April - An Idea for Every Day Calendar - Week 1

Your April calendar delivered.

When we make our Idea for Every Day Calendars, we do it with you and your learner(s) in mind.  We select a holiday for every day and sieve through treasure troves on the internet in search of complementary link pairings.  Sometimes the links are academic in nature, sometimes they work on social-emotional development, and other times they are purely for your entertainment.  But always, we select them with care.  We only choose activities that we would want to engage in with the littles in our lives and hope that you will find them useful for the littles in yours.

This month, we'll reveal one week at a time so we can provide detail about each daily activity.  If you're the type that would rather fill out your schedule as far into the future as possible, then download your April calendar now, and get to planning.

Get your April Idea for Every Day Calendar Here!

If, however, you're the type that lives day-by-day and likes to hear all the details before committing, then the rest of this post (and the upcoming ones) are for you.  So make sure you return weekly. 

March 29th - National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

March 29th, a Sunday, the first day of the week that begins April, is a day for baking.  So dig out those baking bowls, utensils and ingredients, don your apron and engage in some baking therapy.  With this contest-winning recipe from Trisha Kammers via Taste of Home, you'll be biting into the promise of warmer weather.  Are you ready to taste sunshine?

March 30th - National I am in Control Day

This day arrives at a convenient time.  Currently, we're practicing social distancing and sometimes it's frustrating.  Your littles (and possibly you) might benefit from listing things that are within our control and things beyond our control.  Then, whatever you deem beyond your control, take steps to let go of those things.  Focus instead on what you can control.  Use this graphic organizer from Centervention or these activities and book pairings from Butterfield Canyon Elementary to aid you in the process.  

March 31st - National Crayon Day

Make this last day in March a celebration of COLOR!  There are many, many activities out there to do with crayons, but we've rounded up some of our favorites.  First, take a tour of a crayon factory with Mr. Rogers.  Then, make your very own crayon etching with Kinder Art.  There's something truly magical about scratching away black to reveal colors underneath.  And discovering how to make that magic - even more magical!  Wrap-up your color celebration by unwrapping broken and mostly used crayons to repurpose them as one of these crafts from Hands on As We Grow.

April 1st - April Fools Day

Either you look forward to this date every year, or you dread it.  Do you have a favorite prank you pulled?  Or a horrible one that happened to you?  Well, done with a light-heart and good intentions, pranks come packed with laughter-igniting potential, and we have a few for you!  Check out Little Things' list of 31 jokes to play at school and pick one (or two) to pull on your little one.  Or, if pranking isn't your style, watch the History.com video on the history of April Fools' Day.

April 2nd - World Autism Awareness Day

With these resources from Austism Akron prepare for awesome autism understanding.  Find book lists, social tips, a coloring page, and a puzzle piece to reflect on learning.  With this toolkit, taking a step toward autism awareness just got easier.

April 3rd - National Find a Rainbow Day

Sadly, we don't have the ability to produce a rainbow where you are, but you do!  Little Bins for Little Hands invites you into rainbow science with 11 ideas for your learners.  If it's a beautiful day and you want to get outside, then you should go make a lawn rainbow with Exploratorium.  Maybe you're looking for a writing activity.  If so, have your learners read this Live Science article on how rainbows form, then write a guide on how to find a rainbow using this template from Check into Learning. 

April 4th - National Love Our Children Day

While we're sure you love your little every day, today's a day to show them a little extra love.  Just follow your instincts here, leaders.  But, if you want some fresh ideas, you might want to find a book or blog on how to show your littles love.  Ross Campbell provides encouragement in loving your children unconditionally in his books, How to Really Love Your Child, and How to Really Love Your Teen.  If you're looking for a blog to read, A Mother Far from Home offers "35 Simple Ways to Love Your Child," and Kris Bales at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers offers "25 Ways to Show your Teens You Love Them."  And we bet you have some of your own ideas to add.  After all, leaders of littles often excel at loving the littles entrusted to them.

That wraps up this week's posting of an idea for every day.  If you want daily reminders, follow us on Instagram or Facebook.  If you want more ideas for every day, check out our Pinterest board.  If you prefer the weekly reminders, check back right here next week.  And if you're a planner, download your April calendar, and we'll post your May calendar toward the end of April.

As always, we would love to hear from you!  We'd love to know how you put your own spin on an activity.  Or, about a different activity you love to use to observe one of these days.  Any flavor you have to add deepens the learning.  And here at Wolfe Stew, we love depth of flavor and variety.  So, go on, throw your ingredients (ideas) into the pot!

Until next time leaders, we hope you find the joy in every day.

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.  

Resources

1. "35 Simple Ways to Love Your Child in Everyday Life." 5 Feb. 20, A Mother Far from Home, amotherfarfromhome.com/love-your-child/, Accessed 24 Mar. 20.
2. "36 Things to Do with Crayons for Kids & Parents." Hands On As We Grow, handsonaswegrow.com/35-kid-activities-with-crayons/ Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
3. "April Fools' Day." History, www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
4. Bales, Kris. "25 Ways to Show Your Teens You Love Them." 4 Mar. 14, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers, www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/25-ways-to-show-your-teens-you-love-them/ Accessed 24 Mar. 20.
5. "Crayon Etching (Scratch Art)." Kinder Art, kinderart.com/art-lessons/drawing/crayon-etching/, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
6. "Habit Help: Habit 1: Be Proactive: You're in Charge." Butterfield Canyon Elementary, butterfieldcanyonelementary.org/files/2015/08/Habit-Help-1.pdf.
7. "How To Writing Paper Template." Check Into Teaching at Teachers Pay Teachers, www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-To-Writing-Paper-Template-238955, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
8. "Ideas for Raising Autism Awareness in Your School." Autism Akron, autismakron.org/index.php/documents/school/107-raise-awareness-with-students/file, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
9. Kammers, Trisha. "Lemon Chiffon Cake." Taste of Home, www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/lemon-chiffon-cake/ ,Accessed 23 Mar. 20. 
10. "Mr. Rogers Shows How to Make Crayons." YouTube, Uploaded by Rheyr Lola, 18 Aug 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vosBBiZ3HMM Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
11. Perry, Christin. "31 April Fools' Day Jokes for Teachers to Play at School." Little Things, www.littlethings.com/april-fools-day-jokes-school, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
12. "Rainbow Science Experiments and Stem Projects." Little Bins for Little Hands, littlebinsforlittlehands.com/rainbow-science-experiments-stem-kids/, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
13. "Rainbows on Your Lawn." The Science Explorer, Owl Books, 1997, New York. Exploratoriom, 1998, www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/lawnrainbows.html, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
14. Rao, Joe. "Rainbows: How They Form & How to See Them." Live Science, www.livescience.com/30235-rainbows-formation-explainer.html, Accessed 23 Mar. 20.
15. "Self Control Worksheets: Circle of Control." www.centervention.com/circle-of-control/ Accessed 23 Mar. 20.