National Day Themes in February - Week 4: Speech Therapy Ideas and Activities
- shannon | speech hamster
- Feb 22
- 14 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
The final stretch of February is here, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had! This week’s National Days offer engaging themes to keep students talking, thinking, and learning.
Keep reading to uncover the delightful treats awaiting the final days of this month.
Welcome to National Days in February Week 4! Whether you're adding a crunchy twist to language practice on National Tortilla Chip Day (February 24), diving into magical storytelling for Tell a Fairy Tale Day (February 26), or exploring curiosity and problem-solving on Science Day (February 28), these themed ideas might be just what you need to finish the month strong and keep your sessions fresh until March!
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Use the table below to explore some of the national days celebrated during the final days of February. To avoid scrolling fatigue, use the quick links to view activity ideas and book suggestions for each theme.
or use these links to view:
February National Days Week 1 (February 1 - 7)
February National Days Week 2 (February 8 - 14): coming soon
February National Days Week 3 (February 15 - 21)
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 source for current availability and terms.
February National Days Week 4
(Month-long observances: Black History, American Heart)
Date | National Day Quick Links |
Feb 22 | |
Feb 23 | |
Feb 24 | |
Feb 25 | |
Feb 26 | |
Feb 27 | |
Feb 28 | |
Feb 29 |
February 22:
🌿 National Be Humble Day (February 22)
About: National Be Humble Day encourages humility and kindness. Its exact origin is unknown, but it promotes selflessness and gratitude.
Fun Facts: Studies show humble people have stronger relationships. Humility is considered a key trait of effective leaders. (humble: being kind, respectful, and thinking of others first without bragging)
Humble or Not? Sorting Activity: Use this Humble or Not Sorting Activity to help students identify humble and boastful behaviors through real-life scenarios. It can be used in individual or group settings to promote social skills, discussion, and self-awareness.
Synonym Search: Identify and discuss synonyms for words like humble, kind, and generous to build vocabulary.
Discussion Prompts: Use prompts like “How can you tell when someone is humble?” or “How do you feel when someone brags?” to support vocabulary and social emotional learning.
Popular Children's Books:
The Lion and the Mouse Written by Jerry Pinkney: A wordless story about gratitude and seeing beauty in everyday life. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Last Stop on Market Street Written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson: A story about gratitude and seeing beauty in everyday life. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
🧩 National Single Tasking Day (February 22)
About: Created to promote focus and productivity by encouraging people to complete one task at a time.
Fun Fact: It takes about 23 minutes to refocus after being distracted.
Task Completion Challenge: Give students one task (e.g., naming objects or describing a picture) and time them to maintain focus.
Following Directions Game: Provide multi-step directions to build listening and attention skills. View this collection of Following Directions for Linguistic Concepts ($) on Teachers Pay Teachers. Visit goblin.tools "Magic To Do" page and explore how to break tasks down into smaller parts.
Popular Children's Books:
What Do You Do with a Problem? Written by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Besom: A story that follows a child learning to tackle a problem step-by-step, building resilience and problem-solving skills, lending itself for discussions on how "worry" can distract our focus. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Interrupting Chicken Written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein: A humorous story about a little chicken learning to listen and focus during story time, making it perfect for discussions on "interrupting" and the difficulties of single-tasking. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
February 23:
🍬 National Tootsie Roll Day (February 23)
About: National Tootsie Roll Day honors the creation of the iconic candy, first made in 1907 by Leo Hirschfield, named after his daughter’s nickname, “Tootsie.”
Fun Facts: Tootsie Rolls were the first individually wrapped penny candy. Over 64 million Tootsie Rolls are made daily.
Tootsie Roll Fill-in-the-Blank Story: Download this Tootsie Candy Activities resource to access a fill-in-the-blank story or use the following prompt in ChatGPT (edit prompt where needed): Create a mad-lib style fill-in-the-blank story with a tootsie roll theme, including at least eight fill-in-the-blanks for nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The story needs to be written at a 3rd grade reading level.
Tootsie Candy Trials: Download this Tootsie Candy Activities resource to access the 50 Tootsie Candy Trials worksheet for articulation practice or any other activity that includes repeated practice.
Popular Children's Books:
Tootsie Roll Coloring Book (24 pages) Written by Ivan Brown: Filled with illustrations of all the favorite Tootsie Roll brands, including Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Roll Pops, Blow Pop, Sugar Daddy, Charleston Chew, Junior Mints, and more! 📖 [Amazon Link]
February 24:
🌮 National Tortilla Chip Day (February 24)
About: National Tortilla Chip Day celebrates the crispy, salty snack popular in Mexican cuisine. Rebecca Webb Carranza reportedly popularized tortilla chips in the 1940s as a way to use leftover tortillas.
Fun Fact: The tortilla chip is the official state snack of Texas and is typically made from corn, salt, and oil.
Crunchy Rhymes: Have students name rhymes for words like chip (e.g., dip, flip, sip), corn (e.g, horn, born, torn), crunch (e.g., punch, punch, lunch), and snack (e.g., back, track, sack).
