February Daily Celebration Calendar
I hope you and your students had a blast with the January Jollies calendar of fun. Welcome to February and our next edition of Calendar Celebrations with this month’s ¨Fabulous February¨ calendar! Who knew there were so many crazy “National fill in the blank Day” celebrations to help these cold, dark, long days of winter shine? February is already jam-packed with major holidays, but this month’s “Fabulous February” has so much more to offer! Bring on the hearts because Valentine’s Day isn’t the only warm and fuzzy celebration this month. Kindness, compliments, and thank yous are running themes throughout this love-filled month.
1 – National Freedom Day. On February 1st, 1865, Abraham Lincoln signed a joint resolution by the House and Senate that proposed the abolition of slavery, later added as the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution effectively outlawing slavery in America. National Freedom Day also marks the first day of Black History Month, which is observed in February. Check out some ideas to celebrate Black History throughout the month.
2 – It’s Groundhog Day: an American tradition brought to us by German settlers in the 19th century that celebrates a weather prediction made by a groundhog. What will this year hold? Will Punxsutawney Phil come out of his den and see his shadow on the ground – returning to the hole, predicting six more weeks of winter… or will he not see his shadow announcing that spring will arrive early? Make sure to check in with our furry friend today to find out!
3 – Ruth Spiro, a children’s book author, created National Bubble Gum Day as a way for kids to raise money for school activities without having to sell anything. Every kid wants to chew gum in school but can’t – UNLESS it’s February 3 – when they CAN “buy” the forbidden privilege of chewing gum in class for a donation (the teacher can pick the amount and what they are fundraising for). Don’t forget to write your thank you cards for the mailman today (see the 4th).
4 – It’s Thank Your Mailman Day, so have your kids write thank you notes on Monday and place them in their mailboxes to surprise their favorite mail carriers!
5 – National Weatherperson’s Day. Ask your students to watch the weather the night before and come in ready to report what they learned. How accurate was their forecast?
6 – It’s Pay A Compliment Day – so let’s encourage our kids to give some honest compliments today. Make sure you model it by starting the day by greeting each of your students with a personal compliment. To add some fun, it’s also National Chopstick Day! Get a class set of chopsticks and challenge your students to eat their lunch with chopsticks – you might want to sneak into the lunch room and sneak a peek at the chaos.
7 – Keep the kindness going with National Send a Card to a Friend Day! Give each student a secret name from the class- and have them make cards and deliver them before the end of the day. For a brain break, celebrate Ballet Day with some twirls and leaps. What’s for dinner? It’s Fettuccine Alfredo Day, so the dinner choice should be easy tonight!
8 – It’s National Kite Flying Day! Design paper kites using Popsicle sticks. Make some paper kites to play with outside or hang them in the room. Listen to some opera (maybe sing along, too) to celebrate Opera Day!
9 – It’s a foodie day- eat to your heart’s content for National Pizza Day and Chocolate Day! I know what I’m eating today! It’s also Super Bowl Sunday– Let’s watch some football!
10 – Tell the kids to wear their favorite flannel to celebrate National Flannel Day. Have a flannel fashion show!
11 – Challenge the kids to invent something new (draw the idea on paper) this weekend to celebrate Thomas Edison’s Birthday and National Inventors Day. Showcase the invention drawings on Monday.
12 – Celebrate National Plum Pudding Day by exploring unique desserts from around the world or diving into creative writing about “mystery recipes.” It’s also Darwin Day, a perfect opportunity to spark curiosity with simple science experiments or discussions about the wonders of nature.
13 – Get a different name day! What could be more fun? Get some name tags and let everyone pick a new name for the day. Pick a fun one for yourself and wear your nametag when you greet the kid in the morning, and reintroduce yourself to them. Language teachers can have their students find out their names in another language.
14 – A perennial favorite: Valentine’s Day! Make the cards, have the party, watch the videos. Enjoy this big holiday. Check out some ideas for Valentine’s Crafts!
15 – National Gumdrop Day! Back in 2001, the Human Genome Project was published. Celebrate Gumdrop Day by using them to make DNA models.
16 – Do your students even know what anthropology is? Today is the day to explain it because it’s World Anthropology Day! Anthropology studies humanity- including past and present behavior, biology, and how human societies function. It’s a great day to introduce them to early civilizations from right here in the United States. You probably don’t know it (because I didn’t), but the US is home to the largest artifact site of the Clovis culture (that’s pre-native Americans) in the small town of Florence, Texas, called the Gault Site. They offer virtual and in-person tours if you’re ever around there. I went, and it was really an amazing site full of artifacts from this major culture that I honestly never even knew existed.
