September is an exciting month for teachers, students, and parents. It may be the kick-off of your school year or the start of your first whole month of school for those of you who start in August. So, to help you get in the September groove, here is our list of September themes for character education and social-emotional learning (SEL) and how you can use The Character Tree to celebrate. The idea is not to cover all these lessons but to give you options to pick and choose from.
We love an apple classroom theme because it offers many opportunities for curiosity, learning, and exploration. Mark your calendar, because September 26th is Johnny Appleseed Day! You can knock out two lessons in one with our Kindness & Johnny Appleseed first grade episode. It’s an excellent activity for teaching your students about apples and the character trait of kindness.
Fun fact! September 13th is National Peanut Day, and peanut harvest starts in September and runs into October. And while we’re at it, here’s another fun fact: George Washington Carver invented more than 300 food, industrial and commercial products from peanuts! You can learn more about him and his inventions in our Curiosity & George Washington Carver 1st grade episode.
September is the perfect month for a school and classroom citizenship theme. It’s a great way to focus on developing classroom citizens and community. If you used this theme in August, we highly recommend continuing into September to help reinforce classroom citizenship skills. And if this’s what you’re looking for, you came to the right place. Check out our classroom citizenship bundle!
NOTE: All of the classroom citizenship bundle episodes are included in the kindergarten subscription, in addition to 24 character development episodes. For a few extra bucks, you get a complete character development resource!
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th through October 15th. It’s the perfect opportunity to celebrate LatinX culture and the contributions of Hispanic Americans. Our Integrity & Sonia Sotomayor and Citizenship & Roberto Clemente first grade episodes are perfect for Hispanic Heritage Month!
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!