It’s Astounding April: The Daily Celebration Calendar

Contributed by: Jessica Kurtz, STEAM Biology and AP Research Teacher, Toms River High School East

April showers bring Spring flowers… and every April day brings fun things to do and play! With the air of Spring wisping around us, and the end of the year in sight, this is a great time to celebrate every day with your students.

Did you know that April comes from the Latin word “aperit” which means- to open? Let’s open Spring up and celebrate these selections of National Days- and if you don’t love it- do a little research- because most days carry at least 2 national – and even international celebrations.

Besides all of this fun, almost any night in the second half of the month is a great day to look up into the night sky. The Lyrids meteor shower appears from April 16 to April 26 followed by the Eta Aquarids meteor shower that can be seen after April 21. Take your pick and make every day a day to celebrate this Spring!

1 – April Fool’s Day: It’s a great day to teach 2 truths and a lie. This can be used with content in mind- as a review game and students can work in partners, or just for fun.

2 – International Children’s Book Day: Schedule a trip to the media center and let your students find a good book today. Let them curl up in a comfy corner of your room and enjoy some reading today.

3 – Find a Rainbow Day: Do your students know what a rainbow is or how it’s formed? It’s a great day to talk about- and look for a rainbow!

4 – School Librarian Day: Quick class project idea! Have each of your students write a thank you note to the school librarian with a picture on the opposite side. Staple all of these pictures together, and have the students decorate a front and back cover. This “book” can be presented to your librarian later in the day by your students.

5 – Nebraska Day and Read a Road Map Day: Can your students plan a road trip to Nebraska… or anywhere for that matter? Challenge them to plan a road trip from their home school to a point of interest in Nebraska. Ask the students to present their plans and points of destination. Celebrate each student group “making it to Nebraska” with a video about Nebraska. If you plan ahead enough- you can contact them and they may send you some Nebraska trinkets to share with your class for free!

6 – Send the kids home with a little homework this weekend- because April 6th is National Play Outside Day.

7 – Don’t forget, the 7th is National No Housework Day– but for us, that just means it’s another grading/lesson plan day!

8 – Zoo Lovers Day: Take your pick of animal fun activities today- maybe an animal cracker snack, perhaps a research project on your favorite zoo animal, or maybe a show and tell of zoo stuffed animals. If your district and planning allows for it- check out some free local zoos that you can visit- like the Cape May County Zoo.

9 – Name Yourself Day: Your students will have a lot of fun with this one. Have name tags ready in the morning and allow your students to change their names (appropriately) for the day.

10 – Farm Animal Day: Most of our students have no idea where our food comes from. This is a fantastic opportunity to share a little agriculture education with students of all ages. Food sustainability should be a concern all of us have, as the population is going up, and space to grow food is going down. We need to educate and inspire the next generation of farmers and industry experts of all kinds- genetics specialists, engineers, chemists, microbiologists, etc. Nourish the Future has excellent resources to choose from.

11 – Pet day: Everyone loves to share their pet. Ask your students to bring in a picture (or draw) of their pet(s). For those students who don’t have a pet, ask them to draw what their perfect pet would be.

12 – Day of Silence: Oh, THANK YOU Celebration Calendar. Today, I can use the “Day of Silence” any time I want to get a few minutes of peace in a usually noisy classroom. Some of the best learning comes in the noisiest ways. But today, I can’t wait to pull out my celebration card!

13 – Weekend homework! April 13 is International Creativity Day. Ask your students to do something innovative in or around their home and be ready to share with the class on Monday.

14 – Ask your students to do a little star gazing before bed on April 14 for National Look Up At The Sky Day.Maybe they will catch one of the shooting stars from this month’s meteor showers?

15 – Titanic Remembrance Day: On April 15 of 1912, the Titanic tragically sank. Their story can be shared in many ways, depending on the age of your students. Whether it’s with a video, reading the story, completing a web search, playing one of the online games- or asking your students to “come aboard” with a ticket to Titanic where you go through the story (give them a real passenger name and class and end the lesson with them completing research on how “their” story ended).

16 – Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day: Enough said- I’m in, they’re in, we are all in… PAJAMAS!

17 – Haiku Poetry Day: Teach your students about Haiku poetry today and challenge them to write one.

18 – Exercise Day: Get a little extra recess or gym time on this day that focuses on the healthy impacts of exercise.

19 – Sharing Day: Today we bring social-emotional-learning into the classroom with the importance of sharing. Challenge your students to share something intentionally today.

22 – Earth Day: Share this year’s Earth Day theme with your students, “Planet vs. Plastics.” Globally, environmentalists want to focus on the very real and present plastic pollution crisis. Our goal is to see a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040.

23 – Picnic Day: Have students bring a towel to sit on and have lunch outside in a big class picnic. Lawn games are a great way to add to this fun activity.

24 – Stop Food Waste Day.

25 – DNA Day: Bring your kid to work day and plan some fun activities to help your students get to know your children.

26 – Arbor Day: Appreciate your trees today. Share a little history of Arbor Day while sitting outside under a tree. Have you students come up with a list about all of the things that trees do for us. Most townships give free trees for Arbor Day. Call before this day to get a tree- and plant it on school grounds with your students.

29 – International Dance Day: Wake your classroom up this Monday morning with a dance party… It’s International Dance Day! It could be fun to add some culture and try some international traditional dances using a YouTube tutorial.

30 – International Jazz Day: When your students are completing desk work today- add to their day with a little jazz in the background. Everything is a little easier with some calming smooth jazz. Enjoy.