Do you like to celebrate unusual events? Looking for new ideas of things to do while staying home with kids? Need some inspiration to help your creative juices flow? How about using the National Day Of Calendar for inspiration!
For those of you who follow our contributor Kim on Instagram @phoenixwithtwins, she does a #NationalDayOfActivityIdea each day based on the activities that would be fun with kids. This is a fun way to access coloring pages, trivia, puzzles and so much more for each day of the year!
National Day Calendar offers an online classroom full of ideas all year long. We thought we would help you think of some ideas for each day of the month, starting with the first week of April.
April 1
April Fools Day – See who can play the best prank. Share your pranks on social media to bring a little humor to your friends and family.
One Cent Day – Teach your kids the value of a penny. Use math skills, teach them the history of the value of the dollar and science with how the penny is made. Read here for more info on the penny. Download this coloring page.
Walking Day – Get outside and go on a walk. Ask a neighbor who may be at home alone if they want to walk with you, from a distance.
Childhelp National Day of Hope – Read more here about how to help children who suffered from child abuse.
April 2
Burrito Day – Have your kids pick the ingredients for their own burritos. Make burritos at home and have kids deliver them to neighbors who are staying home.
Ferret Day – Read up on the ferret here. Download and color a ferret on here.
PB&J Day – have your kids make peanut butter and jelly sandwich for you!
April 3
Chocolate Mousse Day – grab your sous chef hat and make some at home
Find A Rainbow Day – Download and color this rainbow. Find a rainbow in your home or outside and color with each member of the family here.
April 4
Love Our Children Day – As part of Aril’s focus on raising awareness of child abuse, this day is to encourage us to develop loving, respectful relationships with our children. Take time today to make children feel special and loved today. For more information on Love Our Children USA click here.
Jeep 4X4 Day – Have a jeep? Take the top off and got for a drive.
School Librarian Day – This year we are not able to visit our school’s library, so let’s read a book in honor of our school’s librarian. Share your favorite book online.
April 5
Deep Dish Pizza Day – who doesn’t love pizza? Order a to-go deep dish from your favorite local pizza place and go on a picnic. Make your own pizza with the kids at home.
Read A Road Map Day – Are our kids even going to know what a printed road map is? Pull one out and teach your kids what all the symbols mean. Make a map out of tape on your floor and have your kids navigate the map.
Click here for more great ideas of activities to do at home!
April 6
Student Athlete Day – set up an obstacle course in your house or yard. Hula hoops, cones, tape, anything that can be climbed on or over, and watch the kids race each other or beat their own personal records.
April 7
Girl Me Too Day – Recognizes strength and endurance of women of all ages. Take today to support your favorite girls. Remind your daughter she is special and can do anything. Buy something from your favorite female run business. Send cards or pictures to your favorite girls who have overcome something recently.
New Beer’s Day – Celebrate the world’s 3rd most popular drink. Grab a pick up of your favorite local brewery and go home and cheers to this day. Try Four Peaks or Huss Brewing.
April 8
All Is Ours Day – The first approach is to reflect on the beauty of nature in the world, take the time to explore the world around you. The second approach is appreciating everything that we have. Look around you, look at all the love in your life and stop to take time to appreciate it. The third approach is refocus negative energy into a positive purpose. This is very important right now, probably more than ever. Instead of saying we are stuck at home, let’s think about why we are happy to be at home!
Zoo Lovers Day – This is us every day in our house with our love for animals. Since we can’t go to the zoo, let’s think of ways to bring the zoo to you. Turn cardboard boxes into animal cages. Pull out the toy barns and all the animals and play. Practice animal names, sounds, spelling and descriptions with your child. Create a bath for animals with a bin, toothbrushes and water. Check the National Day Calendar here for fun zoo facts. Download the coloring page here. Explore the Phoenix Zoo’s new digital safari.
April 9
National Name Yourself Day – This day is all about changing your name, trying out a different name for the day. Make name tags, practice spelling and vocabulary with the new name. Visit the National Day Classroom for more role playing ideas.
Unicorn Day – Celebrate the mythical horse-like creature with a pointed horn on his forehead. Put on your unicorn outfit and visit the National Day Calendar for ideas, coloring page, and spot the difference game.
April 10
Cinnamon Crescent Day – The crescent shaped dough filled with sugar, cinnamon and butter is best right out of the oven and here is a recipe to try. Remember cinnamon is a great source of iron, calcium and fiber.
