An Idea for Every Day - November 2020 Edition

(Updated 10/7/2022)

November – the month of Thanksgiving and fall. It’s a month full of gratitude, family, and warmth, from the comfort of our homes to the joy in our heart. 

We want to help bring the comfort, warmth, and love into your learning too, leaders, with the help of these resources we’ve stewed on for you. For every November day, you’ll find learning opportunities on which to embark with your Preschool to Sixth grade learner. Find the activities as a November calendar or “menu” in the blog below. If you’re looking for even more ideas, be sure to check out our Pinterest board.

Here’s our November 2020 Idea for Every Day Calendar for you to print, pin, bookmark or paste:

Above is only the graphic, click here to download the calendar.

 

And here’s a blank November 2020 for you to do with as you choose.

This is only a graphic, click here to download your blank calendar.

If you want to jump to a particular date, click the appropriate one below.

• Week One (11.1.2020-11.7.2020)
•  Week Two (11.8.2020-11.14.2020)
• Week Three (11.15.2020-11.21.2020)
• Week Four (11.22.2020-11.28.2020)
• Week Five (11.29.2020-11.30.2020)

And now, without further ado, here are the activities we’ve stewed on for you.

Week One – November 1, 2020 to November 7, 2020

• November 1st Annually - National Author’s Day
• Share excerpts from favorite authors.
• Make a display of author’s names like this Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar inspired display one (uploaded by Amy Bland via Pinterest)
• Write one author's name (and maybe favorite quote) per plate
• For a mini version, cut out construction paper circles.
• Or you could do a paper chain and write a different author on each link.
• November's First Monday (11.7.2022) – Job Action Day
• PRESCHOOL TO FIRST: Assign classroom jobs with the help of this collection of ideas from We Are Teachers. Our favorite two:
• The Game-board job chart from Mrs. Barnett’s First Grade for assigning individual classroom jobs 
• A rainbow of duties job chart from Katie Morris Art for assigning jobs to each individual in a group
• SECOND AND THRID: Apply for classroom jobs using these job ideas and application from Continually Learning
• FOURTH AND FIFTH: Explore career fields with Know it All
• Browse collections and topics
• Filter by grade level and resource type
• SIXTH AND UP: Research career fields using this collection of career research sites featured at Education World. Our favorite is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that offers both learner and leader resources.
• November 3rd Annually – World Jellyfish Day
• Discover 10 Different Types with Ocean Scuba Dive
• Craft a button jellyfish to get ready for National Button Day (on the 16^th) with I Heart Arts and Crafts
•  Learn some jellyfish facts
•  In a Nat Geo WILD video via YouTube
• Or by reading a National Geographic article and viewing a slideshow
• November 4th Annually – King Tut Day
• PRESCHOOL TO FIRST GRADE:
• Read Howard and the Mummy (opens to the Book Roo definitive guide)
• Make a masking tape mummy with No Time for Flash Cards
• SECOND TO FOURTH GRADE: Undertake this News for You spotlight featuring King Tut on the Move at Education World
• Includes a lesson plan, vocabulary words with definitions, reading article and additional facts to share
• Follow-up activities in language arts, art, history and mummy fun
• FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADE: Discover why archeologists think Queen Nefertiti's might be behind King Tut's tomb in this “Clues to Nefertiti's Hidden Tomb” lesson plan via pbs.org. 
• November 5th Annually – Love Your Red Hair Day – Celebrate with favorite read hair characters:
• PRESCHOOL TO FIRST GRADE:
• Fancy Nancy – check out her books, find an inspired activity, print a resource or plan a party at Fancy Nancy World.
• Peter Pan – Start reading the book aloud or show a brief clip to remind (or introduce) your learners to who he is. The link is to its Goodreads review.
• SECOND & THIRD GRADE:
• Mrs. Frizzle – Find out all about The Magic School Bus franchise including its history, book listing, TV series episodes, streaming episodes, and video game titles at wikipedia.org.
• Tintin – At Wikipedia, you’ll discover a listing of all the Tintin titles (from 1929 to 1986) to explore with your learners.
• FOURTH & FIFTH GRADE:
• Pippi Longstocking – Dive into Pippi’s world at Astrid Lindgren’s “Pippi Longstocking” page. Discover all her books, Pippi quotes, movie adaptations, products, backstory and more.
• Conner Bailey – Visit The Land of Stories online where you’ll find a complete listing of all the books in which he appears.
• SIXTH GRADE:
• Anne Shirley – How to Read Me claims to have the definitive order in which to read the Anne books; I even learned I missed a few (although, admittedly, not all are Montgomery-penned).
• Ron Weasley – At The Harry Potter Lexicon you’ll find everything you ever needed to know about Ron Weasley. Read his bio and see what more you would add, rediscover something forgotten, or find something you completely missed.
• November 6th Annually – Saxophone Day
• Share some history from Soft Schools
• Listen to John Coltrane (uploaded by rafiki305), Sonny Rollins (uploaded by Fotis Xenakis) or a smooth jazz playlist all via YouTube
• Complete a dot-to-dot (16 or 80)
• November 7th Annually – National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
• Buy some 
• Make some with the help of Sally’s Baking Addiction

