Get your pitch pipes ready - it's Barbershop Music Day and we're going to help you write your very own barbershop song via mad lib.

So, what makes barbershop music so unique?

"¢ The presence of overtones, or really high notes produced by sound waves rubbing together

"¢ The melody is in the middle of the harmonies (rather than the top note)

"¢ There are a lot of Secondary Dominant Seventh chords - used so often in this type of music that it's often called the "Barbershop Seventh Chord"

"¢ It's one of the few all-American art forms

Got it?

Whether or not you and your kids are already professional harmonizers, give your vocal chords a whirl on a barbershop song written by your family! Just print out this mad lib, fill it in and get singing!

Make Your Own Barbershop Song

"¢ After filling out your mad lib, you can check out this group singing "Lida Rose" to get a feel for the song.

"¢ While barbershop music is usually sung acapella, you can use this instrumental accompaniment to help you out.

The post July 13: Barbershop Music Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

Have you ever seen this emoji? Do you see what date is on that emoji? It's July 17th! For that reason, today has been named World Emoji Day. Celebrate by playing the "Emoji Game" with your kids.

Print off the following sheet and work as a team or individuals to name the movie the emojis describe.

Emoji Game Answer Key:

1. The Greatest Showman
2. Finding Nemo
3. Up
4. Frozen
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. The Lion King
7. Toy Story
8. Inside Out
9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
10. Coco
11. Cars
12. The Jungle Book

The post July 17: World Emoji Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

We don't know about you, but if we ever got rich, we'd hire a personal chef post-haste. Even if that's a dream that never comes true, on this holiday you can live like you've got a personal chef by hiring your kids to do the cooking.

Personal Kid Chef Activity

Your kids get to play chef by taking your order from cute printable menus and whipping up your treat in the kitchen.

Kid Chef Recipes

Your kids can become chefs with these no-cook, no-sharp-knife recipes.

Banana Caterpillar

1. Peel banana and use a butter knife to slice it into circles.

2. Use peanut butter to "glue" the banana back together.

3. Add raisins for eyes.

4. Optional: Stick pretzels sticks between banana sections for some creepy legs.

Apple Turtle

1. Push five toothpicks into five the apple (two for feet, two for arms and one for the head).

2. Press grapes onto the toothpicks.

3. Cut a raisin in half with a butter knife and attach the sticky sides to the head as eyes.

Owl Sandwich

1. Spread peanut butter on an English muffin or bagel.

2. Use a butter knife to slice a banana into circles and place two on the muffin as eyes.

3. Place two blueberries on the bananas for pupils.

4. Use a butter knife to slice a strawberry into thirds.

5. Place two slices below the bananas for wings.

6. Use a butter knife to cut the third strawberry into a beak shape.

7. Place the "beak" between the banana eyes.

To swankify your personal chef experience, print out this Personal Chef menu (because what kid doesn't love menus?) Let your kid fill in his/her name and add any of their own cooking specialties to the menu.

The post July 16: National Personal Chef Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

When President Ronald Reagan named the third Sunday in July "National Ice Cream Day," he called the people of the United States to "observe the events with appropriate ceremonies and activities." In other words, eating lots and lots of ice cream today is basically the law.

Ice Cream Roulette

Each family member gets to become an ice cream confectioner by creating a their own personalized flavor (it could be good, or it could be terrible). Then everyone in the family tastes it to guess what secret ingredient was added.

1.Each person seals cream, sugar and flavoring in a sandwich-size ziploc bag and shakes to combine.

2.In the freezer-size ziploc bag, mix ice and salt.

3.Place the smaller bag inside the freezer size bag. Shake until hardened (about 10 minutes).

4.Have each family member add a secret ingredient to their bag - this could be anything the ice cream creator may imagine, from balsamic vinegar to Lucky Charms.

5.Take turns tasting each chocolate ice cream creation and guessing what ingredient was added to the treat.

Maybe you'll create the world's best new flavor!

The post July 15: National Ice Cream Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

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It's Shark Awareness Day! Let's celebrate by learning a little bit about shark physics.

Here's what's up: Sharks don't have an air bladder like most of their finned friends. This means it's hard for them to remain buoyant (aka float in liquid). However, sharks have a few mechanisms to prevent them from falling to the ocean floor. One of them is an enormous liver full of oil.

Want to show your kids how it works? Try this activity together.

Shark Buoyancy Activity

1.Use permanent markers to decorate both water bottles like sharks (eyes, fins, teeth, etc.)

2.Next, fill one bottle with water and the other bottle with the same amount of oil.

3.Fill a clear container with water (we used a large bowl).

Ask your kids: What do you think will happen to each bottle when we put it in the water?

4.Put each water bottle in the water and see what happens to the "sharks."

Ask your kids: Why do you think the oil-filled bottle floated and the water-filled bottle sunk?

Use this as an opportunity explain how buoyancy works and why sharks are buoyant.

The post July 14: Shark Awareness Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

Do you step on Legos and happy meal toys every other step? Today's the day to make that all disappear.

Henry David Thoreau, famous for idealizing simplicity, was born on July 12, so every year his memory is celebrated through simplification. Here at Famifi, that means getting rid of all the junk we've somehow accumulated so we can live liberated from stuff.

"In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." -Henry David Thoreau

Here are 4 ways to get everyone in the family interested in a little summer cleaning:

1. Have a Yard Sale

If you tell your kids they can turn their toys into cash, they'll be more willing to part with their "treasures." Help them go through their things and organize a yard sale.

2. Christmas in July

At the beginning of the month, each family member takes one of their sibling, child or parent's belongings and wraps it up. The belonging that's taken should be something they don't think will be missed (maybe rarely used kitchen appliance or an old video game). If someone notices what's gone missing, they are allowed to unwrap it and put it away. However, any items that haven't been claimed by the end of the month are donated to charity.

