March 2020 | Holiday Activity Calendar

(Updated 3.10.23)

Let's get ready to march into March in 2020 with these engaging learning activities for your learners.  Even if you don't lead littles in any capacity, I bet you'll find one (or two) ways to celebrate on this calendar.

If you're ready to download and move on to planning March activities, don't let us stop you. We're here to help! Please, click here now.

Above is merely a graphic.  Please click here for your very own calendar.

If, however, you're a little more cautious and need more information before committing to a click, I hear you! Read on, dear friends, read on!

What is this Idea for Every Day Calendar anyway?  

It's exactly that, leaders: we've come up with a reason to celebrate every day with your learners and paired each one with academic activities. We've even taken the liberty to suggest some weekend activities because leaders deserve to have fun too! So, get out your planner and write in one (or two) of these celebration activities to participate in this month.  

Still not sold? Browse on through and see if any of the featured ideas below don't just jump out at you.  

Celebrate FOOD this March

National Peanut Butter Lover's Day

Um...there's a Peanut Butter Lover's Day?!? Sign me up! If you're a peanut butter lover too, rejoice, friends, rejoice! There is a day for us. To celebrate, why not make one of your favorite peanut butter recipes? Or try out a new one. Food Network here shares "12 Things to Make with a Jar of Peanut Butter." From versatile to sweet, we're willing to bet there's a recipe here that your peanut-butter-loving heart is willing to try. 

And feel good about it  Did you know peanut butter is heart and blood sugar level healthy? But there's more! Read all about this nutrient-rich, heart-health-boosting, weight-loss-enhancing, muscle-building, sugar-level-controlling, breast-disease-reducing, smooth-tasting food at Medical News Today.

World Flour Day

Explore the usefulness of flour by reading, "The Little Red Hen," with your littles. Then, extend the book by walking through the actual process of bread-making with this lesson from Ag Classroom.  

Visit Food a Fact of Life, with older learners and explore multiple flour related resources including: lessons on "Baking Bread" and "Grain Science"; presentations on varieties of flour and the milling process; investigations into flour and pastry, gelatinization, and gluten; and several recipes. 

Celebrate SPRING this March

National Plant a Flower Day

You could plant a flower and call it good. That's true. And, it would be educational: the needs of a flower, how to care for a flower, flower anatomy. But, you could also put together this planting flowers sensory bin from The Keeper of the Memories. Or, choose a plant experiment from Lessons for Little Ones.  

If your learner is ready for even more of a challenge, why not have them plan their own pollination garden? Use this lesson plan from Kids Gardening to get you started. It's time to get those bees buzzing!

National Ag Day

Perhaps you'd rather wait until spring actually begins before you start talking about plants. Well, then, National Ag Day is the day for you! While you could use any of the activities mentioned above, 4-H offers some intriguing Ag activities for your consideration. Invite your little learners to take an imaginary trip to the grocery store then work together to determine the source of food. Challenge everything learners thought they knew about plant needs with this Bean in a Bottle experiment, or introduce them to composting. When you do, you can confidently know you're nurturing a budding knowledge of agriculture!

Celebrate SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING this March

National I Want You to Be Happy Day

While we all know that we can't make other people happy, we can engage in activities that have the chance of promoting happiness. Reading books about happiness is without a doubt an invitation for joy. Check out this list What Do We Do All Day compiled. 

Maybe you're looking for a more direct approach. If so, Confessions of a School Counselor, created a hand out on "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids." Perhaps you've already read the book (of the same name) by Sean Covey. If not, you could also consider giving it a glance.  

Alternatively, follow Chase Mielke's approach with older learners to introduce Martin Seligman's Well-being Theory described at We are Teachers. Seligman's approach splits well-being into five elements with 23 practices to develop a thriving life.

For family ideas, Healthy Family and Me created two lists for a combined total of 101. That's right, 101 ways to inspire happiness. If you just can't think of a way to inspire happiness in your family, choose one of these. Why not even cut them up into slips and put them in a jar? Then, when you realize your family (or classroom) is in a funk, pull one out.  Everyone participates and (hopefully) happiness emerges.  