Week Two – November 8, 2020 to November 14, 2020

• November 8th Annually – National Parents as Teachers Day
• More than any other year, parents feel this. If you’re looking for some tips on being parent and teacher during distance learning, ACS International Schools offers up a few
•  One tip we have, practice patience. Let them work at their pace, not yours.
• November 9th Annually – Go to an Art Museum Day
• But if you can’t, check out Google Arts and Culture for unique interactive experiences
• Choose a virtual tour to take of the Louvre
• The Advent of the Artist
•  Power Plays
• The Body in Movement
• Founding Myths: From Hercules to Darth Vader
• Egyptian Antiquities
• Remains of the Louvre’s Moat
• November's Second Tuesday (11.8.2022) – National Young Reader’s Day
• Reinvigorate your passion for reading with Young Reader's Foundation's "Importance of Reading" post.
• Ideas for principals (from Education World) and leaders (from Hello Kids)
• November 11th Annually – Veteran’s Day
• Make a craft and read books recommended by Heather Foudy at Evan Moor’s teacher blog
• Write a letter
• Preschool to First Grade template from Crystal McGinnis via Teachers Pay Teachers
• Second Grade and up template from Angela Willyerd via Teachers Pay Teachers
• Learn about the armed forces
• In Preschool to First with Fantastic Fun and Learning’s puzzle activity
• In Second to Fourth with Duckster’s page on the armed forces, quiz and recorded reading available.
• In Fifth and Up with Kiddle’s “Military of the United States Facts for Kids”
• November 12th Annually – Chicken Soup for the Soul Day
• Share a Chicken Soup for the Soul story online or check out a book from the library (We recommend the library option because we did not find most of the online stories directed toward children).
• Discuss what qualities Chicken Soup stories share (short, emotional, relatable, heart-warming, etc.)
• Have learners write or tell (and possibly submit) their own Chicken Soup story.
• November 13th Annually – World Kindness Day
• Participate by doing something kind. Find ideas at RandomActsofKindness.org.
• They even have a FREE K-12 Tier 1 “Kindness in the Classroom” social emotional curriculum to implement in your classroom (scroll all the way to the bottom for distance learning resources). A brief glance seems their curriculum will take you through the year.
• November 14th Annually – National Family PJ Day
• Invite everyone to wear their pajamas all day long.
• Then, stay in and enjoy the company of one another.

