use the YouVersion Bible app to listen to Word if reading aloud is hard.
Both the Family Connections Calendar and Scripture Reading Plan are free to download when you sign up for the email list and then once a month, the new calendar will be delivered straight to your inbox!
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I pray these simple ideas and passages from the Bible help draw you and your family closer together this year as well as water those seeds of faith.
Here’s a peek at August’s calendars:
Scripture Family Reading Plan
We will continue reading Paul’s letters Philippians through 2 Timothy. On the weekdays we read through Psalms 32-35 on Sunday, with Saturday being a Grace Day to catch up or to reflect on the previous week’s readings.
August Family Activities & Discussion Questions
- Inventory closets and school supplies to make a shopping and priority list for back-to-school shopping.
- Schedule a day on the calendar to do all the back-to-school shopping as a family. Make it a special day and go to lunch.
- Mealtime Discussion Question: What is your favorite memory from the summer?
- To celebrate the end of summer before school starts, plan a final family fun day.
- Commit to praying for the school year, the teachers, and the entire school community by printing out the school year prayer calendar.
- Write a back-to-school letter to a teacher or coach to encourage them as they prepare for a new school year.
- Write in one child’s memory journal or write a letter to a family member.
- Purchase a backpack and fill with school supplies. Drop the backpack off at a local school for a student who needs it.
- Sit down as a family to go through the school year calendar. Discuss dates where activities are already planned, holidays, no school days, or any other events that are important during the school year.
- Lay out blankets in the backyard and stargaze. Don’t forget the bug spray!
- Invite a family, neighbor, or friends over for a BBQ and some yard games.
- Mealtime Discussion Question: What are you most looking forward to this school year?
- As a family, sit down together to set goals for the new school year. Identify priorities and set graceful goals.
- Pick a friend or family member you don’t see very often and send a special card to them. Have each member of the family write a special note or draw a picture.
- Visit the library to check out back-to-school themed books or books off your new grade level reading lists.
- Go on a bike ride or take a walk together as a family after dinner.
- Go out for ice cream to celebrate a new school year.
- As a family, mow and take care of an elderly neighbor’s lawn or friend who can’t get out.
- Serve together as a family in your church nursery, Sunday school classroom, on the hospitality committee, or wherever your church has a need.
- Write in one child’s memory journal or write a letter to a family member.
- Spend the day intentionally taking real-life photos to capture those precious everyday moments.
- Mealtime Discussion Question: How can you model Christ’s love & the message of the Gospel to your friends and classmates this year?
- Spend the evening intentionally praying over each member of the family.
- Plan a date night with your spouse. Arrange for childcare and hit the town with your favorite person!
- Clean out the garage and care for summer toys and games before storing them away.
- Go out to brunch together as a family after church. Invite a family to join you.
- Host a family game night!
- Mealtime Discussion Question: Why do you think it’s important to show respect to parents, teachers, leaders, or coaches?
- Make homemade personal-pan pizzas for dinner.
- Create a plan to host a family BBQ over the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
- Sort through all the photos you took this month and print off the best ones to place in a photo album or digital photobooks like Chatbooks or Shutterfly.