3. Packing Party

For this game, take everything in a room and pack it up as if you were moving. Whenever you need something in the box, remove it and use it. However, anything that's left in the box in the next few months must be discarded or donated to charity.

4. Extreme Challenge

Is your family ready for the EXTREME challenge? If y'all have too much stuff, this is for you. Here's how it works: On the first day, get rid of one item. On the second day, get rid of two items (the item from Day 1 doesn't count). On the third day, get rid of three things, and so on until the 30th when you get rid of 30 items. Let's see if your family is hard-core enough to make it all the way through.

Choosing what items to get rid of can be hard. Here's an infographic to help make those choices a little simpler.

The post July 12: Simplicity Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

"Hear ye! Hear ye!" A crier would yell through the streets of medieval England to grab the attention of the townspeople to deliver a message from the monarch.

Here's how it would go down:

• The town crier would ring a bell and say "Oyez, oyez, oyez," a derivative of the French word "ouïr," which basically means "hear ye!"

• He'd read the important message (aka news, laws, proclamations, etc.)

• Then the crier would end by saying, "God save the King" or "God save the Queen."

• After he finished, the crier would attach the message to the post of a local inn (the reason why so many news sources are named "Post").

But reading proclamations wasn't the only role of town criers. They also:

• Patrolled the streets

• Ensured fires were dampened after the curfew bell

• Arrested miscreants

• Posted offenders' crimes

• Cut down people who had been hanged

Fun Fact: Don't shoot the messenger. Because town criers acted in the name of the monarch, harming them was considered an act of treason.

Hire a Home Crier

In honor of International Town Criers Day, hire one of your kids to be your home's crier. Their job is to act in your name to notify the family of important declarations.

Activity

1. Designate one of your kids to be your home's town crier. (If you have more than one kid with town crier aspirations, you can take turns or designate tomorrow as an unofficial town criers day.)
2. Throughout the day, write down a declaration for the official crier to announce.
3. Have the town crier declare announcements in a loud voice beginning with "Hear ye! Hear ye!"

Here are some ideas for things the town crier can announce:

— By official decree of Mom, it is time to partake of breakfast!

— Each child needeth to clean their personal domicile ere they are permitted to play the games of video!

— The monarch decrees all peoples under the age of seven must hop upon one foot.

— By official proclamation, children are requested to embrace their kin five times, at the least.

If you need help translating your modern English into old English, here's a "super authentic" translator.

Famifi This: For each child, have the town crier proclaim why you love him/her and why.

The post July 9: International Town Criers Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

Adulting is hard, so why not give yourself a break? Every July 8 is Be a Kid Again Day, but oddly enough sometimes it takes practice and an expert opinion. And there's no better expert than your own kids.

Official Kid Certification

Activity

To earn your Official Kid Certification, fill out the Kid Requirements sheet with your child (download the PDF here or here). "You" refers to the parent, and "we" refers to the children. Your child will fill in the blanks, and the last three spots are open for any additional requirements they think you need. Then, complete the requirements together. And remember, have fun. Because that's really what being a kid is all about.

Famifi This: What are some of your favorite memories from childhood? Tell one of those stories tonight when you tuck your kid into bed.

The post July 8: Be a Kid Again Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

Many people don't realize kissing is culturally contingent. In a study of 168 cultures, researchers found evidence of romantic kissing in 77 societies, but none in 91 others. In other words, there was no romantic kissing in 54 percent of the societies studied. Many of these cultures even consider kissing "gross."

The study's co-author, Justin Garcia, said, "It's a reminder that behaviors that seem so normative to us often do not occur in the rest of the world. Not only that, but they might be viewed as strange."

Try Other Cultures' Kisses

Mexico

• Clasp right hands, like a handshake, and place your left hand on their right shoulder.
• Kiss each other's right cheeks at the same time

New Zealand

• Press nose and forehead against each other and share a breath of air

France

• Lean in close, placing right cheeks against each other
• Pucker up and kiss the air
• In some regions, they do a second air kiss on the left side

Inuit

• Lightly press your noses together

Thailand

• Press closed lips to someone's cheek and inhale deeply

The post July 6: International Kissing Day appeared first on FamilyToday.

Most of us want to exercise and spend quality time with our family, but making it happen usually tends to be more difficult. Use today's holiday as the perfect excuse. Get outside and try these fun walking adventures and talking points with your daughter.

Spice up your walks

Activity

Get outside and try these walking adventures with your daughter:

• Play a game of Urban Bingo (you can get the template and instructions here).
• Bring along a treat and decide when you can eat it (i.e. when you see a red car or pass a certain house on your street).
• Download an app like Leafsnap to help you identify the plants you see along the way.
• Bring along some chalk and leave messages on the sidewalk for other walkers.
• Play "When You Hear" by assigning actions to different sounds: a car horn, a bird, a sprinkler, etc. When you hear that sound you must do the action you decided on beforehand.

If games aren't really your thing, try these questions:

For 1-2

• What makes you happy?
• What are you good at?
• What is your favorite thing to do?
• What is something Mom / Dad always says to you?

For 3-5

• If you could change one rule in our family, what would it be?
• If animals could talk to you, what do you think they would say?
• What would you do if you were invisible for a day?
• What's the hardest thing about being a kid?

For 6-11

• How do you think the world would be different if animals could talk?
• What was the nicest thing someone did for you today?
• Which of your teachers would most likely survive a zombie apocalypse?
• What advice would you give yourself if you could travel back one year ago?

The post July 7: Father/Daughter Take a Walk Together Day appeared first on FamilyToday.