National Day Themes in April - Week 2: Playful Activities for Speech Therapy Fun
- shannon | speech hamster
- Mar 30
- 15 min read
Updated: Apr 26
Looking to add a little extra fun to your speech therapy plans? National Days in April Week 2 brings playful, low-prep themes that make learning interactive. Whether you're focusing on articulation, phonological awareness, or language skills, these ideas will grab your student's attention.
Welcome to National Days in April Week 2! Whether you're talking about barnyard animals for National Farm Animal Day on April 10, celebrating furry companions on National Pet Day on April 11, or planting new language skills on National Gardening Day on April 14, these themed ideas offer engaging ways to bring variety to your sessions.
This blog post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase through them, with no extra cost to you.
Use the table below to explore some of the national days celebrated in the 2nd week of April. To avoid scrolling fatigue, use the quick links to view activity ideas and book suggestions for each theme.
When you're done browsing, use these links to view additional weeks:
April National Days Week 1 (April 1 - 7)
April National Days Week 3 (April 15 - 21)
April National Days Week 4+ (April 22 - 30)
To view themes for all 12 months head over to 10 Reasons to Use National Day Themes for Easy Speech Therapy Planning.
*Free resource links listed here may change over time. Please check the original source for current availability and terms.
April National Days Week 2
(Month-long Observances: Autism Awareness, Apraxia Awareness)
Date | National Day Quick Links |
April 8 | |
April 9 | |
April 10 | |
April 11 | |
April 12 | |
April 13 | |
April 14 | |
April 8:
🦁 National Zoo Lover's Day (April 8)
About: An unofficial holiday that encourages people to visit their local zoos, learn about animals, and support wildlife conservation. While its exact origin is unknown, zoos around the world use this day to celebrate the role they play in education and animal care.
Fun Facts:
The San Diego Zoo was the first zoo to create open-air, cage-free exhibits that recreate natural animal habitats.
Gorillas can learn sign language—one of the most famous was Koko, who learned over 1,000 signs.
A group of flamingos is called a “flamboyance.”
Penguins mate for life and often give each other pebbles as part of a courtship ritual.
Elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors, which shows they have self-awareness—a rare trait in the animal kingdom.
Articulation:
Board Game Fun: Grab Learning Solution's Zoo Board Game on Teachers Pay Teachers and use it with your student's articulation cards.
Animal Rescue: Hide small stuffed animals or mini animal objects around the room—students practice target words to “rescue” each animal.
Build a Zoo: Have students roll a die and say the same number of target words before adding to a zoo-themed structure made with blocks or LEGOS.
Phonological Awareness:
Syllables: Clap and count syllables in animal names.
Rhyming: Match animals with rhyming words (e.g., bear–chair, fox–box).
Initial Sounds: Using animal picture cards, play “What’s the first sound?”.
Blend and Segment simple zoo-themed words (e.g., /l/-/i/-/o/-/n/).
Language:
Categories: Sort by habitat: jungle, safari, water-dwelling, nocturnal, etc.
Describing: have students take turns describing an animal using 3–5 clues and have others guess (e.g., “It has stripes, lives in Africa, and starts with Z”).
Following Directions: Use small stuffed animals or pictures to work on following directions (e.g., “Put the elephant next to the lion”).
Digital:
Free Boom Cards:
Zoo Receptive Vocabulary (by Speechy Sarah SLP)
Zoo Theme Following Directions (by SpeechRUs)
Virtual Field Trips - Live Animal Cams:
San Diego Zoo – Live Cams & Animal Videos
Houston Zoo – Animal Webcams
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – Animal Cams
Popular Children's Books:
Dear Zoo – Written and illustrated by Rod Campbell: A child writes to the zoo asking for a pet, but each animal they send is not quite right. Finally, the zoo sends the perfect pet. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
Put Me in the Zoo – Written and illustrated by Robert Lopshire: A colorful creature wants to live in the zoo and shows off his magical spot-changing powers. When he’s told he doesn’t belong in the zoo, he discovers a better place to go. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
April 9:
🦄 National Unicorn Day (April 9)
About: Celebrate the magical creature that has fascinated people for centuries. Although unicorns are mythical, the day encourages creativity, imagination, and a little sparkle in everyday life.