National I am In Control Day

Remember how I told you we can't make other people happy? The secret is, we can make ourselves happy. Sometimes it is hard, but it is within our control. Talk about this idea with your learners today.  What are they in control of, what are they not in control of? Use this organizer from Centervention to help learners brainstorm what is within their circle of control, and what is not.  

For more in-depth lessons, check out this resource shared by Butterfield Canyon Elementary. It's a seven-page download full of "habit help" activities to teach Sean Covey's First Habit: "Being Proactive - I am in Charge." You'll find the "Circle of Control" activity as well as activities to differentiate between proactive and reactive behaviors, object lessons, book lists and extension ideas.

Celebrate ANIMALS this March

National Panda Day

Could there be two more adorable animals to celebrate this March? If you want to celebrate National Panda Day with your littles, Green Tree Montessori Materials offers a labeling and tracing activity via Teacher Pay Teacher. While there, be sure to download this Giant Panda PowerPoint from A Special Day in College and Career Readiness. The PowerPoint and activity will pair nicely to share some panda facts with your littles.

For independent readers, why not give them their very own printable panda book? Simply Kinder has exactly that resource. After they read to learn about real-life pandas, they get to compare real pandas to Kung Fu pandas. Let's be real, any conversation involving Po in the classroom is sure to excite! Skadoosh!

San Diego Zoo's Panda Trek Curriculum offers resources from Kindergarten all the way to 8th grade.  Whether it's eating bamboo in Pre-K to cleaning up water in 8th, there's likely a resource here suitable for you and your learners.

National Puppy Day

Dogs: man's best friend, and there's plenty of music to prove it! Dive into dog love music with your learners today. Sing and play the game, "Doggie Doggie Where's Your Bone." Or, thanks to Beth's Notes, you could teach the rhythm, lyrics, and even how to play it on recorder. Looking for something more popular? Check out this list of country music featuring dogs from Wide Open Country. Or this list from Billboard of popular music featuring dogs. Whether through a direct lesson, or playing it as background noise, it's easy to fall into the rhythm of celebrating dogs today.  

Celebrate CREATIVITY this March

National Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

Of all the holidays we've seen, this one is probably our favorite! It's your chance to make up your own holiday!! How many times have you thought, "Wait, there's a holiday for that? Who knew?  That's crazy." I know I have. Well, now is your opportunity to make up your very own holiday for whatever reason YOU would like. Use this planning resource from Muddy Boots and Diamonds and this lesson from Education World if your learners are ready to go more in-depth. Submit your proposal to National Day Calendar, the next step in making your holiday official

National Crayon Day

There are SO many things you can do with crayons! Scratch the surface of them (literally) in this art lesson from Kinder Art.  

Oh, poor you!  You have a bin full of broken or rejected crayons that you can't bring yourself to throw out? Repurpose them with one of these 35 crafts from Hands On As We Grow.  We'd love to see pictures of your crayon activities if you'd care to share!

If you don't care to do crayon arts or crafts, or as a precursor to an art or craft activity, may we suggest joining Mr. Rogers in a crayon factory to find out how crayons are made? Connect engineering and art with this YouTube video uploaded by MNGymnast.

There's More!

Throughout all of March, leaders, we hope you find a way to celebrate every day. And, if you're so moved, won't you consider sharing with us how the activities went? What was your favorite? What went well? Didn't go well? An entertaining happening? A different way to celebrate one of the days? Also, please remember that there are EVEN MORE ideas on the calendar. So, if you didn't find anything to entice you here, you may find something more enticing there. Just click here to see.  

At Your Service,

Interested in even more educational resources?  Then stop by our Learning Lab.  It's here where we store all the educational resources we've cooked up to date.  

