May Week 1| An Idea for Every Day

(Updated 4/20/2022.)

Are you ready for May?  It's right around the corner whether you are or not!  May means flowers, mothers, Star Wars, and in our family - birthdays. For your celebration considerations, we offer our ideas up to you in several different ways:

• If you'd like to take in the whole month at a glance, download our May Idea for Every Day calendar.

Click here to download this calendar.

• Find even more ideas for every day on our Pinterest board.
• Return here weekly to read about the upcoming celebrations in more detail. 

And now, dear leaders, we will reveal to you ideas for every day of this upcoming week in May (May 3rd to May 9th).

Sunday, May 3rd - World Laughter Day

You’ve heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.”  Research confirms it. Among numerous additional positive effects, laughter boosts immunity and mood while negating effects of stress and pain (Robinson, et al., Laughter is the Best Medicine).  And, let’s be honest, we all know the world could use an extra dose of laughter right now.  But...how to laugh? It’s unlikely to happen naturally. Why not put yourself in situations that promote laughter?

Watch a funny movie. Make it a family affair and choose one from this family-friendly movie list assembled by Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media provides you with age range recommendations, a rating, a brief summary, potential elements of concern, and links to streaming or purchasing options. We found the following videos on each of the below streaming services.  Keep in mind, the age recommendation increases as each list continues:

• On Disney Plus: Lilo & Stitch; Monsters, Inc.; Toy Story; Toy Story 4; Aladdin; Cars 3; The Emperor’s New Groove; Finding Dory; Ice Age; Inside Out; Moana; The Muppet Movie; Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made; Wreck-It Ralph; Freaky Friday; The Kid; The Sandlot; Zootopia; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Home Alone; Ant Man; Guardians of the Galaxy 2
• On Netflix: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Famrageddon; Despicable Me; Groundhog Day; My Life as a Zucchini; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• On Amazon: Paddington (with ads); Storks; Trolls; Blinded by the Light
• On Hulu: Some Like it Hot; 13 Going on 30; The Bad News Bears; Little Shop of Horrors; Mrs. Doubtfire; Spaceballs; Blinded by the Light; Instant Family; Little Miss Sunshine

Read a humorous story.

• Storyberries has illustrated online stories for younger readers.
• Open Library (offering free access during COVID-19) has the following books (based on What We Do All Day’s list of 100 Funny Chapter Books and (very) Funny Picture Books)
• Family Read Alouds: The Birthday Ball; Matilda; Henry Huggins; Mean Margaret; The Year of Billy Miller; 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel ÷ 1 Dog = CHAOS; The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher; Toys Go Out; Zorgamazoo
• Ages 7/8 and Up: How to Train Your Dragon; Dragonbreath; How to Eat Fried Worms; Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little; Guinea PI: Hamster and Cheese; Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder; The Hoboken Chicken Emergency;  A Long Way from Chicago; Al Capone Does My Shirts; Gooseberry Park
• Beginning Chapter Books: The Giggler Treatment; Ivy + Bean; Invisible Inkling; Mercy Watson; Gooney Bird Greene; Lulu’s Mysterious Mission; Smarter than Squirrels; Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist; Phineas L. MacGuire…Erupts!; Hamster Magic
•  Classics: Sideways Stories from Wayside School; The Enormous Egg; Freddy the Detective; Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; Mr. Popper’s Penguins; Half Magic; McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm: Three Tall Tales; Ramona the Pest; Owls in the Family
• Picture Books: Petunia; Is Everyone Ready for Fun?; The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!; The Great Fuzz Frenzy; There are Cats in this Book

• For adults, Open Library has the following books (based on Reader’s Digest list of the 25 Funniest Books of All Time): A Confederacy of Dunces; Bossypants; A Walk in the Woods; I Feel Bad About My Neck; Carry On, Jeeves; Born a Crime;  It Looked Different on the Model; Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal; Bad Monkey; The Importance of Being Earnest

Tell a joke (or two) with Tiny Bean's 300 + Best Jokes for Kids.

Monday, May 4^th - Star Wars Day

May the fourth be with you.  This household is a household full of avid Star Wars fans (one by marriage).  That being the case, we could not pass up a celebration of everything Star Wars.  The good news: Star Wars and learning easily go hand-in-hand.

