Start planning early with these ideas for February holiday activities.
February is the shortest month of the year, but it is also packed full of holidays, parent-teacher conferences, and skills and standard reviews.
During this time of the year, we are both focused on skill practice and making sure that we’ve hit all of our standards for the year, but also trying to keep things lively as we move slowly toward spring break.
I love the holidays that fall in February. We have a great blend of the ones you know and a whole bunch of unexpected holidays you can also celebrate with some fun writing and reading projects.
Let’s dive into our ideas for February holiday activities.
Day-by-Day February Holiday Activities and Ideas
Groundhog Day (February 2nd)
Do your students know the origins of Groundhog Day? Do they know what it means if the groundhog sees his shadow? What if he doesn’t?
On this February holiday, take some time to learn more about Groundhog Day by working through the Holiday of the Day Writing Prompts. Then, expand on your learning with some simple research presentations about the key components of Groundhog Day.
Begin by splitting the class up into 10 groups or pairs, then give each of the student groups a different topic to research from the list below. Each group can put their findings on a slide from a single shared slideshow, and each group can take turns presenting their information for all to learn from.
- Who started Groundhog Day? Why did they start it?
- Where was Groundhog Day started? How do they continue to celebrate it today?
- Who is Punxsutawney Phil? How has he managed to live for so long?
- What happens if the groundhog sees his shadow? What does that actually mean?
- What happens if the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow? What does that actually mean?
- What do most people hope will happen on Groundhog Day?
- How do people around the US celebrate Groundhog Day?
- How accurate has Punxsutawney Phil been in his predictions?
- What happens as part of Groundhog Day celebrations?
- Spring typically falls between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. What are these days, and what do they have to do with Spring?
Pay-a-Compliment Day (February 6th)
Practice paying honest and sincere compliments on Pay-a-Compliment Day. Take some time today to talk with students about compliments and discuss what a good compliment sounds like. Then, create some hand-made cards paying honest, sincere compliments to people around your school.
National Pizza Day (February 9th)
Obviously, National Pizza Day is a fantastic day to indulge in some cheesy, gooey goodness that is pizza. Still, you can also celebrate National Pizza Day with some pizza passages in this food-themed set of Close Reads with Mystery Pictures.
One of the passages in this set is all about pizza, and it makes a great activity for this holiday!
International Day of Women & Girls in Science (February 11th)
Women have not always been allowed to be a big part of the scientific community, but their impact has been felt around the world.
Find a way to bring women and girls in science to the forefront of your learning through picture books about famous female scientists like Marie Curie and Jane Goodall.
One easier activity you can do on this holiday is to set a timer for 10 minutes and ask students to research discoveries and accomplishments made by female scientists. Then, make a collective list of your findings.
Valentine’s Day (February 14th)
Valentine’s Day only comes once a year, so when it does, you may as well go all out with special activities in all the subjects!
During reading time, use these Valentine’s Day Close Reads with Mystery Pictures.
In Math, choose either the 3rd-grade, 4th-grade, or 5th-grade versions of these Digital Puzzles featuring fractions for each grade level.
During your ELA block, students will have a lot of fun with this Valentine’s Day-themed Game Show!
Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17th)
Every day is a great day for a random act of kindness, but on February 17th, these little acts take center stage as part of Random Acts of Kindness Day.
As a class, brainstorm some random acts of kindness ideas. Then, make a pledge to do one random act of kindness each day during the week of the 17th.
You can also get a bunch of ideas for random acts of kindness with our Kindness Challenge Freebie! Grab the free download below!
National Love Your Pet Day (February 20th)
Invite students to share stories and pictures of their pets and favorite animals (or dream pets) on National Love Your Pet Day. Put the students’ pictures up around the classroom. If you can get pictures in advance, you can put the pictures of the pets up and ask students to guess whose pet it is.
You can also share information with students about responsible pet ownership and care. This makes for a great research project or a quick writing prompt.
As an unexpected twist on this holiday, consider doing a simple fundraiser for the Animal Rescue League or ASPCA. This may be as simple as asking students to bring in change or having students from around the school vote for their favorite type of pet using change and jars.
Carnival Day (February 26th)
Wow! I can think of so many great activities and ideas to use in the classroom during Carnival Day, from Carnival Game building to math problems related to buying and selling carnival tickets or sweets or a history lesson on the creation of carnivals.
To make your job easier, we have a Carnival-Themed Close Read activity that is based in ELA test prep. This ready-to-use resource is perfect for pairing with some of your other carnival-themed activities on this unexpected February holiday.
Leap Day (February 29th)
Leap Day comes around approximately every 4 years, and it adds a special extra day to February.
You can celebrate Leap Day in upper elementary by doing activities that are based around jumping or leaping.
This could be playing hopscotch with task cards, like we do in this post or having students do math activities that involve jumping rope.
There are so many different ways to play on this special, once-every-four-year holiday!
Presidents Day (3rd Monday in February)
President’s Day is always the 3rd Monday in February, and for many US schools, you will not have school on this holiday. That doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the holiday throughout the week.
In this post, we made a whole list of picture books you can read about different US presidents and how someone can become president in the United States.
You can also work through these Presidents’ Day-themed Close Reads with Mystery Pictures as part of your celebration.
*Mardi Gras (Sometimes in February and Sometimes in March)
Sometimes, Mardi Gras falls in February, and when it does, you’ll want to have some quick Mardi Gras activities on hand to make the day special.
We have two ready-to-go resources specifically designed for Mardi Gras.
The first are these Mardi Gras Close Reads. These Close Reads include 3 passages written at 3 different reading levels. The first passage is a fictional passage about a family who attends a parade on Mardi Gras.
The second passage in our Mardi Gras Close Read Set is an informational passage about the history of the Mardi Gras parade, and the third passage is an information passage about the history of Mardi Gras.
In addition to the Close Reads, we also have a Mardi Gras Game Show that you can play with your whole class.
February Holiday Activities for ELA
Check out some of these fun resources for teaching ELA skills in February.
Our February Close Reads features three passages with corresponding mystery pictures. This set of close reads has passages about a one-room schoolhouse, Mohammed Ali, and chocolate!
More Ideas for Valentine’s Day
For even more ideas for Valentine’s Day, check out next week’s post about celebrating Valentine’s Day without the Party. This post includes a whole bunch of different resources and ideas for most subjects you’ll plan for in your upper elementary classroom.
For even more monthly ideas, check out the full-year list of monthly blog posts below!
- January Holiday Activities and Ideas
- February Holiday Activities and Ideas
- March Holiday Activities and Ideas (Coming Soon)
- April Holiday Activities and Idea
- May Holiday Activities and Ideas
- June Holiday Activities and Ideas
- July Holiday Activities and Ideas
- August Holiday Activities and Ideas
- September Holiday Activities and Ideas
- October Holiday Activities and Ideas
- November Holiday Activities and Ideas
- December Holiday Activities and Ideas