Fun Facts:
The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
Narwhals are sometimes called the “unicorns of the sea.”
According to legend, unicorns can only be tamed by someone pure of heart.
Articulation:
Unicorn Spots: Read Never Let a Unicorn Get Spots (below) then download Busy Little Loves' Unicorn Do-a-Dot Coloring Sheets (TpT) for a fun "fill in the spots" articulation game.
Unicorn Flip: I couldn't resist creating this free Grumpy Unicorn - Happy Unicorn Card Flipping game as a fun, easy open-ended articulation game. Plus the resource includes a 50 Unicorn Trials Worksheet. Win Win.
Unicorn Puzzle: Roll a die to determine how many times to say each target word before adding a piece to a unicorn puzzle (or any puzzle).
Phonological Awareness:
Syllables: Clap and count syllables in unicorn-related words (e.g., rain-bow, mag-i-cal, horn, u-ni-corn, fan-ta-sy, en-chan-ted, bright, shin-y, co-lor-ful, mys-ti-cal).
Rhyming: Have students think of rhyming pairs for horn, wish, mane, tail, glow, fly, etc.
Uni-Name: Ask students to say their name as if it started with "Uni-" (e.g., Uni-Micah, Uni-Paige)
Language:
Directed Drawing: Have students follow this free Unicorn Directed Drawing activity by Proud to be Primary on TpT and then see if they can direct you in drawing a unicorn without you seeing the visual directions.
Following Directions: Give and receive directions for decorating a unicorn castle with blocks.
Unicorn Headbands: Grab Green Tea Speech Therapy's Unicorn Headbands Freebie for some no-prep activities for verbs, self-advocacy and "r" targets.
Popular Children's Books:
Never Let a Unicorn Get Spots – Written and illustrated by Diane Alber: A little girl’s unicorn comes down with spots, and she tries all kinds of silly remedies to help it feel better. As the unicorn's condition gets wackier, the story turns into a fun exploration of imagination and friendship. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
How to Catch a Unicorn – Written by Adam Wallace and illustrated by Andy Elkerton: A group of clever kids sets elaborate traps in a rainbow-filled zoo to try and catch a unicorn. The unicorn uses magic and quick thinking to stay one step ahead, leaving behind sparkles and surprises at every turn. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
Not Quite Narwhal – Written and illustrated by Jessie Sima: Kelp the unicorn grows up underwater thinking he’s a narwhal, but one day he discovers his true identity. He learns to embrace both parts of his world and be exactly who he is. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Thelma the Unicorn– Written and illustrated by Aaron Blabey: Thelma is a plain pony who dreams of being a glamorous unicorn. When a truck accident covers her in pink paint and glitter, she becomes famous—but soon realizes that being herself is better than being adored for someone she’s not. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
April 10:
🐮 National Farm Animals Day (April 10)
About: The day highlights the importance of treating all animals with kindness and supports the adoption or rescue of farm animals when possible.
Fun Facts:
Cows have best friends and can become stressed when separated from them.
Goats and sheep have rectangular-shaped pupils that help them see nearly 360 degrees.
Pigs are highly intelligent and can learn tricks like sitting or playing video games with a joystick.
Chickens can remember over 100 different faces, including humans.
Horses sleep both lying down and standing up.
Articulation:
Hide mini farm animal toys or cards around the room—students say a target word each time they find one.
Download this free 100 Pig Trials open-ended card game for a farm-animal themed articulation activity.
Play “Old MacDonald Articulation” by inserting target words in place of animal names.
Create a “farm fence” craft—add a stick or picture for every five words practiced.
Use farm-themed articulation cards for a matching or memory game.
Toss a beanbag onto animal pictures with words and say the word that many times.
Boom Cards: I've created several farm-themed Boom Cards ($) you may want to preview:
Guess the Farm Animals: with audio
Articulation Hay Ride: 12 decks to choose from or grab the bundle
Phonological Awareness:
Clap and count syllables in farm animal names (e.g., pig, roos-ter, tur-key).
Match rhyming animal or farm words (e.g., cow–plow, pig–wig).
Sort farm-related words by beginning sounds.
Blend and segment CVC words related to farms (e.g., hay, mud, sun).
Language:
Following Directions: I would be remiss if I didn't include my Farm Theme Following Directions printable resource ($). It's a crowd favorite. Click the image to view it in my Speech Hamster shop.