Get to crafting with your Preschool and Kindergarten Learners.  Make a Yoda Shape Craft using this guide from Toddler Approved.  All you need is colored cardstock (construction paper would likely work too), scissors, a pencil, googly eyes, and glue.  Learn about shapes, colors, following directions, and build fine motor skills while building Yoda.  Happy your young ones will be.

Invite First to Third Grade Learners into the computer lab with this Star Wars coding opportunity from code.org.  In an hour, your learners will develop a Star Wars game by following instructions and building with blocks or JavaScript.  Even when using blocks, your learner has the opportunity to see the written code at the end of each level.

Go to the movies with your Fourth to Sixth Grade Learners. And no, we don’t just mean (re)watching the Star Wars movies (although that is an obvious choice on Star Wars Day).  No, head on over to starwars.com where science and Star Wars videos await.  Explore how close real-world science comes to Star Wars science. Topics include Boba Fett’s technology, space travel, robotic limbs, force powers, speeders and hover vehicles, helper droids, and more!

Tuesday, May 5^th - Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo – a day to eat tacos and hit pinatas while wearing sombreros.  A day in celebration of Mexican culture.  There is more to it, historically, and with one of our activities, you’ll get into the historical background of it all.  Let’s check out these activities now, shall we?

In Preschool and Kindergarten, play the Taco Game to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style.  To prepare for it, you (the leader) will make taco shells out of manila envelopes and the toppings out of construction paper and felt.  For some of the toppings, you could even use buttons!  Have your learner help with the preparations and you’ll be developing their cutting skills too.  Taco shells made. Ingredients prepped.  All that’s left is assembling the taco.  But to make it into a game you’ll need a spinner.  Take turns spinning and adding the ingredients to assemble the taco.  Careful though - if the spinner lands on an already added ingredient, you’ll lose your turn! Head on over to J Daniel 4’s Mom to get your printable spinner, step-by-step instructions, and pictures.  Sombreros are optional.

The fun doesn’t stop there.  Have your First through Third grade learners play Lotería, a Mexican game similar to bingo.  With this activity guide from Education.com, your learners will not just play lotería, but will also create it.  Instead of calling out numbers, a lotería caller tells a riddle.  The answer to the riddle matches one of 54 pictures in their deck. First, your learners create the 54 calling cards, complete with riddles, or researched facts (choose your own or use the traditional items and riddles from Wikipedia).  Then, they make one unique board for each participant using pictures from the calling cards; each board showcases 16 unique pictures.  Boards complete.  Calling cards ready. All that’s left is to round up the family (class) and play your game.  Just remember to shout, “Loteria!” when you get four-in-a-row.

Your Fourth through sixth grade learners get to make an informational mini-book using this guide from Instructables by Lydia H19. To aid in research, we recommend the following sources:

• At History.com, your learner will discover Cinco de Mayo history, details regarding The Battle of Puebla, traditions in Mexico, an explanation on why we celebrate it in the United States and a photo gallery of traditional festivals.
• At How Stuff Works, research the history and celebration rituals in Mexico and the U.S.

Alternatively, have learners choose an image for each fact learned from research and make Cinco de Mayo themed calling cards to use in the lotería game, detailed above.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo your way: assemble tacos, play loteria, create a mini-game, or simply say olé.

Wednesday, May 6^th - Nurses Day

The value of a nurse is currently highlighted in our world.  Take a day to honor them in your learning too.

In Preschool through First Grade, assemble First Aid Kits with this craft from DLTK Kids. You’ll first discuss the contents of an actual first aid kit, including considerations of special supplies based on unique destinations and groups.  Then, you have the option to create a real first aid kit for your family and/or have your learners create a simple craft to use as an imaginary first aid kit.  

Invite your Second and Third Grade Learners to watch this Florence Nightingale video. Learn English Kids thoroughly immerses your learner in Florence Nightingale learning by practicing relevant vocabulary in an online activity, watching the informational video, and sequencing video events.  If you’d rather do this activity away from the screen, Learn English Kids prepared for this option too.  Print the story and story activities with or without answers.  In fact, even if you participate in the online activities, you may desire to download the printables anyway.  Then, your reader can practice oral reading skills as they reread the familiar story. The printables are worth your consideration as they add wrap-up activities in addition to the vocabulary and sequencing practice.

Have your Fourth through Sixth Grade Learners compare historical nurses to modern nurses. After reading about 25 Famous Nurses - Past to Present at Pulse Uniform and watching a modern-day nurse explain her routine on YouTube, it’s time to synthesize that knowledge into an original product. Start by completing a comparison chart or a Venn diagram (both from Read Write Think).  Then have learners summarize the information by writing a comparing sentence, paragraph, or essay; by formatting presentation slides; or by creating comparison collages.

After engaging in learning about nurses, we’re betting you and your learner discover even more reasons to respect this profession.

Thursday, May 7^th - Day of Prayer

While our world is always in need of prayers, it seems especially important lately.  We’ve gathered resources with insight into prayers for various groups. 

Now might be an ideal opportunity to develop praying strategies with your children.  Focus on the Family rounded up several strategies ideal for encouraging the habit of prayer with your children.  You’ll find strategies from worldwide prayers to personal prayers with inspiration from headlines to the Bible.  Head on over and see if you can’t find one strategy (or two) to try out with your child.

After teaching your child to pray, it's time to head to your room to pray for them.  Faith Gateway offers “5 Powerful Prayers to Pray over Kids - from Head to Toe." You’ll start with the mind and work your way to the feet, all while praying through scripture. With this mnemonic, we believe you’ll soon move from the paper to your own personalized prayers of praying for your child from head to toe.

Parents, you’ve prayed for your child’s overall spiritual well-being.  Now it’s time to pray specific prayers for their learning.  This Pinterest image pairs scripture with need for parents or teachers to pray over their learners.

Finally, Beth Ann Baus, a Crosswalk contributor, penned 10 COVID-19 related prayers.  Baus’ prayers are written for those who are isolated, doubting, infected, frustrated, fearful, parenting, unemployed, business owners, healthcare workers, and church leaders. Within these categories, we’re hoping there’s a prayer that resounds with your needs.

Friday, May 8^th - Coconut Cream Pie Day

Remember how I told you I had to include Star Wars Day on this list?  Because of my family?  I’m pretty sure they would kick me out of the house if I didn’t.  Well, Coconut Cream Pie Day is included for selfish reasons.  It’s my favorite pie, folks - my annual birthday request.  When I saw there’s a day dedicated to this delectable dessert, it made the list, without reservation.

To celebrate with your learners, try this no-bake recipe from Education.com. As a bonus, you’ll learn about Kwanza too. 

Or, have learners create their own recipe using this Twinkl template. It’s always interesting to see how learners think you make a recipe.  And who knows, they might actually come close.  Consider having them taste test a coconut cream pie first before recipe creation.  As coconut cream pie is not usually loved by young ones, they could, alternatively, write a recipe for their favorite dessert. Because, let’s be real, it’s not all about me.

Saturday, May 9^th - Lost Sock Memorial Day

A couple years ago, I homeschooled my niece and built the lessons for her around national days. Lost Sock Memorial Day was one of the ones I most remember.  Maybe because it’s such an odd holiday. Or maybe it’s because of how much fun I remember her having while making her lost sock puppet.  Regardless, because it was memorable for me, I want to pass the torch on to you.

First, take some time to match up all your mismatched socks. That way, you know the ones you use for the next step are truly the ones that match the lost sock.

Next, choose a way to memorialize the lost sock using its twin. Will it be a fishing game? Dragon puppet? Snake? Or some other sock craft featured at She Knows? Maybe you'd rather repurpose your lost sock’s twin as storage for game pieces, a holder for your glasses, a car cleaning cloth, or as some other worthwhile tool from Business Insider? Whatever you do, just know there’s no need to get rid of it; put that lost sock’s twin to good use!

Before You Go

We'd love to know:

1. Which of these holidays most appeals to you?
2. What activity would you include that we did not?

We'll see you next time leaders.  Until then, know we're praying you find a way to celebrate 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.