Let's Celebrate Pandemonium Day

Recently, I told you about a wonderful support for family literacy, the PBS Kids Reading Activity Calendar. According to this calendar, July 14 is Pandemonium Day. I just love this great idea to celebrate all things chaotic, and have some fun with literacy. Here's what the calendar says:


July 14, Pandemonium Day: It’s time to get silly! On sticky notes or index cards, make labels for some everyday objects like “phone,” “TV,” “keys,” and “pillow.” Then put the wrong labels on each item and have your child switch them to the correct spots.


Want some more ideas to share with your kids? Look up the word pandemonium in a dictionary. Can kids think of other words that are similar or opposite in meaning? Have they ever witnessed pandemonium? Can they draw a cartoon of a situation that might lead to pandemonium? What stories or poems have they read about pandemonium? Was it pandemonium when the wild things made a ruckus? What does pandemonium look like? Sound like? Smell like? Feel like? Taste like? Use some of those words and impressions to write a poem together. 


Pandemonium Day would be a great time to read your favourite poems, too - LOUDLY! Have fun with words. Play substitution, where you use a word like "caterpillar" instead of "yes", and "pickle pie" instead of "no". All day! Can your kids say sentences backwards? This would be a great opportunity to teach them pig latin, too. Here's a translator that will change your sentences into pig latin in case you need a start.


Can you play with the word PANDEMONIUM and see if it sparks a story? Panda - monium might be about the day two baby pandas escaped from the zoo. What might pandemoonium be about? Or pondemonium? Or pandemonimum? There are some pandemoni-mums in my picture above.


Make this a day where you do the unexpected. How long is it since you wore undies on your head, or ate lunch up a tree? What crazy things can your kids think up, and are you game to carry them out? Experiment with household objects to see which ones make the most noise. Play homemade instruments. Make up songs. 


Have fun!


And if Pandemonium Day is too much to contemplate, celebrate Bastille Day on July 14 instead.

Cartoon made by BookChook at ToonDoo.