14 Theme Day Ideas for School

ABOUT THEMES FOR A DAY

If you are looking for theme day ideas, look no further. We have a collection of themes for school including • Animal Day, • Backward Day, • Bonza Bottler Day, • Book Day, • Chocolate Day, • Corny Corn Day, • Friendship Day, and • Healthy Heart Day • Milk Day, • Say Something Nice Day, • Super Hero Day, • What I Want to be Day, • Veggies and Fruit Day, • Puzzle Day and • First Day of Winter (Start a new tradition with Winter!) If you can’t have a ‘First day of Winter Day’–celebrate winter in January with special activities!

New short themes will be added through out the year

NOTE: The above ideas have been gathered from about the site and are great to use as “A Theme for a Day”!  In addition to the following two pages of shorter themes— Kid Activities has a great many themes that have been fully developed with loads of ideas and activities. Any of the long themes–can also be used for a ‘Theme Day’. Just pick and choose a a few  activities from the great many choices.

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1. ANIMAL DAY

Have each child bring their favorite stuffed animal. Play with animal toys, sing animal songs, eat animal crackers… for lots more ideas…Check out our Animal Theme!

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2. BACKWARDS DAY IDEAS

Two kids on a couch with their heads hanging off the edge. Text reads backwards day ideas.

Wear all your clothes backwards–shirts and socks inside out…….Say ‘Hell-O’  for ‘Good-Bye’ and ‘Good-Bye’ for ‘Hell-O’…….Learn to write and say your name backwards; talk in Pig Latin …….Learn to say the ABC’s backwards……. Have dessert before main course or eat breakfast foods for late snack/dinner……. (Some of these ideas are taken from the Wacky Wednesday Book Theme below…)

A picture of a pancake with fruit to make mouth, nose, and eyes. Whipped cream to make the hair.

…..*ON BACKWARD DAY–

TURN THE DAY UPSIDE DOWN!
Have a breakfast feast (or snack) with kids in the PM!
You can have breakfast any time. Cereal, eggs & bacon, waffles, French toast, or pancakes. Add juice & fruits. Budget low?
If this is a child care program or classroom, have kids sign-up to bring in items. Breakfast is always better at night. (Image by KidActivities.net)

• ON BACKWARD DAY–TALK PIG LATIN: To all words beginning a vowel (a-e-i-o-u, add the syllable ‘way’ to the end of the word. ‘Eat’ becomes eatway and ‘over’ becomes ‘overway’. For words that begin with a consonant, move the first letter of the word and add it to the end–add ‘ay’ after the consonant.
Example:
Man = Anmay
Cat = Atcay
Ice Cream= Iceway reamcay

• On BACKWARD DAY~ LEARN TO SING OR SAY THE ABC’S BACKWARDS!  Why? Just for the fun of it!
Have a poster of the alphabet and point to the letters starting with “Z” and go from there…
Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A

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3. BONZA BOTTLER DAY!

An animated picture of a woodchuck with text reading I celebrate bonza bottler day.

It’s a day just to have a reason to celebrate. So celebrate!!!
This happens each month when the day and date are the same number!
Example: January 1, February 2, March 3, April 4, May 5, etc.

Bonza Bottler Day is a favorite with many school classrooms and programs because it provides a break in routine for the students and teachers. It has been celebrated since August 8 (8-8) 1985!

When the number of the year also coincides with the number of the day and month (December 12, 2012, there is reason to have a bigger celebration (more food, more friends and more decorations).This is called a ‘Bodacious Bonza Bottler Day’. As the official website  states, “Bodacious means extraordinary, impressively great in size, or enormous” Consider making this a monthly event the kids can look forward to! (Now that we’re over the number “2012”–this won’t happen again until the next century!)

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4. WACKY WEDNESDAY IDEAS FOR SCHOOL

 

“WACKY WEDNESDAY” by Theo Lesieg –aka Dr. Seuss

An image of a child with clown hair and suspenders and colorful confetti falling from the air. Text reads Wacky Wednesday ideas for school.

1.  Read the Book “Wacky Wednesday.”
Talk about all the wacky things in book and find the misspelled words.

2. Create a WACKY environment:
Put shirts on backwards, inside out, or with wacky color combinations and patterns; wear different colored socks or shoes on wrong feet; comb hair in an unusual style. Put signs, notices, and pictures upside down, etc.

3. Visualization Art

  • Close your eyes and imagine your WACKY day.
  • Facilitator vividly describes what children see when they wake up in the morning in their own rooms—children are whisked to their school classroom where it continues. Use imagination and be creative in visual descriptions!
  • Open eyes and then draw/color/paint a picture of what you saw.
  • Play dreamy music during visualization and slightly livelier during art.
  • When complete, verbally share each others wacky days!

4. Play WACKY music (Weird Al or experimental) Move to how it makes you feel.
Note: Adults must participate so all are silly!

