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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
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.
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I appreciate your feedback and comments. Please share your thoughts below.
Another wonderful post Norah. So great to learn of all these green days and teaching the children good practices 🙂 xx
Thank you so much, Debby. I appreciate your support.
Gingerbread decorating day, how awesome is that, Norah. A fascinating post. I have book marked it for future referral.