Encourage A Young Writer Day – Celebrate the young writer in your life by giving them a journal, offering writing prompts or encouraging them to write their story! For more ideas check the National Day Calendar Classroom here.
Siblings Day – Whether they are best friends or worst enemies, siblings are something to celebrate! It could be a sleepover in each other’s room, sing a sing about the best brother/sister songs, or sending a letter to a sibling who may not be in the next room.
April 11
Cheese Fondue Day – heat up some cheese, tear up some brad and have a fancy dinner with the kids. Let them dip bread, veggies or whatever food you have on hand with a stick into the melted gooeyness.
Eight Track Tape Day – Teach your kids about this old fashioned way to listen to music! Do you have one? Pull it out! Get in the car and show them what it used to be like.
Pet Day – While we love our pets every day, this a good reminder to check up on your pet. Make sure their vaccines are up to date, you have a stash of food and treats for them. check all the toys, tags and sleeping areas are safe.
Submarine Day – Turn that old box into a submarine and celebrate! Go on a virtual Finding Nemo ride by looking on YouTube.
April 12
Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day – Known as one of the top comfort foods in the US, who doesn’t love grilled cheese? Add some tomato soup, cut the sandwich into shapes and get eating. Let the kids create their own combination of cheeses to melt in their sandwich.
Easter – Dye eggs, hide eggs, Easter baskets, there are too many ways to celebrate Easter to list! This year we are celebrating by putting pictures of eggs up in our windows for a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. Check out our Pinterest Board for unique ideas.
April 13th
Make Lunch Count – Today is about reminding Americans to stop and eat a healthy lunch instead of working through it. I am a big fan of taking a break and having a good lunch. Although I do it with a little twist these days. Lunch is when I pull put the kitchen helper and let my kids help cook. Teach them new skills, let them cook the meal for you or just have fun and make the craziest food you can think of together!
Scrabble Day – break out your game and play!
Thomas Jefferson Day – Today is about honoring the third president. So let’s take some time today to teach our kids about him. Read some facts here or check out our Pinterest Board for some fun kid things to do.
April 14
Dolphin Day – Dolphins are intelligent social animals that live in the water. Check out The Odysea Aquarium for your daily dose of the ocean from home, print the coloring page and enjoy.
Gardening Day – Encouraging would be gardeners to grab a shovel and plant some seeds or tackle your overgrown garden and plant some new things. Gardening can be a great activity for kids and adults, a way to focus on the physical activity, a way to teach kids about fruit, vegetables and flowers and a chance to observe nature. Read here for more ideas. A fun activity to make grass eggs can be found here.
Reach As High As You Can Day – Encourage each other to elevate our goals and do our best to reach them. This is a good reminder for all of us, especially right now in these uncertain times. Start on a new project that you never thought you would have time to start. Make a new goal for the day, whether it be finishing up school early enough in the day to go for a nature walk, or try a new craft, or maybe just try to spend the whole day not worrying about what you should be doing and do what you want to be doing! Take it literally and have a jumping contest on your trampoline.
April 15
Take A Wild Guess Day – Fill a jar with all those leftover jelly beans and have the kids count them. Talk to your kids about the future and have them take a wild guess at where they will live, how many kids they will have or what they will do.
Titanic Remembrance Day – The unsinkable ship hit the infamous ice berg on April 14th and it sank on the 15th. Watch the movie and have a good cry or build a boat out of boxes or items you have around the house and act out the famous ice berg crash with the kids.
April 16
Egg Benedict Day – There are two theories as to HOW Eggs Benedict came to be. The first involves a stockbroker who ordered “buttered toast, poached eggs, bacon and a side of Hollandaise sauce” at the Waldorf Hotel and they were so impressed they added it to the menu. The second story involves Pope Benedict liking that particular style of egg so much it was names after him. Use this recipe to make the delicious breakfast.
High Five Day – This day is dedicated to high fiving everyone you see. This year may be a little different without sports and running into people, so let’s make an effort to high five kids, friends and family that we are spending time with!
Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day – Some people call it the best holiday of the year when you can wear your pajamas to work! Observe this holiday by wearing PJs all day! Let the kids play in theirs and you can join in too!
April 17
Bat Appreciation Day – This is the time of year that bats come out of hibernation and it’s the best time to see them. Read up on bat facts here and use the The National Calendar Classroom.
Cheeseball Day – Did you know cheese balls can be served in the shape of a ball with soft cheese or served as a cheese puff. Either way, who doesn’t love cheese? Celebrate by sharing pictures of you eating your favorite round cheese.