5. WACKY Wednesday snack ideas:
Make something from “Gross Grub” by Cheryl Porter or Roald Dahl’s “Revolting Recipes”. Serve unusual combinations/colors with food; Eat with unique utensils such as Popsicle sticks or straws. Eat breakfast in the afternoon!  Try ‘Wacky’ recipes such as: Kitty Litter Cake, Pidgeon Poop and Puppy chow.  (All this site)

6. Do some WACKY Activities
Learn to write and say your name backwards; talk in pig Latin (See directions above in ‘Backwards Day’); learn to say the ABC’s backwards; say Bye for Hi and Hi for Bye!

Note:
Building a Theme around a book is also a good idea for a Reading or Drama Club! You could use such books as Little Red Riding Hood, or the Three Little Pigs. You could then act out the story line! (Which will then incorporate a lot more activities! ) Older children can practice and perform this for the younger children or a Family Event!

Note: You could also have a book day where children come dressed as their favorite character!

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A picture of hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate chunks on the whipped cream. In a glass see through mug. 5. ‘CHOCOLATE’ THEME DAY

MATH:
1. An estimation jar filled with M & M’s. Who can guess the closest? Have the winner share the jar with entire group!
2. Measure object’s with foil wrapped chocolate Kisses. Guess how many ‘Kisses’ it would take to measure the lenght of a pencil, shoe, etc.

SNACKS/COOKING:
1. Have a taste test sampling… Milk Chocolate, Semi sweet, and various dark and bittersweet chocolates. Graph the results. An alternative version for older kids– could be to blindfold them and ‘guess’ which type of chocolate they are tasting.
2. Serve chocolate milk, chocolate shakes, chocolate ice cream/syrup, or hot chocolate. How about making fudge or no-bake chocolate cookies? Have children frost chocolate cupcakes!

Kids always like to melt chocolate and dip pretzels, bananas, marshmallows, cherries, etc. Do you know anyone that has a chocolate fountain to dip a variety of goodies? (Could be messy but fun)
Recipes can be found on these KA links:
• Hot Chocolate
   • Chocolate Covered Pretzels
   • No Bake Recipes
   • Fudge Candy (and dipped chocolate-dipped food)

CHOCOLATE ART & CRAFTS…

1. Make some CHOCOLATE COVERED SPOONS as a crafty gift…Directions are on our ‘Food Gifts’ page! (See photo )

2. MAKE CHOCOLATE PUDDING FINGER PAINT

1  (4 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding & pie filling
2  CupS cold milk

Put pudding mix and milk in a medium size bowl. Beat with electric mixer at low speed for two minutes. Let set until it thickens. Finger paint on white construction paper and let dry for several hours

3. CHOCOLATE SCENTED PLAY DOUGH (Non-Edible)
1 ¼ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup salt
½ tablespoon cream of tartar
1 ½ tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup boiling water
Mix the dry ingredients. Add the oil and boiling water. Stir quickly, mixing well. When cool, mix with your hands

CHOCOLATE THEMED GAMES

1. M&M’ WHIPPED CREAM RACE

How about a few M&M’s under a pile of whipped cream!
Put two or three candies on each plate and cover it with whipped cream.  Children then use only their mouth to pick up and eat the candy. The first child to do this wins!

2. Play BINGO using M&M’s (or  wrapped chocolate candy) as the markers. Be sure to have plenty for players to munch on during play.

3. PLAY ‘CHOCOLATE FACE’!
Place a piece of chocolate candy in your mouth and see how long it takes to melt! No sucking and chewing it! The one to keep the chocolate in their mouth the longest is the winner.

4.  KISS ME QUICK
♥ Hide Hershey Kisses around the room and have a race to see who can find the most kisses. (Large group? Break children into smaller groups with multiple hunts or in different areas)
♥ A good idea would be to combine all collected candy kisses– and divide them evenly between the children. Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

5. HOW MANY WORDS CAN YOU MAKE FROM THE WORD ‘CHOCOLATE’? Have children come up with words  alone or in pairs…Set a timer for three to five minutes to see how many they can think of!
Example:
late, ate, tea, eat, ace, cocoa, colate,  hole, coal, coat, tool, oat, to, teal, etc.

CHOCOLATE THEMED MOVIE: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

CHOCOLATE THEMED DECORATIONS…
Balloons and crepe paper in shades of brown. Make posters and collages using pictures of ANYTHING chocolate. Make and swoop brown construction paper chains.

MAKE CHOCOLATE LIP GLOSS
Ingredients: Hershey Cocoa, vaseline, small conatiner with lid

Put  vaseline in a small jar/container
Add cocoa to the vaseline. Lip gloss is made!

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6. CORN DAY THEME IDEAS

TWO CORN ART IDEAS…

1. After eating corn on the cob, save the husks and corn cobs, and let them dry. Have the children use them for art activities.
2. Make prints by dipping the corncobs into paint and then pressing them on paper
3. Dip ends of husks into paint and then brush the paint on paper.

