Special Days and Events for Classroom Celebrations

Teachers are forward thinkers and future planners. Even though 2019 is not yet done, many will already be thinking ahead and planning for the 2020 teaching year.

To assist in that planning, I have compiled a list of special days and events you may wish to celebrate in your classroom throughout the year. While the information provided in this list is brief, on the last Friday of each month, I will publish a more detailed list of the special days for the following month with accompanying teaching suggestions. By the end of 2020 we should have a substantial list of days to celebrate and suggestions for doing so. Please let me know of any days I have omitted that you would like to see included.

Of course, it is not intended that you would celebrate all the days. Rather, that you would choose those of interest to you and your children and those that fit with your program.

A printable copy of this list is available to download free here.

Leap into 2020 the International Year of Plant Health

2020 is a leap year so get ready to celebrate. It is also the International Year of Plant Health with the theme Protecting Plants, Protecting Life.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations,  the year is

“a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.”

Now would be a good time to begin thinking about what you can do throughout the year to celebrate and protect plants, perhaps using the topic as an overarching theme for the year.

Ideas for teaching and learning about plant health:

• Establish a vegetable or native garden
• Adopt an area of bushland
• Decorate your classroom with a plant theme
• Have potted plants in your classroom
• Schedule time in your program for exploring outdoors
• Conduct experiments about the needs and features of living things — plants
• Read books about plants
• Discuss the importance of plants to our lives
• View and discuss this promotional video

A year of celebrations, month by month

(Note: I have written in green, days related to plants and plant health.)

January

1 January New Years Day

18 January National Winnie the Pooh Day

25 January Chinese New Year

26 January  Australia Day (Australia)

29 January National puzzle day

31 January Multicultural Children’s Book Day

February

1 – 7 February World Interfaith Harmony Week

3 – 9 February Children’s Mental Health Week

5 February World Read Aloud Day

14 February Valentines’ Day

14 February Library Lovers’ Day

14 February International Book Giving Day

25 February Pancake Day

March

2 March Dr Seuss’s birthday

17 March St Patrick’s Day

20 March National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

19 March International Read to Me Day

19 March National Close the Gap Day

19 March Absolutely Incredible Kid Day

21 March World Poetry Day

21 March Harmony Day (Australia)

21 March International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

21 March World Down Syndrome Day

21 March International Day of Forests

April

1 April April Fools’ Day

2 April International Children’s Book Day

2 April Hans Christian Andersen‘s birthday

12 April Easter Sunday

21 April World Creativity Day

23 April World Book Day

25 April ANZAC Day (Australia)

28 April National Superhero Day

May

10 May Mother’s Day (Australia)

26 May National Sorry Day (Australia)

27 May National Simultaneous Storytime (Australia)

27 May – 3 June National Reconciliation Week (Australia)

June

27 May – 3 June National Reconciliation Week

5 June World Environment Day 

8 June World Oceans Day

14 – 20 June Refugee Week

20 June World Refugee Day

29 June International Mud Day

July

1 July Canada Day (Canada)

4 July Independence Day (USA)

5 to 12 July NAIDOC Week (Australia)

28 July Beatrix Potter’s birthday

30 July International Day of Friendship

31 July Schools’ Tree Day (Australia)

31 July – 3 August Garma Festival (Australia)

August

31 July – 3 August Garma Festival (Australia)

1 August The Horses’ Birthday (Southern Hemisphere)

2 August National Tree Day (Australia)

4 August National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (Australia)

8 August Love your Bookshop Day

9 August International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

9 August Book Lovers Day

15 – 23 August National Science Week (Australia)

21 August Poet’s Day

22 – 28 August, Children’s Book Week (Australia)

24 August readilearn’s fourth birthday

September

1 September Wattle Day (Australia)

2 September Indigenous Literacy Day (Australia)

6 September Father’s Day  (Australia)

7 September National Threatened Species Day (Australia)

8 September International Literacy Day

13 September Roald Dahl Day

15 September(ish) International Dot Day

19 September Reading hour (Australia)

19 September Talk Like a Pirate Day

21 September International Day of Peace

21 – 27 September International Week of the Deaf

October

2 October World Smile Day

4 – 10 October World Space Week

5 October World Teachers’ Day

11 October International Day of the Girl Child

13 October Ada Lovelace Day

25 October Grandparents Day

31 October Halloween

November

5 November Outdoor Classroom Day

11 November Remembrance Day

13 November World Kindness Day

16 November UN International Day for Tolerance

16 – 20 November World nursery rhyme week

19 November World Toilet Day

20 November Universal Children’s Day

21 November World Philosophy Day

21 November World Television Day

25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

26 November  Thanksgiving Day (USA)

December

3 December International Day of People with Disability

4 December Wildlife Conservation Day

9 – 15 December Computer Science Education Week (note these are 2019 dates, will advise of 2020 dates when available)

10 December Human Rights Day

10 – 18 December Hannukah

12 December Gingerbread Decorating Day

25 December Christmas Day

31 December New Year’s Eve

I hope you find this list helpful. Remember, you can download it free from the readilearn collection of teaching resources here. Also remember to check in on the last Friday of each month when I will provide more detailed information and teaching suggestions for days coming up in the following month.

Check out the complete readilearn collection of

over 380 teaching resources for the first three years of school

Resources beyond worksheets – lessons for teachers made by teachers.

Let readilearn lighten your workload.

 

Browse resources now

If you haven’t already, follow @readilearn on Twitter and readilearnteachingresources on Instagram and like the readilearnteachingresources Facebook page.

I appreciate your feedback and comments. Please share your thoughts below.