Comparatives / Superlatives: Seriate farm animals from smallest to largest.
Negation: Play “Which One Does Not Belong?” using farm (vs. other) vocabulary like this Animal Homes resource on TpT by Spec Ed Superstars.
Free Resources: Browse free farm-themed resources Teachers Pay Teachers.
Popular Children's Books:
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type – Written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin: The cows on Farmer Brown’s farm find a typewriter and begin making demands for better living conditions. When the farmer refuses, the animals go on strike—until Duck steps in to negotiate. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm – Written by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller: Mrs. Wishy-Washy is at it again. Rubbing and scrubbing all the animals on the farm. But this time they aren't standing for it. Duck, Cow, and Pig are leaving mean old Mrs. Wishy-Washy for good! 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
April 11:
🐶 🐱 National Pet Day (April 11)
About: A day to show extra love to our pets and remember those still waiting to be adopted.
Fun Facts:
The most popular pets in the U.S. are dogs, followed by cats, freshwater fish, and birds.
Guinea pigs purr when they’re happy—just like cats!
Rabbits can turn their ears 180 degrees to hear in different directions.
Some parrots can learn to say over 100 words.
A dog’s sense of smell is up to 100,000 times stronger than a human’s.
Articulation:
Boom Cards: You can grab my Find My Pet Articulation Boom Cards for 3 Element Clusters deck for free if you sign up for the Speech Hamster Newsletter.
Or preview all the decks on Boom Learning (click on the image below):
Directed Drawing: Another hidden gem in the Speech Hamster world is an open-ended Drawing Pets activity. Free if you subscribe to the Speech Hamster Newsletter.
Phonological Awareness:
Syllables: Clap and count syllables in pet names and items (e.g., tur-tle, ham-ster, lit-ter-box).
Initial Sounds: Identify beginning sounds of pet-related words (e.g., leash, cage, bowl).
Rhyming: Match rhyming pet words (e.g., dog–frog, fish–dish).
Blending: Blend sounds to guess mystery pets (/c/-/a/-/t/, /d/-/o/-/g/).
Language:
Following Directions: Pets is a popular theme! That's why I created the Pets Themed Following Directions printable task cards. Click image to view in my Speech Hamster shop.
Describing: Describe different pets by color, size, texture, diet, habitat, etc.
Sequencing: Talk about the steps of taking care of a pet or feeding a pet using visuals or real objects.
Narratives: Create a silly story about an unusual pet (e.g., a dragon, a zebra).
Play Based: Use a Critter Clinic toy (or boxes, baskets, etc) to create a Pet Vet Clinic and watch imagination and language opportunities explode!
Free on Teachers Pay Teachers:
Pets Vocabulary Words by kidSparks
Yes/No Questions - Pets by Love Language Speech Therapy
Pet Vet Animal Hospital - Dramatic Play by KinderMyWay
Boom Cards: Browse these free* Pet Themed Boom Cards as well.
Popular Children's Books:
Strictly No Elephants – Written by Lisa Mantchev and illustrated by Taeeun Yoo: A boy with a tiny pet elephant is excluded from a pet club, so he starts a new one where all pets are welcome. It’s a heartwarming story about friendship, acceptance, and being proud of your pet—no matter how unusual. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
What Pet Should I Get? – Written and illustrated by Dr. Suess: A brother and sister visit a pet store and try to decide which animal to bring home. Their imaginations run wild as they explore all the possibilities. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
April 12: Probably Time for a Speech Hamster Sale, Don't You Think?
🐹 National Hamster Day (April 12)
About: National Hamster Day celebrates the discovery of the Syrian hamster, the most popular pet hamster breed. On April 12, 1930, a zoologist named Israel Aharoni captured a wild hamster in Syria, leading to the domestic hamsters we know today.
Fun Facts:
Hamsters have cheek pouches that can stretch all the way to their hips to carry food.
Hamsters are nocturnal, meaning they sleep during the day and are active at night.
A hamster’s front teeth never stop growing, so they need chew toys to keep them trimmed.
Hamsters can run up to 5 miles a night on their exercise wheels.
There are about 18 different species of hamsters in the world.