Week Three – November 15, 2020 to November 21, 2020

• November 15th Annually – America Recycles Day
• Start a Worm Compost Bin with Worm Compositing HQ
• Teach about compositing with Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District’s Teacher Guide: “Do the Rot Thing” (opens a PDF).
• Check out 23 Recycling Tips (for home, school and work) from Reuse this Bag. Our favorite tips:
• At Home: Keep a space in your cupboard for recyclables, that way you can easily stash them and not break your flow while you’re cooking.
• At School: Use fundraisers that promote recycling, like selling reusable bags.
• At Work: “Precycle” think about the ability to recycle the supplies you choose to use.
• November 16th Annually – National Button Day
• PRESCHOOL TO FIRST GRADE: Read Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin; illustrated by James Dean. Then, engage in this math lesson from Early Math Counts
• SECOND & THIRD GRADE: Sort buttons and have others guess the rule for your sort. You could even do this in a gallery walk fashion. After sorting, students leave their sorts on their desks with an empty jar or cup. Learners “tour” the room depositing their guesses that explain the rule for each person’s sort in the empty jar or cup.
• FOURTH TO SIXTH GRADE: Relate two buttons using mathematical expressions. Then, have a partner check or refine your expression.
• November's Third Tuesday (11.17.2022) – National Entrepreneur’s Day
• Find book and idea recommendations for at Imagination Soup.
• Discover tips on helping your learner start a business
• Check out some her three book recommendations for children and one for parents to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit.
• November 18th Annually – Mickey Mouse’s Birthday
• PRESCHOOL TO FIRST GRADE: Color a birthday picture of Mickey from Super Coloring
• SECOND & THIRD GRADE: Draw Mickey with help from DoodleDrawArt via YouTube
• FOURTH & FIFITH GRADE: Compare Mickey across time with this Mickey timeline on Pinterest
• SIXTH GRADE: Research Mickey's creation using details from Walt Disney’s’ biography via Biography.com
• November 19th Annually - National Play Monopoly Day
• Play your favorite version of Monopoly
• Try an online version courtesy of Arcade Spot to play remotely
• November 20th Annually – National Absurdity Day
• PRESCHOOL TO SECOND GRADE: Explore facts about nursery rhymes with Brainz. For example:
• Recite the rhyme “Little Miss Muffet,” with your learners.
• Share that “Little Miss Muffet,” was actually written for the stepdaughter of an entomologist named Dr. Muffet (brainz.org)
•  Make a “Little Miss Muffet craft from DLTK.
• THIRD TO FIFTH GRADE: Celebrate with Amelia Bedelia using resources from AmeliaBedeliaBooks.com (Book Listings, Fun and Games, & Teaching resources). To make it even more entertaining, respond how she might throughout the day; purposefully misunderstand what your learners are saying. 
• SIXTH AND UP: Read or engage in Alice in Wonderland activities with Alice in Wonderland.net. Like it might be fun to play lawn croquet using hedgehog plush toys with lawn flamingos as mallets.
• November 21st Annually – National Gingerbread Cookie Day
• Bake some from scratch with Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe
• Or buy a kit to decorate them yourself

Week Four – November 22, 2020 to November 28, 2020

• November 22nd Annually – Go for a Ride Day
• Get out on go on your bike or in a car.
•  See where the road takes you.
• November 23rd Annually – Cranberry Day
• Discover how they grow with True Food TV via YouTube.
• PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN: Engage in sensory play with Little Bins for Little Hands.
• FIRST TO THIRD GRADE: Make spy Juice with The Kitchen Pantry Scientist.
• FOURTH TO SIXTH GRADE: Make sauce and learn how it works with School of Dragons.
• November 24th Annually – National Sardines Day
• Munch on a can of sardines.
•  Read Sardine in Outer Space by Emmanuel Guibert & illustrated by Joann Sfar (links to its page on US.Macmillan.com).
•  Play a game of sardines with these directions from IceBreakers.ws
• The Day Before Thanksgiving (11.23.2022) – Tie One on Day
• Tie on an apron.
• Start Thanksgiving preparations.
• November's Fourth Thursday (11.24.2022) – Thanksgiving Day
• Enjoy friends and family
• Count your blessings
• The Day after Thanksgiving (11.25.2022) – National Day of Listening
• Be intentional about listening today.
• “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19
• November 28th Annually – Turkey Leftover Day
• Use that leftover turkey in your favorite way.
• If you’re looking to spice things up, we think these ideas from Delish look promising. Here’s two we want to try:
• Thanksgiving Ring by Lauren Miyashiro via Delish
• Thanksgiving Egg Rolls by Lena Abraham via Delish

Week Five – November 29, 2020 – November 30, 2020

• Four Sundays Before Christmas (11.27.2022) – Advent Sunday
• Kick off the holiday season
• Find some ideas from Children’s Ministry. A few we like:
• Make a supernatural story from Biblical stories in a comic strip (Idea 8)
• Make an ornament to showcase different traditions around the globe (Idea 9)
• November 30th Annually – National Mason Jar Day
• Engage in STEAM Activities with STEAMsational. A few we’d like to try:
• Hot and Cold-Water Density Experiment
• Red Blood Cell Membrane Experiment
• Make some crafts with these ideas collected by Kids Activities Blog. Our favorite two:
• Mason Jar Sewing Kit from Wait Til Your Father Gets Home
• Snowman Mason Jar from Club Chica Circle

 

Before You Go, We’d Love to Know:

1. What must you do before November passes you by?
2. What activity might you add to this list?

That wraps ups this month’s ideas for every day, leaders. We hope you found one (or two) that will work for you. We’ll pin this post to the top of our blog for your convenience. Also, come back toward the end of November for December’s issue. Or, if you’d like an easier way to keep tabs on our activity, consider subscribing.

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