Video:Annual Holidays and Special Days in April
with Meghan Lynn AllenLearn how to teach the annual holidays and special days in April so that your home school students can take advantage of fun educational opportunities this time of year.See Transcript
Transcript:Annual Holidays and Special Days in April
Hi, this is Meghan Lynn Allen for About.com, and today we'll discuss special days and annual holidays in April.
April Fools Day Is a Fun Annual Holiday in April
It's time to celebrate those special holidays that come once a year. And in April, we start right at the beginning with April 1st, April Fools Day. It's not a nationally recognized holiday, but it is widely celebrated as a day to pull pranks on your friends and loved ones. Keeping in theme with April Fools Day is a monthly celebration -- not just April 1st but the entire month of April is National Humor Month.
April Is National Public Library Month
April is also National Public Library Month. It's time to celebrate reading with your kids, and especially if you're a homeschool teacher, so take the time to check out some books from your local library and celebrate this special month.
April Is Also National Poetry Month
It's also time for writing -- it's National Poetry Month. In 1996, the Association of American Poets deemed it National Poetry Month to be celebrated every April. So it's time to break out those writing skills and learn about poetry. This is a good time to sit down with your kids and try out their writing skills and their poetry skills.
Teach them about different styles of poetry, such as lyric poetry, iambic pentameter, or try their hand at a haiku. Sit them own with a pen and paper and explain that a haiku is five-seven-five syllables to the poem, and see what they come up with.
Important Birthdays in April
Continuing in the line of poetry, there are also some very special birthdays that happen in the month of April -- for example, WIlliam Shakespeare on April 23rd. You can tie in that poetry reading to the example of sonnets written by the man himself.
Earth Day Is an Important Annual Holiday in April
Earth Day is April 22nd. It was a holiday created to recognize our natural resources. You can do some in-the-class techniques in the classroom with crafts, pine cones and natural resources, leaf pressing, anything you can imagine to get kids excited about Earth Day. Or you can take the classroom outside and do some outdoor activities and something to celebrate keeping our earth alive such as recycling or planting a garden.
Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at About.com.