Articulation:
Hamster Wheel: I created a Hamster Wheel of 100 on Wheel of Names. Use it as a digital spinner for 100 articulation trials. Don't want to be tied to 100? Decide beforehand what the total will be and keep track or stop the activity once all of one number is removed, etc.
Magnetic Tile Maze: Create a "hamster maze" using the magnetic tiles while practicing target words. Browse my Articulation Cards for K and Articulation Cards for S - great for placing onto a square tile and covering with a window tile for "practice tiles".
Language:
Create a Story: Download this free Hamster Fill in the Blank Story to use any time of year.
Describing: Build a shoebox hamster home and describe each area as you add pieces.
Functions of Items: Gather pictures of hamster-related items and have students name their functions (e.g., food, bedding, water feeder, hamster wheel, chew toys, grooming items) or compare and contrast with other pet related items.
Story Starters/Auditory Memory: Take turns adding to the Story Starter "If I were a hamster...".
Popular Children's Books:
Memoirs of a Hamster – Written by Devin Scillian and illustrated by Tim Bowers: Seymour the hamster loves his comfy cage and daily routine—until a mysterious adventure outside tempts him with the idea of freedom. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Hamsters Make Terrible Roommates – Written by Cheryl B. Klein and illustrated by Abhi Alwar: Henry is a quiet hamster who just wants peace and quiet, but his new roommate Marvin is noisy, messy, and full of wild ideas. As the two clash and compromise, they learn that friendship can grow even between very different personalities. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
April 13:
🇸 National Scrabble Day (April 13)
About: This day celebrates the birthday of Alfred Mosher Butts, the inventor of Scrabble, born on April 13, 1899. He created the game in the 1930s by combining elements of crossword puzzles and anagrams, and it has since become a beloved classic around the world.
Fun Facts:
The official Scrabble dictionary includes over 100,000 words.
The letter “E” is the most common tile in the game, with 12 in each set.
The highest-scoring word ever played in a tournament was “caziques,” worth 392 points.
Scrabble is sold in over 120 countries and is available in 30+ languages.
There’s a National School Scrabble Championship for kids in the U.S.
Articulation:
Use Scrabble tiles or letter cards to build articulation words and say them 3–5 times.
Play a matching game where students find tiles to build words with their target sound.
Create a “sound board” with letter tiles and have students find and practice all words starting with that sound.
Use a small Scrabble board or printed tiles to play “find and say” for target words.
Phonological Awareness:
Sort Scrabble tiles by beginning sounds or rhyming words.
Practice onset-rime blending using tiles (e.g., b + at = bat).
Play “What’s Missing?” by removing a letter from a word and having students guess the original.
Language:
Build vocabulary words related to a theme (e.g., pets, zoo, weather) and describe each one.
Use tiles to sequence a short sentence or create silly ones (great for syntax).
Name a word, define it, and use it in a sentence after building it with tiles.
Play “word category” games—build as many animal or food words as you can with available letters.
Ask and answer WH- questions based on student-created words or categories.
Make a “word of the day” chart and add to it throughout the week using letter tiles.
Free Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers: Browse these free scrabble tile resources.
Popular Children's Books:
The Word Collector – Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds: Jerome loves collecting words—short and sweet, two-syllable treats, and words that connect hearts. One day he discovers that sharing his words can bring joy and change the world. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
Max's Words – Written by Kate Banks and illustrated by Boris Kulikov: Max’s brothers collect coins and stamps, but Max decides to collect words. Soon he’s using his growing word collection to create imaginative stories of his own. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
April 14:
🐬 National Dolphin Day (April 14)
About: It’s a day to celebrate these intelligent marine mammals and learn more about conservation efforts around the world.
Fun Facts:
Dolphins use echolocation to find food and navigate underwater.
A group of dolphins is called a “pod,” and they often work together to hunt.
Dolphins are known to be playful and can recognize themselves in mirrors.
Some dolphins can swim up to 20 miles per hour.
Baby dolphins are called calves and stay with their mothers for several years.
Articulation:
Toss a Ball: Use dray erase markers to write target words on an inflatable beach ball. Toss is back and forth while practicing the target words.
Clip Art: Use this free dolphin clip art (Taylor Pierce on TpT) to create backs of articulation cards for memory/matching games OR as what does not belong.
Free Boom Cards:
Bottlenose Dolphins: Ocean Animal Research Series by Make Teaching Fun!
Dolphin Determiners (Few/Many) by Sanguine Speech Pathology
Marine Animals (interactive book) by Jessica Apicella SLP
Language:
Following Directions: Have students give or follow verbal directions to create an ocean scene with cutouts of sea animals. Grab this free Sea Animals Clipart from Miss Clip Art on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Narrative: Make up a short story about a dolphin’s underwater adventure and retell it with pictures.
Categories: Name other ocean dwelling animals.
What Does Not Belong: Discriminating between ocean animals vs. other animals.
Popular Children's Books:
If a Dolphin Were a Fish – Written by Loran Wlodarski and illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein: A young dolphin imagines what life would be like as other sea creatures, discovering that her dolphin traits make her special. This fun, rhyming story blends science and imagination. 📖 [Amazon Link]
All Things Dolphins for Kids – Written by Animal Reads: This colorful book filled with amazing real-life images aims to combine fun with education to help you learn all about dolphins. 📖 [Amazon Link]
👒 National Gardening Day (April 14)
About: A day to get your hands dirty, learn about plants, and celebrate the joy of growing flowers, fruits, vegetables, and more.
Fun Facts:
Worms are a gardener’s best friend—they help plants grow by enriching the soil.
Sunflowers can grow taller than 10 feet!
Some fruits, like tomatoes and cucumbers, grow on vines.
Bees and butterflies are important pollinators that help gardens thrive.
Articulation:
Garden Scene:Practice saying words before adding paper flowers or vegetables to a garden scene or grab Fun in ECSE's free Let's Plant a Garden Counting Game and use the numbers to determine how many words to practice.
Play “plant the sound” where students dig through a sensory bin to find articulation words.
100 Trials Card Game: Download this free 100 Trials Garden theme open ended card game to get high repetition of practice in a playful way!
Create a sound garden—each flower has a word to say 5 times OR use this popular Flower Building Stacking Toy ($); an all time favorite!
Phonological Awareness:
Sort items by beginning sounds (e.g., shovel = /ʃ/, seed, soil = /s/).
Clap and count syllables in garden words (e.g., wa-ter, sun-flow-er, po-ta-to).
Match rhyming garden pairs (e.g., rake–cake, dirt–shirt).
Blend and segment words like “plant,” “dig,” and “mud.”
Play an “I’m Thinking Of…” sound clue game using garden vocabulary.
Free Boom Cards: Browse these free gardening themed Boom Cards activities on Boom Learning.
Language:
Vocabulary / Interactive Book: Grab How to Plant a Garden created by Schoolhouse Talk on TpT or Plant a Garden Science and Writing by Teaching in Progress includes a parts of a plant page.
Scavenger Hunt: Use Turner Tot's Nature Walks Scavenger Hunt to take your students on an outdoor adventure.
Following Directions: Follow 1- and 2-step directions to build a garden with visuals or objects/toy parts (see Flower Stacking toy link above).
Categories: Use this free garden themed Category Picking sorting activity by Miss B SLP.
Narrative: Create a short story about a garden that grows something silly (e.g., jellybeans, socks).
Popular Children's Books:
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt – Written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal: This beautifully illustrated nonfiction story explores what happens above and below the ground throughout the gardening season—from planting to harvesting. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
Planting a Rainbow – Written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert: Follow a child and their parent as they plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings to grow a rainbow of flowers. It’s a vibrant introduction to gardening and color vocabulary. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resource on TpT]
Enjoy Fun & Learning Too in April Week 2
From exploring zoo animals to getting lost in word building fun or crafting unicorn headbands, you can transform April's unique celebrations into opportunities for meaningful and engaging learning experiences into your speech and language therapy sessions.
See More National Day Themes for April:
April National Days Week 1 (April 1 - 7)
April National Days Week 3 (April 15 - 21)
April National Days Week 4+ (April 22 - 30)
Quick Link to View All 12 Months: 10 Reasons to Use National Day Themes for Easy Speech Therapy Planning (each month's themes are noted at the end).
Hi! I'm Shannon, creator of Speech Hamster. If you have found the information in this blog post useful, there's more where that came from! Subscribe to the Speech Hamster Newsletter to gain access to the Free Resource Library; a hub containing a host of National Days downloadable resources and so much more!
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