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CORN COLLAGE
Need:
Yellow and green construction paper, Glue,  Un-popped popcorn
1. Cut a “corn cob” and “husks” out of paper. Glue the “husks” around the “cob”.
2. Spread the glue on the “cob” and cover it with un-popped popcorn

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CORN THEMED SNACKS…

Eat corn on the cob…make popcorn..make corn muffins…..corn bread…corn dogs!

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CORN THEMED GAME IDEAS

PASS THE CORN GAME (Ages 4 – 10)
Divide the children into two teams (or as many as you need) and have them form two lines. You will need a cob of dried Indian corn for each team.

1. At the signal “go”, the corncob is to be passed from child to child. The catch is that they can use any part of their bodies, except their hands.
2. If the corn touches the ground at any time, it must go back to the beginning of the line again.
3. Whichever team manages to get the corn to the end of the line first wins the game.
4. The corn can also be used in a relay, with the kids putting the corn between their knees, and racing “crab” style”.
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CORN HUSKING RACE
Give each child 4 ears of unhusked corn and race to see who can have all of their corn husked first. Of course– cook it up and serve for a great snack!

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I’M A LITTLE CORNSTALK SONG
To tune of ‘I’m A Little Teapot’

I’m a little cornstalk tall and stout…
see me grow and watch me sprout.
When I’m brown, you can shuck me down…
Boil me up and I’m the best in town.

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SCIENCE…

SPROUTING POPCORN KERNEL

Place dirt in a small zip lock bag. Add water and a few kernels of popcorn. Seal the bag and hang in sunny window. The popcorn kernels will begin to sprout in about a week.

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A picture of Indian corn sitting on a wood surface.

SPROUTING INDIAN CORN

Place the Indian Corn on its side in rectangular baking dish or similar container.  Put water in to cover the bottom of dish and then place it in a sunny spot. The corn will sprout in about a week. A good idea to provide a magnifying glass for close inspection. As corn sprouts some of the kernels fall of…this activity gives children a chance to handle and closely observe the sprouting corn. Kids like this one!

NOTE: I tested this activity with Indian Corn that was about six years old–and it still sprouted! (The corn was part of my fall decorating collection that I bring out each year…) Image by KidActivities.net

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DANCING POPCORN— Fill a clear cup  3/4 full with vinegar.  Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Drop in a few kernels of un-popped popcorn.  Watch as the kernels rise and fall.
Variations: Try substituting club soda for the vinegar and baking soda. You can also try using other objects like buttons or pebbles.


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7. FRIENDSHIP DAY THEME

Friendship Themed Games

I LIKE ‘MY FRIEND’ WHO________
Equipment: A circle of chairs for participant–one less than the amount of youth/children.

One person stands in the middle of the circle of chairs and announces “I like my friend who”….. Example is wearing sneakers or has brown hair, etc.
Everyone who fits the statement must move (run) to another chair.

The object is for the person in the middle to find an empty chair. This lot of fun and can be played for a long time.
Remember to use your imagination.

Tip: I initially thought this would be a game for children younger than grade 3. The first time I played it (about 20 years ago) several older kids came to watch and asked if they could join in! As the facilitator, also play it with the group—it’s fun… Barb

FRIENDSHIP TOWER
(Good for Building Team/Program Spirit)
Divide the group into teams of four or five children. Distribute construction paper and tape to each team. Explain to the teams that they will have ten minutes to build the tallest tower they can—WITHOUT TALKING. They can use only the given supplies. At the end of ten minutes — have each team display their tower and discuss whether it was easy or difficult to build and why. Not necessary but —an award or certificate can go to the group who made the tallest tower. You can also award certificates to the smallest, most unique, most straight, most leaning, etc.

A SONG AND GAME IN ONE…
WON’T YOU BE A FRIEND TO ME? (For Pre-k to Gr. 1)
Sing to tune of London Bridges

Won’t you be a friend to me? Friend to me? Friend to me?
Won’t you be a friend to me? And I’ll be your friend, too!

1. Randomly give each child a small object to hold (You could use small paper hearts, crayons, beads, etc.)
2. Depending on the number of children in the group, use two or three different colors. Make sure the objects each have a mate of the same color
3. Teach children the song: Won’t you be a Friend to Me?
4. When children all have a colored object, they walk about the room singing the song. When the song is complete, they partner with a ‘friend’ who holds the same color that they are holding.
5. When matched with a friend, they both sit down as quickly as possible. When all are sitting, children change colors with each other and a new round begins!

SPIDER WEB OF FRIENDSHIP (Good for all ages)
Need: A ball of yarn

Have youth sit on the floor in large circle. You start by selecting a person to roll the yarn to. The person who receives it — holds on to a corner of it— before passing it on to who they choose. When you choose a person, you must say something nice about that person (or whatever you decide the topic will be) before you pass it on.
At the end, it looks like a large web of diversity…(Have fun rerolling it!)

THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT
Need: Paper, markers, tape
1.  Everyone gets a piece of paper taped to their back. (Make sure their name is at the top of the paper.)
2.  Each person is given a marker.
3.  Each person in the group must walk around the room and write a compliment or positive remark about that person on their back….. NO PEEKING! 4.  When everyone has written something positive on each others back, they return to their seat and read what was written.
5.  With a smaller group, everyone exchanges papers without looking at their own. Each participant can take a turn at reading aloud from person’s list they have. (Adjust for a larger group)

This is a great self-esteem booster! If some children still don’t know each other very well…they can write such things as: You have a great smile; You’re hair always looks nice; Great blue eyes; etc.

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FRIENDSHIP ART-CRAFTS

A GIANT PAPER DOLL CHAIN
What You Need: Paper and paint or markers…
Cut out life-size cutouts of your children. Have them paint them. Put them together in a large paper doll chain with the heading “We are all Friends”…

FRIENDSHIP BULLETIN BOARD
Materials: Paint, Paper
Give children in your program peach, white, brown, black, and orange paint (add soap to make it stain proof). Have them mix what they perceive their skin color is. Then have them paint a friend’s hand and then put a print on a heart shaped piece of paper. You can put these on a bulletin board with the heading, “Friendship Comes in Many Colors!”

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FRIENDSHIP SNACK IDEAS

An image of trail mix with colorful M&Ms.

#1 FRIENDSHIP SNACK MIX:  Have each child bring in a half cup of their favorite snack (You

can offer parents suggestion at this point: cereal, raisins, crackers, etc) When you get all of the snacks– mix them all in a huge bowl and serve them for snack. Talk about how different things go together to make something very good. This helps get the ideas of diversity, sharing, cooperation, and trying new things across.

#2 FRIENDSHIP SNACK Do the same as above, however, USE FRUIT instead of snack mixes. Have each child bring in one can… or piece of fresh fruit…and then talk about how different things go together, to make something very good. This helps get the ideas of diversity, sharing, cooperation, and trying new things across. (Donate any left-over cans to a shelter)

MAKE FRIENDSHIP SOUP! Hot-hearty and healthy for cold days!!! Great for day care, classroom and after-school programs…
Think about making a big pot of soup in a crock pot. You can start it in the morning  and let it go on low during the day. Have kids sign up to bring potatoes, small onion, carrots, celery, cans of beef broth, can of diced tomatoes, seasoning, crackers or rolls, etc.
* Each child would only have to bring a single item to make a huge pot.

HEART SHAPED SANDWICHES (Nice for Friendship Day!)

Ingredients:
Cream cheese, softened
Red food coloring
Bread
Heart cookie cutter
Jam – strawberry or raspberry

1. Add a few drops of red food coloring to the softened cream cheese and mix until the color is a light pink throughout.
2. Cut bread into heart shapes with the cookie cutter.
3. Spread cream cheese on the bread and top with the jam.

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8. HEALTHY HEART DAY!

1. Decorate area with hearts and have children come dressed in red or pink!

2. Plan the day filled with “healthy” heart  fun, aerobic activities that get children up and moving. You may want to set up several skill  stations.

STATIONS CAN INCLUDE:

• Step Aerobics Station:  Set up four or five step aerobic steppers and music.

• Healthy Heart Station: Demonstrate several aerobic exercises and have children perform three aerobic exercises of their choice at this station (ie. jumping jacks, jumping rope, jogging in place)

• Cholesterol Game:  Pictures of both high and low cholesterol foods are taped down. Children throw beanbags underhand from a throw line at low cholesterol foods.

•Blood Pressure Game: Make a sign that says “normal blood pressure 120/80” and tape down pictures of things that can raise blood pressure such as smoking, unhealthy foods, lack of exercise and stress. Children THROW BEANBAGS UNDERHAND from a throw line at the things that will raise blood pressure. (You can put point values on targets and total points)

Directions for above games… Divide the children into groups and disperse them evenly among the stations. Place them in a numerical order and have them keep this order for all stations. Set the number of tries for each turn and announce when it is time to rotate to the next station. Leave ample space between stations and advise children not to stand in the throwing areas. (Adapted and expanded upon from: School-age Note of the Day- 2/5/07 schoolagenotes.com)

3. HEALTHY HEART DAY SNACKS… After Activities serve healthy, yummy snack table! Check out and get some ideas from Warm Weather Snack page and Autumn/Fall Snack page.

4. HEART BEATS…Can you find or borrow one or two good quality stethoscopes?
Show children how to use the stethoscopes to listen to their heart beat. Show them how to tap out the rhythm of their heart: lub-dub-lub-dub.

If young—Ask children if they can think of any way to change how fast their hearts are beating.
For all kids—Have them jog in place for several minutes, then have them recheck the rhythm beats of their hearts.

Extended Activity:
Are any of your parents or friends a nurse or doctor? Ask him/her to visit your group and bring in a stethoscope. Have the visitor talk to the kids about keeping their hearts strong and healthy. (With exercise, good food and sleep!)
THEMES FOR A DAY has ideas for Animal Day, Backward Day, Bonza Bottler Day, Book Day, Chocolate Day, Corny Corn Day, Friendship Day, and Healthy Heart Day.

