January Holidays to Celebrate

Happy New Year! Often, after the excitement of Christmas, and the newness of the New Year has worn off, there seems to be a long period of the same ole same ole. But that’s not true! Did you know there are literally hundreds of special days to celebrate? Yes, hundreds! I’ve narrowed down specific holidays in January that offer educational opportunities as well as add a sprinkle of confetti to your homeschool!

Perhaps you need a few seasonal ideas for a brain break with your kids, or maybe you use a morning basket. Are unit studies your thing? Monthly days to celebrate provide many topics to add some sparkle to your homeschool day! I’m creating a year long series of round-up styled posts to share the very best websites, books, crafts, recipes and ideas to go along with the several of the days to celebrate.

While I won’t be providing an idea for every day or each birthday for the month, I will give you a variety of ideas that compliment several of the days to celebrate. I’ll be updating and adding as I come across new things. Choose several or just one a week, and have fun! Be sure to download the free planning page for January on my homepage! Cue the confetti, here we go!

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January Holidays – Week 1

• 1/1 New Year’s Day – My favorite day of the year! Go for a new year hike, bury a time capsule, or start a memory jar. If you live near a body of water, try a penguin plunge! While I’ve only been an observer, next year may be my year to try it! Finish the day with a pot of black-eyed peas for a pinch of luck in the coming year!
• 1/1 Boston Tea Party Anniversary – Younger kids may enjoy this Liberty Kids video. Older kids may prefer this video: Boston Tea Party: The Revolutionary War in Four Minutes.
• 1/1 Emancipation Proclamation Anniversary
• 1/2 Science Fiction Day
• 1/4 National Spaghetti Day
• 1/4 National Trivia Day – This looks to be a fun game for families with teens. I just ordered one myself to use for dinner table fun.

January Holidays – Week 2

• 1/5 National Bird Day – The Secret Life of Homeschoolers has a post with over 20 bird activities!
• 1/6 Epiphany
• 1/8 World Typing Day – Typing.com is free, fun, and a life skill! We used it in our homeschool, and I was happy with the results.
• 1/11 National Clean off Your Desk Day

January Holidays – Week 3

• 1/13 Stephen Foster Memorial Day
• 1/13 National Sticker Day – stickers have many learning benefits, and PaperPie offers some of the best, (and a huge variety)!
• 1/14 World Logic Day
• 1/15 National Hat Day – Learn the history of hats from a particular era or an occupation, or try making a paper hat.
• 1/18 Thesaurus Day – Describing a Person from WriteShop is a fun and free activity that can be played with a wide age span to expand vocabulary. If you’re looking for a different kind of thesaurus, I’ve had this one for years, and still use it!
• 1/18 World Religion Day

January Holidays – Week 4

• 1/19 National Popcorn Day – Are your little ones learning sight words? Learning Resources has a fantastic game for that! And if you like a little sweetness on your popcorn, this is my go-to recipe! The recipe makes a lot, and keeps for weeks!
• 1/19 World Snow Day – Our Journey Westward’s nature studies are amazing! Snow and Ice Nature Study guide would be awesome to use all winter long! Hope in the Chaos shares great ideas for homeschooling in the snow. If you’re like me and don’t see snow very often, map some of the snowiest places in the world for a fun geography lesson!
• 1/20 Penguin Awareness Day
• 1/21 National Squirrel Appreciation Day
• 1/23 National Handwriting Day Check out this interesting article about what your hand writing says about you. Your teens will enjoy it!
• 1/23 National Compliment Day – thank you so much for reading my blog. I hope you find it helpful! Wink.
• 1/25 Opposite Day – Since this day falls on a Saturday, I found what looks like a cute movie for the whole family! (I always check reviews before I recommend something if I haven’t seen it myself – and I was pleasantly surprised.)

January Holidays – Week 5

• 1/27 National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day – Did you know that bubble wrap originally was intended to be wallpaper? Check out these other fun facts about bubble wrap!
• 1/27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• 1/28 National Lego Day – there’s a gold mine of Lego Learning Activities from Home Grown Learners.
• 1/29 Lunar New Year
• 1/29 Puzzle Day – Puzzles provide so many benefits! Take a look at this article from HEAV about puzzles in your homeschool curriculum.
• 1/31 National Backward Day
• 1/31 National Hot Chocolate Day– You’ve got to check out this awesome post from the Secret Life of Homeschoolers! She’s got you covered for this day. From hot chocolate history, to science, recipes, art and more!
• 1/31 Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

Don’t forget about the notable birthdays this month! Paul Revere, Isaac Newton, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ben Franklin, and many more! I love the Who Was series, and the Lives Of series to learn more about a notable person, and of course the local library!