17 – It’s Random Acts of Kindness Day! Being kind doesn’t only brighten someone else’s day- it has a positive effect on us, too, by increasing endorphins in your body that ease pain and increase energy. Specifically, oxytocin helps to reduce inflammation and blood pressure, while serotonin helps regulate mood. So, be kind- it’s good for everybody! You might also want to mention that it’s No One Eats Alone Day, and inviting someone who is sitting alone at lunch exemplifies a random act of kindness. It’s also President’s Day! President’s Day was established as a federal holiday in 1885 to celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but it is now meant to honor all US Presidents, past and present. Check out these President’s Day movie ideas for your classroom.
18 – Pluto was discovered on this day in 1920. Find some time to teach your students a little about this dwarf planet and have them scan the skies for it this weekend. It’s not easy to find and will appear just like a faint star. But today is your day to celebrate teacher friends, and Saturday is a wonderful day for National Drink Wine Day to be enjoyed.
19 – World Whale Day. Have the kids Google and research whales the night before. Have them pick a favorite whale and tell everyone about it on Thursday.
20 – National Love Your Pet Day is perfect for sharing pet stories, drawing favorite animals, or learning about animal care and habitats. Pair it with National Muffin Day for a tasty math activity—measuring ingredients or solving muffin-themed word problems.
21 – Today, we celebrate linguistic diversity for International Mother Language Day, created to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity. Have students share if they speak another language today. Maybe learn some simple words- like hello or goodbye in different languages.
22 – World Thinking Day is celebrated by millions of Girl Scouts around the world. Each World Thinking Day has observed a different theme focused on critical international issues, giving the girls an opportunity to learn about other cultures and be more aware and sensitive to different global concerns like 2022’s Our World, Our Equal Future, 2021: Stand Together for Peace, and 2020: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2023: Our World, Our Peaceful Future. The 2025 theme will be Our Story: Reflecting the symbolism and values of our Movement.
23 – On this day in 1940, Disney released Pinocchio – so welcome to Pinocchio Day! Enjoy today by watching the movie (the original or the most recent version), reading the book, or reviewing the important moral of telling the truth. Need a snack to go along with the movie- it’s also National Chili Day, Banana Bread Day, Toast Day, and Tootsie Roll Day!
24 – Discovery Girl Day or Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. Get their creative juices flowing by showing them some real inventions made by kids. Now that their thinking caps are on place them in teams- under female leaders, of course- and try some simple engineering challenges using PBS Design Squad. More importantly, today is International STAND UP to Bullying Day. Participants (students and teachers) wear a pink shirt to take a visible, public stance against bullying. Are you wondering why the color is pink? Two students, Travis Price and David Shepherd, stood up for a fellow student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school, and they started this campaign. Today, those bearing the color pink will be joining schools, workplaces, and organizations in 25 countries across the globe.
25 – This day celebrates Let’s All Eat Right Day. Complete some lessons about healthy food choices, and have students complete a food journal (drawing or writing) throughout the week. They don’t have to share them with the class, but this will have them consciously considering the food choices that they make every day.
26 – This is Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Have students choose their favorite fairy tale book, and ask students to bring their books in! You can use any extra time over the week to share them as time allows. If students are able, maybe have them read their story to the class.
27 – It’s International Polar Bear Day, and who doesn’t love polar bears? Let’s teach about our furry arctic friends today and maybe a little about climate change and how it affects arctic creatures like the polar bear. Climate change was adopted into the NJ curriculum 2 years ago – and not just into the science curriculum! NJSLS has incorporated climate change standards in visual performing arts, health, social studies, world language, computer science, and career readiness, and they are working on their English and Math standards now. Try National Geographic Kids for younger students or NJ Climate Hub for great news articles and multidisciplinary lessons.
28 – Today is MY kind of day. Science teachers are going to LOVE to celebrate National Science Day! National Science Day comes to us from India and marks the discovery of the Nobel Prize-winning Raman Effect by Indian physicist Sir C. V. Raman on this day in 1928. The United States National Public Science Day was celebrated on February 17th this year and has been celebrated since 1989. It was established by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to highlight the importance of discussing emerging scientific issues. But we will celebrate it today in my classroom because it is a great way to close out February. Try one of these simple science experiments to dazzle them with science today.
– Jessica Cicalese-Kurtz
