75+ Fun + Weird Holidays to Add to Your Classroom Calendar

                                   

                                                                                

lendar and spot a weird holiday, is your first thought “how do I use this in my classroom?” Every year new fun “national holidays” seem to crop up, and incorporating them into the school day can be a great way to engage your students.

Don’t worry: We’re not expecting you to lose valuable learning time to mark “Give Someone a Dollar Day” (yes, it’s real!). But this calendar list of fun and weird holidays can give you some unique ideas for your morning meeting questions to foster communication in the classroom or open up a conversation about your actual lessons. Others — like Let’s Laugh Day in March or Find a Rainbow Day in April — may offer up inspiration for your social and emotional learning or inspire classroom rewards (National Hat Day, we’re looking right at you!).

There are hundreds of fun and funny holidays out there, but the certified teachers on the Teach Starter teacher team (they’re the ones creating all our resources!) has combed through the long, long list and brought it down to just a few for each month that are school-appropriate and have the potential to foster learning.

You’ll also find a few not-so-funny holidays on the list that offer valuable learning opportunities such as Civil Rights Day in January, Dictionary Day in October, or Bill of Rights Day in December.

Are you looking for more traditional holidays and observances? Check out our favorite teacher-created holiday resources. 

Weird Holidays to Add to Your Classroom Calendar
 

Although the school year starts at a different time throughout the US, the year always starts in January, so we’re going to start there too. You’ve already got New Year’s Day and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on your calendar, but here are some of fun January “holidays” your students may enjoy.

January 3 — National Write to Congress Day

January 4 — National CanDo Day and National Trivia Day

January 8 — Earth’s Rotation Day

January 9 — National Fourth Graders Day & National Clean Your Desk Day

January 13 — Poetry Break Day

January 16 — Elementary School Teachers Day & Civil Rights Day

January 18 — National Thesaurus Day

January 20 — Penguin Awareness Day

Take a peek at a few of the resources our teacher team has created (and vetted) to celebrate in January.

Part of the Thesaurus Classroom Poster

Penguins Leveled Reader

Free Printable Desk Fairy Award

It may be the shortest month of the year but it’s a busy one with Black History Month and Valentine’s Day on the agenda. And there are plenty more funny and weird February holidays to keep things interesting!

February 5 — National Weatherperson’s Day

February 7 — Send a Card to a Friend Day

February 11 – Make a Friend Day and National Inventors Day

February 13 — Get a Different Name Day

February 15 – Susan B. Anthony Day

February 17 — Random Acts of Kindness Day

February 22 — International World Thinking Day

Go beyond Valentine’s Day with some curriculum-aligned activities!

Susan B. Anthony – Differentiated Comprehension Worksheets

Weather Tools — Instructional Slide Deck

Friendship Flower Template

 

Will it come in like a lion or a lamb? Either way, there’s fun to be had in your classroom when you add these weird holidays to the March lesson plan!

March 1 — World Compliment Day

March 2 — Old Stuff Day

March 3 — National Anthem Day

March 8 — National Proofreading Day

March 10 — Middle Name Pride Day

March 14 — Learn About Butterflies Day

March 16 — Giant Panda Bear Day and Freedom of Information Day

March 21 — World Poetry Day

Our teacher team created a few ideas to get you going:

Our Class Got a Compliment! — Class Reward Chart

Figurative Language Anchor Chart – Onomatopoeia

Poetry Task Cards

 

The fourth month is best known for ushering spring into our midst, but these fun April “national holidays” can also help learning bloom in your classroom.

April 2 — National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day and Children’s Book Day

April 3 — Find a Rainbow Day

April 4 — School Librarian Day

April 15 — Take a Wild Guess Day and World Art Day

April 17 — National Stress Awareness Day

April 21 — Kindergarten Day

April 28 — International Astronomy Day