Interactive activities and entertaining lesson plans are fun for kids and can provide numerous benefits for their learning, physical well-being, and social and behavioral skills. By making playtime educational, kids learn essential lessons while still enjoying their time in class.
Interactive learning further provides space for children to bond. It also encourages and fosters a lifelong interest in education because it is engaging and enjoyable. Thus, always try and infuse fun activities in your classroom. Below are nine exciting classroom ideas for November.
1. Author’s Day, Family Literacy Day (November 1st)
Supplies Needed: A collection of books.
Suggested Activities: Gather the kids and talk about authors plus what they do. Discuss some of your children’s favorite books and ask them to share a few passages with the class.
- Teach your kids about family literacy and the fact that some families may need help reading and writing.
- Invite families over and share literature on literacy. You can also ask your kids to bring with them any resources to share with less privileged families.
- Celebrate family literacy day and send home information on the essence of early literacy.
2. Nachos Day, Saxophone Day (November 6th)
Supplies Needed: Nachos with all the fixings, pictures of the saxophone, samples of music that feature the saxophone, a real saxophone, or musician if possible.
Suggested Activities: Set up a do-it-yourself nacho bar then have the kids make their own. Also, encourage them to try new recipes that are different from what they have tried before.
- Teach the kids about saxophones and show them pictures of the musical instrument
- Invite a musician to come to class, play the instrument for the kids, and talk about their experience playing it.
- Celebrate nachos and saxophone day by eating what the children made and playing samples of the instrument.
3. Stress Awareness Day (November 7th)
Supplies Needed: Stress balls, fidget activities.
Suggested Activities: Talk with the kids about stress and explain what it is and what it feels like to experience. Ask them to talk more about it with their parents when they go home.
- Teach them about healthy and appropriate ways to deal with any feelings of stress they may have and how to help their friends if they notice any signs of stress.
- Invite the children to use the stress balls and any other items you brought that help deal with stress.
4. Parents as Teachers Day (November 8th)
Supplies Needed: Personal letters from you.
Suggested Activities: It’s always good to acknowledge the child’s first teacher – parents or guardians. Write a personal letter to each kid’s family and tell them something lovely you have noticed about their kid. In your message, capture how much children learn from their parents and also copy them. It’s a brilliant way to build a relationship between you and the parents and foster the bond between parents and their children.
5. Veteran’s Day (November 11th)
Suggested Activities: Contact a local veteran’s agency and determine the needs of veterans in your area. Once you know what they need,
- Teach your kids about veterans, what they go through after returning home, and the value of their service.
- Invite them to prepare cards, care packages, or other donations they may have. Furthermore, encourage them to write personal notes to the veterans and take the gifts they made to the local agency. You can use stickers and stamps as an adaptation.
6. Model Train Day (November 12th)
Supplies Needed: Model trains.
Suggested Activities: November is the National Model Railroad Month. Read stories about different trains and their history and later teach your kids what you learned. You could also prepare picture cards of various trains ahead of time and ask the children to identify them. Additionally, if your class has infants and toddlers, use the opportunity to name parts of the train, objects, tracks, conductor, etc. You can also invite local train enthusiasts to your class to share their trains and knowledge.
7. World Toilet Day (November 19th)
Supplied Needed: Books about toilets and photos of different toilets around the world.
Suggested Activities: Talk with the kids about toilets. Explain how they work and use the opportunity to talk about proper usage and the different toilets used worldwide. It may not be the most exciting topic to cover with the children, but since they are genuinely interested in new things, try and meet their interests.
8. Cake Day (November 26th)
Supplies Needed: Cake ingredients.
Suggested Activities: Everybody loves cake. Discuss different cakes with the children, ask them what they like, and talk about making them. Discuss various recipes and have the kids decide on a fun one to make. Gather all the ingredients you will require and get started. If it is impossible to make a cake, try and provide one that the kids may not have tried before.
9. Flossing Day (November 29th)
Supplies Needed: Floss and teeth model if available.
Suggested Activities: Discuss with the kids the essence of oral hygiene.
- Teach them how to floss by demonstrating on the teeth model you brought.
- Invite them to try and floss to teach them proper technique. Remember to maintain hygienic practices for all flossing activities.
Discover Other Fun November Ideas in the Book
Do you have go-to ideas for providing a fun learning experience in your classroom every day? Kids grasp more when you include fun elements in their daily school life. As you can see from above, November is full of holidays that you can use to create joyful, exciting learning opportunities for your classroom.
To discover more holidays and how to create a great learning experience for every school day, get a copy of the “365 Days of Classroom Fun” from Amazon today. The book is a user-friendly guide from industry experts with an impressive 365 cost-effective, fun lesson ideas to engage kids and capture that enthusiasm to create an enjoyable and fruitful learning experience.
If you enjoyed “9 Classroom ideas to be thankful for this November,” please share them on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Until next time, play on!