5th April: Easter
The Easter bunny has arrived – why not undertake lots of active easter egg hunts where children undertake a physical activity when they find an egg with Active Azra. Remember to talk to the children about the importance of Micky Me Size – eating in moderation and Smiley Shen and how to look after our teeth. Remember not to do chocolate easter egg hunts in setting – look at our Pinterest pages for alternative easter egg hunts instead.
6th – 12th April: Community Garden Week
Community garden week is all about exploring outdoors and having a go at a range of gardening activities. It is a great time to get back into the garden and give it a tidy up and overhaul. Why not involve the children in cleaning, sweeping, tidying the garden and setting up new areas for them to explore? This will keep the children active like Active Azra. It is also the perfect time to introduce a range of skills with Sammy Skills through from digging, weeding, and planting, and remember to link in Fay 5 a Day if you are growing fruit or vegetables. Check out our website and Pinterest for gardening tips and information.
7th April: World Health Day
World Health Day is the starting point for many other health awareness days that you can support in your setting. The focus of the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2026 campaign is ‘healthy beginnings, hopeful futures’. It focuses on maternal health and health beginnings for newborns. This is an opportunity to promote all of Startwell’s key messages as research says that eating well, good oral health and exercise are important for supporting health and wellbeing. For inspiration, please visit our Characters Pinterest boards.
14th April: Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi is the Sikh harvest festival; it is one of the most significant holidays in the Sikh calendar. Vaisakhi is focussed on community spirit and practising spiritual and physical integration. Celebrations are usually held in the Gurdwaras and on the streets, which are colourfully decorated with orange flags and banners and feature marches and processions. Why not hold your own Vaisakhi procession in the nursery where children can dance and move as they move through the procession. Remember to link in Active Azra.
18th April – 26th April: National Parks Week
National Parks Week is dedicated to raising public awareness of Britain’s national parks. Why not do a local map of parks in your area that parents and children can visit. Remember to link in Active Azra and encourage families to walk and keep their belly buttons on the move as they explore their local area. Remember to take some water and fruit to snack on with 2 snacks Max for the long walks.
23rd April: St George’s Day
Use active storytelling to teach children the tale of St George and the Dragon. Try incorporating the following action movements during the story:
• Dragon – flying (running with arms spread out and moving in an up and down motion)
• St Georges horse – galloping
• St George – sword and shield movements
• The King’s army – marching towards the dragon and running away from the dragon
• Princess – dancing and twirling when she returns to the village
This is a great story to get your 180 minutes in and make Katie happy.
Challenge children to make the movements in the story high intensity (how fast can they gallop) to work towards the 60 minutes of high intensity movement over 3-year-olds need each day.
30th April: Stop Food Wastage Day
Days of the Year.com state “Roughly one-third of the food produced globally is either lost or wasted every year.” When we complete mealtime observations in settings it always amazes us how much food is wasted and thrown away. With homes and settings affected by the cost-of-living crisis ensuring food waste reduction is important. This is the perfect time to reflect on Micky Me Size and remember how much food is needed so we stop over cooking and having too much waste. This day also helps us to reflect on what we throw away before it’s even cooked due to use by dates and buying too much.
29th April: International Dance Day
International Dance Day is a fantastic day to look at the genres of music that you play in your setting. Try playing a range of genres to see how the children react to different types of music. Why not link in 180 Katie and see if you can raise those heart rates and make your heart go Boom Boom Boom.