This page has ideas  for Milk Day,  Say Something Nice Day, Super Hero Day, What I Want to be Day,  Veggies and Fruit Day, Puzzle Day, and First Day of Winter (Start a new tradition with this day!), and a Yarn Day ThemeNew ideas will be added through out the year.


HAVE FUN WITH ‘A MILK DAY’ THEME

An image of two milkshakes next to each other with whipped cream and cherries on top. SNACKS…

Serve MILK and Cookies, Hot CocoaMilk Shakes…Make Pudding…Slice bananas into a bowl of milk; sprinkle with a little sugar!

OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKE
1 cup chocolate or vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 – 4 tablespoons chocolate syrup
Directions
Put all the ingredients in the canister of a blender. Blend until smooth.


ART and CRAFTS…

MILK CARTON BIRDFEEDER 
This bird feeder won’t last long, but it is so easy to make, you can always have another one made all ready to replace it when it wears out!

Materials: Small milk carton (the kind at school),  non-toxic poster paints, stapler and staples, hole punch, yarn or string

1. Wash and thoroughly dry the milk carton. Cut a small section from the carton and then staple the top opening closed.

2. Paint the container, if desired. Let it dry. (Note: If you paint the feeders in streaks of tan, gray and brown they will resemble tree bark. Then, on the bottom, paint on dark and light green leaves. When you stand underneath the hanging bird feeder, it really blends in with the canopy of leaves above it!)

3. Poke a hole in the middle of the top of the carton, and thread a piece of yarn or string through it to use as a hanger. (The string should be long enough for the feeder to hang where the branches don’t rub against, but not so long that the feeder hangs too far away from the tree’s leaf cover. Birds like to feel they have a hiding place to fly into quickly!)

5. Add birdseed and hang the feeder.

NOTE: Since the small milk carton feeders are just the right size for the tiny birds such as finches, wrens, etc., you might want to use thistle seed. It is the finch’s favorite food! Garden supply stores carry a sterile thistle seed just for bird feeding which is guaranteed not to sprout all over the yard.


MILK A COW (draw a cow on the wall and attached a rubber glove filled with milk.) Poke holes in the finger so the milk will come out–the fingers are udders.

Another version of a MILKING GLOVE:
Fill white surgical gloves with water and tie the tops. Put pinpricks in the ends of the fingers and attach to the clothesline. Children can now try and ‘milk’ their cow. (Maybe these are good ideas for outdoors or over a sink?!)


EAGLE BRAND MILK PAINT 
Add food coloring to Eagle Brand Condensed Milk and create paint. When the “paint” dries on paper, it will be shiny.


MAKE POWDERED MILK PAINT 
Ingredients:
1 part powdered nonfat milk
1 part cup water
Powdered tempera
1.  Mix milk and water until milk is dissolved.
2.  Separate mixture into different containers.
3.  Add in different colored powdered tempera and mix.
4.  This paint dries quickly to a glossy opaque finish and does not dust, chip or come off onyour hands.


MATH…

DO SOME MILK SURVEYS/GRAPHING…

WHO LIKES…

  • White Milk?
  • Chocolate MilK?
  • Both?… Milkshakes?
  • WHO MAKES THEIR HOT CHOCOLATE WITH MILK?
  • Who with water?


SCIENCE…

MAKE MOO GOO

What you Need: One cup whole milk, two tablespoons white vinegar, hot plate or stove top, strainer

Warm the milk in a pan, but do not boil.
Remove the pan from the heat and SLOWLY stir in the vinegar. (The first time we made this, my grandson put the vinegar in at one time and it didn’t work–when repeated and drizzled in slowly–it came together quickly. Barb)
Continue to stir until a white rubbery substance forms in the liquid.
Strain the liquid from the rubbery substance. If you’ve done the diaper experiment in the ‘
Science Category’, kids may correctly guess that they have created a polymer.
Divide the polymer among youth and ask them to gently pat and roll it to remove any remaining liquid. (With this recipe there is only enough for one or two balls)
Test its physical properties. Kids will discover it stretches, bounces, and sticks to a surface.

WHAT’S GOING ON: This is a very nasty-tasting, yet edible, experiment. Cow’s milk is loaded with the polymer casein, a protein. Without this polymer, cheese would come unglued. The casein is suspended in milk, but the vinegar causes cross-linking of the casein chains, resulting in visible clumping of the polymer. Casein is used in some glue. Without casein, glue would come unglued too.
Source: thefreelibrary.com


EXPLODING MILK 
A favorite with many is exploding milk! (No, milk doesn’t really explode–just the colors…)
Fill a tray with milk (just enough to cover the bottom). Put drops of different colored food coloring in it. Don’t disturb them!

Add a drop of dish soap on some of the colors and watch the colors explode! Children can see how blue and yellow make green–etc.

