Well, Buttercup… sometimes you come across a holiday that makes you stop an scratch your head as you wonder, “What in the world is that about?” Or how can it relate to my family or how would we have used it when #Homeschooling.

National No Rhyme or Reason Day did all of that and so much more for my family. Including allowing me to share a #teachingmoment with David and Charlie because they hadn’t heard of the #Holiday. Had you?

National No Rhyme or Reason Day is celebrated on September 1, it sounds like it should be nothing more than a silly excuse to do something that doesn’t make sense. And, honestly, we can certainly have some fun with that.

But when I started looking a little closer, I realized there was more to this holiday than I first thought. It gives us a chance to talk about language, history, expressions, and the funny ways words have made their way into everyday conversation.

And then we can have a little fun with it, too. Because sometimes you don’t need a rhyme. And sometimes you don’t need a reason. Sometimes you just need to do something just because. Which is the case when celebrating this holiday.

Most of us have heard someone say that something has “no rhyme or reason.” In my family we use the expression when something doesn’t seem to have a logical explanation or doesn’t follow any obvious pattern.

Maybe someone organizes their belongings in a way that makes absolutely no sense to anyone else. Maybe you can’t explain why you suddenly decided to do something.

Maybe something simply seems random. You might say, “There’s no rhyme or reason to it.” It’s one of those expressions we use so naturally that we don’t always stop to think about the words themselves.

Why rhyme? Why reason? And where did that expression come from? That’s where this silly little holiday turns into a pretty interesting language lesson not only for children but adults as well.

I thought I would share a little history behind the phrase. “No rhyme or reason” has been around in the English language for centuries. Which if you ask Charlie is before Dinosaurs roamed the face of the Earth.

Earlier forms of the expression appeared in English writing long before National No Rhyme or Reason Day ever appeared on a modern holiday calendar.

The wording and variations of the phrase eventually became part of the language we use today, including literary appearances associated with Shakespeare.

That means this isn’t simply a phrase somebody came up with recently to fill a blank spot on the calendar. It has a history. And I think that’s worth talking about with our kids.

One of the things I love about language is that ordinary words can have extraordinary stories behind them. We say things because we’ve heard other people say them.

Our parents said them. Our grandparents said them. Writers used them.And somewhere along the way, those words and expressions became part of how we communicate.

No rhymer or reason day can becomg A #TeachingMoment without making it feel like School. Which is exactly the kind of thing that can turn into a #TeachingMoment without everybody feeling like they’ve just been assigned homework.

You don’t have to pull out a textbook. You don’t have to write a report. Just ask a question. “What do you think ‘no rhyme or reason’ means?” Then see what the kids come up with. Then ask the adults.

Ask them if they know any other expressions that don’t mean exactly what the individual words seem to say. That’s a great way to start talking about idioms and how language changes over time.

You could even make a little game out of it. Think of an expression. Have someone guess what it means. Then see if they can figure out why we say it that way.

Sometimes the history is easy to find. Sometimes the origin isn’t completely certain. And sometimes the phrase has changed along the way. That’s history, too.

Once we’ve had our little history lesson, it’s time to have some fun. After all, this is No Rhyme or Reason Day. Let’s forget about everything making perfect sense for a few minutes.

Ask the kids to think of a word that is hard to rhyme. Can they make up a rhyme anyway? Can they invent a word? Can they write a sentence that makes absolutely no sense? Can they tell a story where every sentence gets sillier than the one before it?

There really aren’t any wrong answers here. And that’s part of the fun. Sometimes children need permission to be silly. They don’t always need another activity designed to teach them something. Sometimes they need to laugh, make something ridiculous, and enjoy being kids.

Here’s another question you can ask around the dinner table: “Can you think of something that has no rhyme or reason?” Maybe it’s something the family dog does.

Maybe it’s the way someone insists on arranging the refrigerator. Maybe it’s why you walked into another room and immediately forgot what you went there to do. We’ve all been there.

Let everybody come up with an answer. The sillier, the better. There doesn’t have to be one correct answer. That’s the beauty of no rhyme or reason and why its a fun holiday to ceebrate.

And this is my favorite part. Sometimes we spend so much time explaining why we’re doing something that we forget that not everything needs a reason.

Jump in a pile of leaves. Why? Just because. Dance in the kitchen. Why? Just because. Tell somebody you love them. Why? Just because. Read a book in a funny voice. Why? Just because.

Go outside and look at the clouds. Why? Just because. Make up a ridiculous word. Why? Just because. Draw something that makes absolutely no sense. Why? Just because.

Those things may seem small. But small things can become family memories. Years from now, nobody may remember exactly what you were supposed to be doing that afternoon.

But somebody might remember the time everybody danced in the kitchen for absolutely no reason. And I don’t know about you but for my family sometimes that’s enough.

To go along with today’s holiday, we’ve put together a No Rhyme or Reason printable with some silly “Just Because!” activities. You can print it and let the kids choose an activity, or let everybody in the family pick one.

And if you come up with your own idea? Add it! The whole point is that it doesn’t have to make sense. It doesn’t have to be educational. It doesn’t have to be productive. It just has to be fun. Why? Just because!

I think National No Rhyme or Reason Day turned out to be a little more interesting than I expected and it became a #TeachingMoment for my family and I hope yours as well.

What started as a funny holiday became a chance to talk about the history of a familiar expression. It gave us a reason to look at how language changes, how phrases become part of our everyday conversations, and how something as simple as a few words can have a history that reaches back generations.

And then we get to put the lesson away and be silly. That’s a pretty good combination in my book. Because learning doesn’t always have to look like school.

Sometimes we learn by asking a question. Sometimes we learn by looking up where a phrase came from. Sometimes we learn by playing with words. And sometimes we simply make a memory.

There may be a rhyme. There may be a reason. And sometimes… there doesn’t have to be either one. Just because. Your celebrating No Rhyme or Reason Day.

GratefulMoments.com

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates