National days are a fun way to inform students about different world issues, traits, and other important events! Scroll down to check out our list of April themes and how you can use The Character Tree to celebrate those themes with your students.
Themes to celebrate all month long!
Along with being the month that brings May flowers, April is also the month for celebrating National Poetry Month, National Inventors Month, and Stress Awareness Month.
National Poetry Month: This would be an excellent month to share poetry with students and find fun rhymes that match the subjects you are discussing. The following free poetry resources make the perfect National Poetry Month and Earth Day activities. These resources are normally sold on Teachers Pay Teachers by The Character Tree’s own, Miss Sara! You can download them here: Earth Day Poetry Set, Habitat Poetry Set, Little Seed Poetry Set.
April is National Inventors Month. What exactly is an inventor and who are some well-known ones? To help students answer these questions, take a look at some of our Character Tree videos featuring famous inventors such as George Washington Carver, Ben Franklin, the Wright Brothers, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jonas Salk.
Stress Awareness Month is coming at an important time as the world tries to cope with the effects of COVID-19 on day-to-day life. It is very important to teach children how to manage emotions and stress, and how to process them. Check out this message from Miss Sara about having hope & trust during these uncertain times.
Other Days in April to Celebrate with Your Students:
April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day! Join Autism Speaks and the thousands of others who shine bright blue lights in honor of the millions around the world with autism.
April 7th is World Health Day! This day’s message is simple, it’s dedicated to celebrating the work of nurses, midwives and doctors. It also serves as a great reminder of the critical role they play in keeping local and the global community healthy. Our Empathy & Clara Barton and Empathy & Jonas Salk episodes are great for celebrating World Health Day. Sign-up or login to watch these episodes!
April 11th is National Pet Day! This one is especially fun if you have a classroom pet, this is a great day to celebrate with your students and plan a fun activity that focuses on the pet such as having the students draw a picture, make up a story, etc.
April 17th is National Haiku Poetry Day! This day encourages creativity! Haiku poetry is a form of Japanese poetry that is non-rhyming and normally consists of 3 lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5. Haiku poems are usually inspired by an element of nature, a season, a moment of beauty or an individual experience or event.
April 21st is National Kindergarten Day! This day honors Friedrich Wilhelm August Frobel whom credit is given for starting the very first Kindergarten in Germany in 1837. Celebrate with your Kindergarteners or ask older students what their favorite memory of Kindergarten is!
April 22nd is Earth Day! Our Empathy & The Irwin Family episode is a great Earth Day & character education activity. This would also be a good opportunity to teach the character trait of “respect” and what we can do to respect the planet. You can watch the Irwin Family episode and our empathy episodes by signing up for a free subscription.
April 23rd is World Book Day! The 24th edition of World Book Day revolves around the theme of celebrating literature and reading with a focus on the importance of enhancing and protecting indigenous languages. Need some book inspiration? Check out some of our favorite picture books about teamwork, kindness, and integrity.
April 24th is National Arbor Day! Arbor Day is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. A great idea for your students is to plant a tree or learn about the environment. No trees to plant? That’s okay, you can still help your students grow their own character tree by watching an episode of The Character Tree.
April 29th is International Guide Dog Day! This day is great for teaching kids about the importance of guide dogs and working together as a team. Our Teamwork & Service Dogs episode is the perfect activity. This episode features a real life service dog in training from Canine Companions for Independence and some extra special bonus scenes. Sign-up or login to watch it!
April 30th is Honesty Day! National Honesty Day challenges us to be truthful in all we do. This would be a perfect opportunity to share our episodes about integrity with students to help them learn about the importance of being honest.
Looking for more ways to teach positive character traits in the classroom? Check out our blog or subscribe to The Character Tree for educational videos and fun classroom activities!