Official ‘Milk Day’ is on January 11 each year 


9. SAY SOMETHING NICE DAY! 

On your “Say Something Nice Day’ notice something you like about a person and tell them. This can be during a Kindness Day or Week–or ANY time of the year!

Declare a day in your classroom/program/home that this is ‘Say Something Nice Day’. Each participant promises to approach one person that day and finish the sentence:
“One of the things I like about you is ________________.”
When you are back together at the end of the day, share your experiences.

You can also encourage kids to help each other and be nice in other ways! Visit the Kindness Category and consider incorporating one of the games or projects into the day… A couple ideas from the Kindness Category are:

STICKS AND STONES…

1. Provide each child with a small paper cutout in the shape of a human– or have students cut out their own paper figures.
2. Ask each student to write his or her name on the cutout.
3. Have students form a circle; have them pass the cutouts to the person on their right.
4. As the cutouts are passed around the circle, have each person make a small crumple or tear in the cutout and add a pencil mark.
5. When the cutouts have made their way around the entire circle, have students try to repair their own cutout by  flattening, erasing, and taping.
6. After cutouts are repaired, discuss the activity. Talk about the effects of unkind words and hurt feelings.

You might display the cutouts on a  bulletin board as a constant reminder of the effects of hurtful actions.
Source: educationworld


TOOTH PASTE AND WORDS… A teaching lesson

Purchase  travel size toothpaste and bring it to classl. (This activity is great for the beginning of the year–but If you’re well into the school year-and you’re experienceing a ‘kindness challenge’, also consider this exercise)

Ask the kids if anyone thinks they can squeeze the entire tube of paste out… and then put it back into the tube?
No one will think they can…Proceed to squeeze the entire tube onto a paper plate and show how it cannot be put back in.

Compare it to our words and how  we treat one another.  Kids will get the visual of how once we say unkind words… we can’t take them back.  We can apologize but it’s still out there and has hurt our friends.

This is a wonderful visual; refer back to it throughout the year.


A rice cake covered in peanut butter with red M&Ms as the mouth, a chocolate kiss as the nose, and two green M&Ms as the eyes. For  SNACKS for ‘Say Something Nice Day’…Make a SMILEY FACE TREAT!  The ways to do this are endless! As a base use large round cookies, unfrosted cupcakes, bagels, bread cut into round shapes, or rice cakes.

Spread the base with a variety of ingredients such as peanut butter, cream-cheese, frosting, or Nutella. Add facial features using M&M’s, spice drops, raisins, banana slices and/or veggie pieces!

The image shown/made by KidActivities.net is a rice cake covered with peanut butter. M&Ms with a chocolate kiss nose complete the ‘Nice Day’ Snack!


10. SUPER HERO THEME DAY!

The city of Metropolis, Ill., honors its most-famous resident, Superman, from June 12-15. The Superman character has been a part of pop culture for more than 60 years. Talk with the children in your class/program about Superman and other super heros. (This can be any time of the year! It doesn’t have to be in June.)

For a fun activity, have the children in your classroom/program/home come up with a superhero they can be. AND…remember that superheroes are women as well as men!

  • What superpower or powers will they have?
  • How will they design their costumes? (Provide roll paper, material and supplies so kids CAN make costumes)
  • What will be their superhero name? What is the story ‘behind’ their superhero -how and where did they begin?
  • Why are superheroes in general… fun to read about and watch?
  • How are they different from us?
  • Depending on the age of the children , you can have the children write paragraphs about their creation, draw pictures, create comic strips or a combination.
  • Hold a SuperHero game and/or fitness event–much like you would for an Olmpics Day. (Check out Olympic Theme for ideas–scroll down to Let the Games Begin near middle of the page). To go along with this event, each Hero or group of Heroes could create a flag that represent them!
  • Do your children know of any person in their family or community that may not be a superhero but a ‘real life hero’ in their own way? What type of things would make a real-life family, community or world hero? What can children do to emulate the qualities of ‘real life heroes’?
  • For more fun, BE PREPARED TO SHARE with the children the superhero you’ve created for YOURSELF! If you haven’t come up with a costume for yourself–allow the children to dress you as a superhero!
  • And last but not not least…what do your superheroes eat? Maybe HERO SANDWICHES?! Put out a supply of rolls, lunch meat, cheese (or other sandwich filling,) condiments, and veggies to fill the sandwiches. Also check out the Snack Mix category and Smoothies, Shakes & Coolers for more energizing snack ideas!

11. VEGGIES  & FRUIT DAY THEME DAY 

ART IDEAS

PRINT WITH FRUIT & VEGTABLES

Try corn on cob, strawberries, pears, cucumbers, radishes, oranges, carrots, beans, lemon, cauliflower, peppers, avocado, mushroom, apples, shapes carved in a potato. (Also attractive are the bottom of celery or radicchio. Bunch it up and use stamp pads–or press it to a paint soaked sponge)

Materials:
Paint
Flat pan for Paint… Fruits and Vegetables
Paper towels for drying fruit and vegetables
Newspapers, cloth or paper for printing.
Cut fruits and vegetables. Dip them in paint and print. That’s it!


