What if the calendar told you to fold a paper airplane, take a teddy bear on a picnic, or tell your best knock-knock joke? These 11 national days give kids an excuse to do just that. Some come with surprising stories of their own, including a familiar toy that started out as a cleaning product. Each one has an easy way to join in at home or in the classroom.
Purchase it on Etsy.
1. National Popcorn Day · January 19
National Popcorn Day gives kids a reason to put on a movie, but the show starts in the kitchen. When a kernel heats up, the water inside turns to steam. Pressure builds until the shell bursts and the soft starch puffs out. While the popcorn cools, let kids draw tickets and set up a pretend movie theater.
2. National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day · Last Monday in January
Bubble Wrap began as an idea for textured wallpaper. It never caught on as home decor, but it found a job protecting things in packages. If you have a sheet left over from a delivery, give kids a row of bubbles and see who can pop out a rhythm the others can copy.
3. National Pizza Day · February 9
Let the kids run a pizzeria for dinner. English muffin halves make easy bases for mini pizzas, and everyone can pick their own toppings. Try making a face with olive eyes and a bell pepper smile, or draw a menu and give each pizza a name before taking orders.
4. National Crayon Day · March 31
Hand out paper and turn a box of crayons into a texture hunt. Peel the wrapper off a crayon, hold it sideways, and rub it over paper placed on a leaf, a coin, or a piece of corrugated cardboard. The raised parts leave a pattern. Swap pictures and see if anyone can guess what made each one.
5. National Scavenger Hunt Day · May 24
A scavenger hunt can start with a list of things to spot around the house, in the classroom, or on a walk. Try “something shaped like a heart,” “something with stripes,” and “something smaller than your thumb.” Younger kids can point to what they find, and older kids can write the next round of clues.
6. National Paper Airplane Day · May 26
A sheet of scrap paper is enough to start a paper airplane contest. Mark a launch line with tape and see which plane flies the farthest or lands closest to a target. Then change one fold and try again. Does a wider wing or a bent tip make the plane fly differently?
7. National Ice Cream Day · Third Sunday in July
President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July 15, 1984, National Ice Cream Day. The celebration now falls on the third Sunday in July. Give kids a scoop and a few toppings, then ask them to invent a sundae and name it. A scoop with strawberries and crushed pretzels might become a Strawberry Crunch Mountain.
8. National Tell a Joke Day · August 16
At dinner or during circle time, pass around a pretend microphone and let everyone tell a joke. Start with “What did one wall say to the other wall? I’ll meet you at the corner.” If the kids want to write their own, have them pick an everyday object and imagine what it might say.
9. National Teddy Bear Day · September 9
The teddy bear got its name from President Theodore Roosevelt. A cartoon about his refusal to shoot a captured bear on a 1902 hunting trip helped inspire the toy. For a celebration with a little less drama, lay a blanket on the floor for a teddy bear picnic. Let kids write place cards for their stuffed guests and read them a story.
10. National Play-Doh Day · September 16
Before kids used Play-Doh to make pretend cookies, it was sold as a wallpaper cleaner. Celebrate its change of career by opening a pretend bakery. Kids can roll out the dough, press patterns into it with a fork, and make a display of pastries with names and price tags.
11. National Pancake Day · September 26
Pancakes can be breakfast or breakfast for dinner. Cook one larger round and two smaller ones for a bear face, or stack three rounds to make a snowman in September. Let kids add blueberry buttons, banana ears, or a strawberry scarf at the table.