References

1. "7 Habits Poster." Confessions of a School Counselor, 7 Sept. 2012, http://confessionsofaschoolcounselor.blogspot.com/2012/09/7-habits-poster.html.
2. "15 Smile-Inducing Children's Books about Happiness and Joy." What Do We Do All Day, 11 July 2016, https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/childrens-books-about-happiness/.
3. Allessandrini, Dr. Estie. "How to be Happy & Encourage Kindness in Your Kids." Healthy Family and Me, 2 Oct. 2018, https://healthyfamilyandme.com/how-to-be-happy-kind-101-hacks/.
4. Baricevic, Michelle. "12 Things to Make with a Jar of Peanut Butter." Food Network, Dec. 2015, https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/recipes/2015/12/12-things-to-make-with-a-jar-of-peanut-butter.
5. Bein, Kat. "10 Songs about Dogs." Billboard, 4 June 2018, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8459135/best-songs-about-dogs.
6. "Doggie Doggie Where's Your Bone." Beth's Notes, Feb. 2013, https://www.bethsnotesplus.com/2013/02/doggie-doggie-wheres-your-bone.html.
7. Food a Fact of Life, British Nutrition Foundation, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/ .
8. "Giant Panda." A Special Day in College and Career Readiness at Teacher Pay Teacher https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Giant-Panda-2278910
9. "Habit Help: Habit 1: Be Proactive: You're in Charge." Butterfield Canyon Elementary, http://butterfieldcanyonelementary.org/files/2015/08/Habit-Help-1.pdf.
10. Leonard, Jayne. Medically reviewed by Olsen, Natalie, RD, LD, ACSM EP-C. "Is peanut butter good for you?" Medical News Today, Nov. 2018, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323781.
11. "Make Up Your Own Holiday Day." Muddy Boots and Diamonds, 22 March 2018, https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/sites/default/files/curricula/Panda_Trek_curriculum_2017_0.pdf
12. Mielke, Chase. "How to Teach Happiness and Meaning to Your Students." We are Teachers, 16 Mar. 2016, https://www.weareteachers.com/whats-step-1-for-teaching-happiness-identifying-the-23-ingredients/.
13. Moore, Bobby. "10 Best country Music Songs About Dogs." Wide Open Country, Aug. 2019, https://www.wideopencountry.com/country-musics-fascination-with-dogs-in-10-songs/.
14. "Mr. Rogers Shows How to Make Crayons." YouTube, Uploaded by Rheyr Lola, 18 Aug 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vosBBiZ3HMM
15. "Nonfiction Panda Activities." Simply Kinder, 28 Jan 2016, https://www.simplykinder.com/free-panda-activities/.
16. O'Block, Tina. "Plants Science Experiments & Teaching How Plants Grow." Lessons for Little Ones, April 2018, https://lessons4littleones.com/2018/04/19/plants-science-experiments-teaching-how-plants-grow/.
17. "Panda Trek." San Diego Zoo, 2017, https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/sites/default/files/curricula/Panda_Trek_curriculum_2017_0.pdf.
18. "Planting Flowers Sensory Bin Gardening Activity for Preschoolers." The Keeper of the Memories, May 2018, https://www.thekeeperofthememories.com/planting-flowers-sensory-activity-for-preschoolers/.
19. "Pollinator Activity and Lesson Plan Kit." Kids Gardening, https://kidsgardening.org/lesson-plan-pollinator-lesson-plans/.
20. "Printables: Free Label the parts of a Giant Panda." Green Tree Montessori Materials at Teacher Pay Teacher, https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Printables-Free-Label-the-parts-of-a-Giant-Panda-1061420.
21. "Self Control Worksheets: Circle of Control." Centervention, https://www.centervention.com/circle-of-control/
22. Stem and Agriculture. 4-H, https://4-h.org/parents/stem-agriculture/, Accessed 24 February 2020.
23. Stroup, Katrina. "Invent a Holiday." Education World, Jan. 2004, https://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/04-1/lesson020.shtml.
24. Vanae, Morris et. al., "Little Red Hen." Ag Classroom, 2013, https://www.agclassroom.org/teacher/matrix/lessonplan.cfm?lpid=27.