BEAN MOSAICS

Materials:
Glue, paintbrushes, cardboard or any sturdy backing, dry beans (kidney, black beans, peas, lentils etc.) of different colors and sizes, pencils
1. Draw a simple shape or figure on the cardboard. Keep the details down to a minimum. Simple is good for this project.
2. Paint glue in a small portion of the design. Note: Do not use too much glue if your cardboard is not sturdy. It will curl.
3. Place beans of different colors in the portion with glue.
4. Repeat for the entire picture.
5. The result is quite beautiful and the children will have a piece of art they are proud to display.


VEGETABLE PUPPETS (Art, drama activity, and snack all in one
What you need:
Large carrots
Popsicle sticks (craft)
Cream cheese
Raisins and/or olives
Celery
Parsley
Green beans
A peel a carrot — cut off at both ends

1. With a paring knife (adults only), make a slit in the bottom of the larger end and insert a craft stick.
2. Using the cream cheese as “glue”, affix raisins or olives for eyes and a nose, a slice of celery for the mouth and parsley sprigs for the hair. Let the kids be creative with the different vegetables.
3. For the arms and legs, cut green beans in half and affix with generous amounts of cream cheese (Cut the legs at an angle).

For a veggie PUPPET SHOW, the puppeteers need to hide below a table, holding the puppets above the edge! Yummy puppets to eat when finished!
Source: Tonya at tennsaca.com


ABOVE AND BELOW VEGGIE GARDEN 
Materials: 12×18″ white paper, sharpie, crayons ________

Bring in several root vegetables. Discuss the textures and colors.
Ask students to pretend they have a magical camera – the camera is very thin, and you can slide it into the ground. Take a picture, and you can see what is going on below the surface.

Draw a horizon line and below it we draw the vegetables.
Have students do a rubbing on a cement wall with brown crayon– on the bottom half — to show dirt. By a Grade 2 student of Art teacher Michal Austin in Kansas.


MAKE EDIBLE ‘FRUIT LIP GLOSS’
Materials:
Favored drink mix
1 cup vegetable shortening
Food coloring
Small container such as a film container

1. Mix one packet of drink mix with shortening.
2. Add in a few drops of food coloring that matches the flavor. ie: yellow for lemon.
3. Pack in small container, such as a film container, and you have wonderful tasting and smelling lip gloss. Of course the lip gloss is edible should some accidentally be licked off.


START WITH A SEED (ART) 
1. Glue a watermelon seed, pumpkin, or any kind of seed, onto paper.
2. Paint an imaginary plant with the roots growing FROM the seed UNDERGROUND.
3.  Paint the leaves, and flowers or fruit of the plant above the ground level. Match the drawing of the flower/fruit to the kind of seed you have “planted.”


GAME… PLAY FRUIT BASKET

Players sit in a circle on chairs, with one person standing in the middle. Participants are equally divided between three fruits (such as apples, oranges and pineapples). When the middle person calls out a fruit (e.g., “apples”), all the apples change chairs as quickly as possible, including the middle person. The person “out” becomes the next caller. If a caller says “fruit basket” all participants have to change chairs.


VEGGIE AND FRUIT SNACKS

1. QUICK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SNACKS

  • Fruited yogurt topped with granola
  • Cut-up vegetables dipped in low-fat ranch salad dressing
  • Banana pops. Peel a banana, dip it first in yogurt and then in crushed breakfast cereal or granola; freeze.
  • Celery with low-fat cream cheese
  • Fresh fruit (cut up and ready in a bowl, easy to grab and eat)
  • Banana or apple topped with peanut butter
  • Fruit shake-up. Put  1/2 cup low-fat yogurt and 1/2 cup cold fruit juice in an unbreakable, covered container. Shake it up and pour it in a cup.
  • Applesauce cups

2. PRETZEL AND FRUIT KABOBS

1 bag thin stick pretzels
2 cups pineapple, mango, apple, pear, strawberries banana, grapes and other seasonal fruits…
Cut the fruit into bite-size pieces and sprinkle with lemon or orange juice to keep from browning.
Skewer the pretzel sticks with the fruit and eat right away!

3. Click here for great stuffed VEGGIE SNACKS (All kinds of ‘bug on a log’ ideas)

4. YOU CAN FREEZE THE FOLLOWING FRUIT…

For a fast and frosty treat freeze grapes, pineapple chunks, peach slices, apricot slices, banana slices, apple slices, cantaloupe balls, watermelon chunks, orange wedges, berries and fruit leather!

5. Be sure to check out the wonderful FRUIT SMOOTHIE PAGE! Most childen really like to make and drink smoothies…

6. Make Butterflies, Sunshine and Flower Faces using fruit and vegtablespictures on KA Warm Weather Snack page 2. Also see other fun fruit recipes while there!