Haiku Poetry Day – The 3 line poem typically has a syllable pattern of 5-7-7 and are often inspired by nature, season or moment of beauty. Use the National Day Calendar Classroom for more ideas on how to teach your kids and inspire them to write!
April 18
Animal Crackers Day – Remember your favorite animal shaped cracker that came in a box? Today is about celebrating that cracker! While the design of the box has changed over the years to no longer include bars, the classic cracker is always a good treat. Indulge today and celebrate!
Record Store Day – Music has gone from vinyl to digital and back again. You can find a local record store here. Do you have an old record player? Get it out and show the kids how music used to be listened to.
April 19
Hanging Out Day – This day was set aside to encourage the benefits of hanging laundry to dry. It’s good for the environment, saves money and can be therapeutic in the outdoors. We have a line for our beach towels in the summer, today would be a good day to teach the kids how to hang their towels to dry!
Garlic Day – We all know garlic keeps vampires away, but did you know that dreaming about garlic in your house in supposed to be good luck? There are often garlic festivals throughout the world in celebration of this day. Garlic knots from your favorite Italian place sounds like the perfect way to celebrate.
April 20
Look Alike Day – Does everyone tell you that you look like a certain celebrity? Fix up your hair, dress up like them and spend the day acting like them all day long! Are you a twin? Swap with the other and see if anyone notices!
April 21
Kindergarten – This day honors Friedrich Wilhelm August Frobel who is given credit for starting the first kindergarten in Germany in 1837. Kindergarten meaning gardens for the children. The first kindergarten opened in 1856 in the US to help children transition to school. Is your child in kindergarten? Send the teacher a thank you note. Have older kids? How about pretend play that they are kindergarten teachers.
April 22
Earth Day – What a great day to remind your kids about the importance of recycling. Spend the day pointing out the reusable items you use. Find items in the house and give them a new purpose. Walk or bike anywhere you go today. Also a good day to check your electric usage!
Jelly Bean Day – Have leftover jelly beans? Pull them out today! Use them for counting, color sorting or have a guess the flavor contest with the family. Color this jelly bean postcard.
April 23
Picnic Day – Picnics started in mid 18th century France with a bottle of wine, loaf of bread and a basket. Now it has so many meanings and styles. Break out a blanket in the backyard or find a grassy area in a park and pack a cooler or basket if you have one. Make an indoor picnic with all of their kitchen tools and have an indoor picnic.
World Book Day – Celebrate all things book related today. Read your favorite book, decorate book marks, check out books from the library, share your favorite books on social media, review your list of books to read and grab one!
April 24
Arbor Day – Trees provide us with a little something called oxygen! Let’s spend the day teaching our kids about trees. Go for a walk and see how many you can find. Plant a new one that can grow into shade if you are able to.
Pigs In A Blanket – A hot dog in a blanket for lunch today! Whether it’s a brat or sausage or vegan alternate, wrap it up an eat it blanket style today.
April 25
Telephone Day – Read the controversy over who invented the telephone here. Nationals Calendar Classroom things to do here. Play the elementary school game “Telephone” and tell your kids a message and see what it turns into.
April 26
Pretzel Day – The average American consumes about 1.5 pounds worth of pretzels a year. The traditional pretzel, dipping sauce, the stick, covered in chocolate, big warm and covered in cinnamon? Which one will you chose to eat today?
April 27
Tell A Story Day – Swap out the bed time book for a story, start a story and have each family member contribute to the story, encourage your young story teller to tell you all their stories, watch virtual story times or host your own virtual story time.
April 28
Superhero Day – Superheroes come in all shapes and forms. Some wear caps and some are teaching your children, delivering your packages, fighting for your country, helping us feel better, stocking your shelves and they are all role models for our children. Take a moment to say thank you today. Take a class with superheroes, write a thank you note to the mail man, draw a thank you picture for the doctors and nurses helping us stay healthy.
April 29
International Dance Day – Today celebrates the positive impact of dance on our lives. Our ability to move, pop, groove and lock has captivated us for generations. And our kids start doing it early on in life. Today, try a new dance class online, try a new style of dance or just dance like no one is watching!
April 30
Honesty Day – From a white lie to a whopping lie, we have all told them. Let’s spend today being honest with each other. Whether it means opening up about feelings or teaching your children about being honest, use today to be open and honest.
National Raisin Day – tiny sun dried grapes originally from vineyards, these are favorite in my house! Celebrate this fun snack by baking them into cookies or simply eating a box.
For the summary of the month of April click here and get a start on May.
