Community Ideas
The hardest part of the poster is deciding what to fill the month with. It is easier when you see how others did it: somebody’s “Month of Water”, somebody’s “Month Without Screens”, somebody’s storylines for four. Any season here can be opened and forked for your own family.
Ideas month by month:SeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuaryFebruary
- Eco MonthWhat we gave away — who needed it more than we did?Week 1 Clearing cupboards: give away, not throw outWeek 2 Litter-picking in the park next doorWeek 3 A book swap shelf in our hallwayWeek 4 Finding the city's eco volunteers, joining inGive it away rather than bin it — and find who else is doing this.
- Year in a BoxWhat was the hardest thing to put in the box?Week 1 Watching last year: every photo in one eveningWeek 2 Letters to ourselves — open on 31 DecemberWeek 3 A hundred things for the year, each our ownWeek 4 The photo we will take again next JanuaryLeave ourselves a letter, a list and a photo — and open the box on 31 December.
- Winter Fun MonthWhat turned out to be the best fun of this winter?Week 1 Skates: onto the ice, the whole familyWeek 2 Sledges: hunting the best hill aroundWeek 3 A snow fort in the yard, the whole yardWeek 4 Fireworks on New Year's night — off we goSpend December outside, not at the window: ice, hill, fort and fireworks.
- Know Your CityWhat did we see in our own city for the first time?Week 1 A museum we have never once walked intoWeek 2 An unfamiliar district: pick one, walk itWeek 3 The blank spots near home — walk to themWeek 4 A tour of the local ice-cream factoryGo where we have never been and see our own city the way visitors do.
- Book MonthWhose book turned out better — his or hers?Week 1 Swapping books: each picks for the otherWeek 2 The reading club: we go and see if it is oursWeek 3 A swap shelf in the hallway, for neighboursWeek 4 Talking it over: did we agree or notRead what the other chose, get to the club and put a shelf up in the hallway.
- Spider-Man MonthWhose Spider-Man turned out to be ours?Week 1 Tobey Maguire: three films, evening by eveningWeek 2 Andrew Garfield: both parts over a weekendWeek 3 Tom Holland: two parts on weeknightsWeek 4 Tom Holland: the finale with all threeWatch every Spider-Man film and pick the one that is ours.
- Forest MonthWhat in the woods turned out not to be what we thought?Week 1 A herbarium: a leaf from every treeWeek 2 Mushrooms, a basket and a field guideWeek 3 Campfire, baked potatoes and sausagesWeek 4 Back to where we started — what changedGet to the woods every week and come back to where we started.
- Harvest MonthWhich of these will become our autumn habit?Week 1 Off to grandma's — bringing in the cropWeek 2 Pickling cucumbers and tomatoes, jars sealedWeek 3 Making jam and labelling the jarsWeek 4 Laying the table and inviting guestsMake something with our own hands that lasts into winter.
- Month About OurselvesWhat came as news about ourselves?Week 1 Meditation every evening: ten quiet minutesWeek 2 Thanks out loud: every evening, round we goWeek 3 The wheel of life: scoring eight parts of itWeek 4 A retreat at home: two days off the screensSpend the month paying attention: silence, notes, the wheel and two days offline.
- Taking Care of UsWhat should have been done long ago?Week 1 Barber and hairdresser: style, not lengthWeek 2 Massage: both of us booked on the same dayWeek 3 A whole day at the spa: phones in the lockerWeek 4 The doctor, not the spa: the tests we put offCome first for once, not last: the barber, the massage, the spa and the doctor.
Families put the seasons here themselves — with the megaphone button on their own season. We show a random set every time: that way a new one has a chance to catch your eye instead of drowning under the ones already visible. If you see an ad, rudeness or someone else’s personal data, press the flag: we take such seasons off the showcase.