Additionally, there are tons of apple snack ideas here!


COMMUNITY AND DIVERSITY IDEAS USING FRUIT…

APPLES: DIFFERENT COLORS ALL THE SAME INSIDE
Set a red, a yellow, and a green apple on the table.
Ask children to name the colors.
Cut the apples open and talk about how they have different colors on the outside… but are the same on the inside, just like people. Enjoy the snack!


FRIENDSHIP SNACKS 
Have each child bring in one can… or piece of fresh fruit…and then talk about how different things go together, to make something very good. This helps get the ideas of diversity, sharing, cooperation, and trying new things across. (Donate any left-over cans to a shelter)


TONS OF MORE IDEAS! 
Check out other themes for “Veggie & Fruit” Activities. Entire pages of Art, Crafts, Games, Science and more are devoted to PUMPKINS…..CHERRIES….. APPLES…..and GARDENING Theme. You could go on all month with a Veggie & Fruit Themd using the combined ideas!


12. PUZZLE DAY

1. Work on GROUP PUZZLES!

2. MAKE JIGSAW PUZZLES

  • Give each child a piece of cardboard, scissors, and glue.
  • Have them choose a picture from a magazine, calender or card; the children then glue their pictures onto their cardboard. (When the glue is dry, have them cut their cardboard into the shape of jigsaw puzzle pieces.
  • When kids have finished, have them trade puzzles and have a race to see who finishes first.

3. CEREAL BOX PUZZLES

Need empty cereal boxes and scissors. Cut the fronts of large cereal boxes into pieces; base the number and shapes of the pieces to the age of the children. Store the pices in a baggie or large envelope with a picture of an identical cereal box front attached to it.

4. MAKE PUZZLE PIECE PINS!

Take a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, or several pieces glued together, paint it and decorate it with beads, glitter, sequins, etc., Glue a jewelry pin on the back.

5. JIGSAW PUZZLE CRAFT and RACE

1, Give each child a piece of cardboard, scissors, and glue.
2. Have them choose a picture from a magazine, calender or card; the children then glue their pictures onto their cardboard.
3. When the glue is dry, have them cut their cardboard into the shape of jigsaw puzzle pieces. (The younger the child- the larger the pieces)
4. When children have finished, have them trade puzzles and have a race to see who finishes first. Consider laminating the puzzles to make them last.


6. MAKE A COLORFUL FALL-SPRING PUZZLE TREE
We all have puzzles that have missing pieces (such as the 100 piece puzzle that only has 80 pieces left)
Cut out the trunk of a tree with limbs; glue or staple the trunk to a piece of background paper. Pre-paint the puzzle pieces in fall or spring leaf colors (or they may already have a seasonal look) Glue the puzzle pieces to the branches of the tree.


1. Have a “WHAT I WANT TO BE DAY” and invite youth to come dressed up in clothing that REPRESENTS a job that interests them.

2.  Have children research their chosen profession and report to the group—and/or make posters depicting their chosen occupation.

3.  Just thinking of things they can wear, design, and make could take up a portion of the week-let alone day!!!

4.  Take pictures of the event to add to your program scrapbook and for kids to take home.


13. CELEBRATE THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER! 

Winter has long been immortalized in art, poetry, and song. For many of us, winter makes us think of frolicking on snowy days and reading by the fire on cold nights–even if we live in a warm place where it never snows!

CELEBRATE with your kids what winter means to them by starting their/your own tradition.  Maybe invite some family and friends, to participate? This is wonderful idea for your home, classroom, or program!

TIP: If you can’t celebrate the ‘First Day of Winter’–when you’re into January–have and annual ‘Let’s Celebrate Winter Day’! The kids will love it!

1. Brainstorm with your kids about the words and images that come to mind when they think of winter. How do these words and images compare to their own experiences with winter weather?

2. Have children select and read a picture book about winter. How do the words and images in the book compare to the list they brainstormed and to their own experiences?

3. As kids read, ask them to look for examples of WINTER ACTIVITIES that the characters do with their families or friends. Were there any winter traditions on the list students thought of?  (Adapted from readwrite think.org)

4. Serve a special ‘Winter Snack’ ; play one of the many ‘Winter Games’!!! Sing a Winter or Holiday Song! Make a ‘Winter’ Craft’


14. ‘YARN DAY’ THEME’?

a YARN THEME is too long to put on this page and too short for one of KidActivities  longer theme pages…but just right to be listed under the ‘Craft category’. There are Art, Crafts, a game and Science ideas using Yarn or String! A fun page for a theme day or two!


Note: The above ‘short themed’ideas have been gathered from about the site and are great to use as “A Theme for a Day”!  In addition to the above two pages of shorter themes— Kid Activities has a great many themes that have been fully developed with loads of ideas and activities. Any of the ‘long themes’–can also be used for a ‘Theme Day’. Just pick and choose a few  activities from the great many choices.

We hope you have enjoyed these 14 theme day ideas. For more great information, check out the links below.

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