Tortilla Chip Theme Activities: Cut out yellow triangle "chips" from construction paper. Have students write out target words on each triangle. Place them in a bowl or bag and take turns taking a "chip" and practicing the words. Make a "game over" spicy chip for extra fun? Who can collect the most chips before it gets too spicy?
Articulation Chip Practice: write sound specific target words on each "chip".
Crunchy Rhyme Challenge: Write out tortilla themed words and have students come up with words that rhyme? (chip: dip, sip, flip, corn: torn, born, horn, crunch: lunch, punch, crisp: wisp, lisp, heat: neat, eat, feet, spice: nice, dice, twice.
Corny Compound Words: write out words that can form compound words and have students choose "chips" until they find two that form a word. Then have them pull two chips to create silly words!
Vocabulary Words: Use words from Dragons Love Tacos or Chicks and Salsa. Write the word on one chip and the definition on another. Mix them all up and have students match the word "chip" to the definition "chip".
Popular Children's Books:
Dragons Love Tacos – Written by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri: A humorous story about dragons and their love for tacos, perfect for practicing sequencing and vocabulary. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
Chicks and Salsa – Written by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Paulette Bogan: A fun farmyard tale where animals throw a fiesta. Filled with descriptive language and playful scenes. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
February 25:
🥦 National Let's All Eat Right Day (February 25)
About: Honors the birthday of Adelle Davis, a pioneer in the nutrition movement.
Fun Fact: Bananas are berries, but strawberries aren’t berries! Botanically, bananas fit the berry definition, but strawberries do not because their seeds are on the outside.
Eat the Rainbow Word List Activities: Use these Word List Activities and have students brainstorm and write down names of healthy foods that start with the first letter of each color of the rainbow: Red = radish, Orange = orange (ha), Yellow = , Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet (or Purple) OR are the same color as the colors of the rainbow.
Unhealthy vs. Healthy Food Sort: Gather all of your picture cards of foods (you know you have those old boxes of flashcards somewhere) and have students sort them into healthy/unhealthy categories (or by fruits/vegetables, etc).
Popular Children's Books:
Good Enough to Eat – Written and Illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell: An informative book that teaches children about nutrition in a fun and easy-to-understand way. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Which Food Will You Choose? – Written by Clair Potter and illustrated by Ailie Busby: A book designed to encourage picky eaters to venture beyond ''beige'' and discover an entirely new vibrant world of food. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
🤫 National Quiet Day (February 25)
About: A day to encourage people to enjoy silence and reflect.
Fun Facts: Quiet helps reduce stress and improve focus. Spending time in silence can improve listening skills.
Shhh Articulation Words: Make a list and practice words that begin or end with "sh".
Vocabulary Charades: Write out target vocabulary words (or use picture cards) and place them in a bag. Take turns choosing a card from the bag without showing it to others. Act out the word using gestures and movement while others try to guess the word.
Quiet Places: Discuss different places you might go when it's important to stay quiet and why.
Quiet Objects: Take turns naming items that make no noise or very little noise if thrown or dropped (e.g., cotton balls, snow, feather, etc.).
Popular Children's Books:
The Quiet Book Written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Renata Liwska: A gentle story exploring different kinds of quiet moments children experience. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Silence Written and illustrated by Lemniscates: An illustrated book that encourages readers to stop, listen, and pay attention to what otherwise gets lost in our noisy environments. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Listen Written by Gabi Snyder and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin: A story about paying attention to the sounds of the world, promoting listening skills. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
February 26:
📚 National Tell a Fairy Tale Day (February 26)
About: A day to celebrate storytelling and imagination through fairy tales.
Fun Fact: Fairy tales often teach moral lessons. (moral: a lesson that shows you what is right and wrong. In a story, the moral is the message that helps you learn to be kind and do the right thing.)
Create Your Own Fairy Tale: Have students build a story with a hero, a problem, and a solution or follow the outline from this Let's Tell a Fairy Tale resource following the Story Grammar Marker® components.
Magic Wand Craft: Create wands using paper towel rolls and stars cut from paper. What would you wish for?
Fairy Tale Resources for Speech Therapy: View these free* resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Popular Children's Books:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Written and Illustrated by James Marshall: A humorous retelling of the classic tale with lively illustrations. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Three Little Pigs – Written and Illustrated by David Wiesner: A creative twist on the traditional story with the pigs stepping out of their storybook world.
📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark: – Written by Ken Geist and illustrated by Julia Gorton: Three little fish build homes from seaweed, sand, and coral reef. A shark destroys the first two homes, but the sturdy coral house protects them all. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
February 27:
🐻 International Polar Bear Day (February 27)
About: Established by Polar Bears International to raise awareness about the challenges polar bears face due to climate change.
Fun Facts: Polar bears have black skin under their white fur to absorb heat. They can swim for days at a time to find food.
Cotton Ball Polar Bears: Use cotton balls and glue to create a fuzzy polar bear picture. Use this free* downloadable picture from Teachers Pay Teachers.
Polar Bear Activities for Speech Therapy: View these free* resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Virtual Field Trip to the Arctic: Explore the world of polar bears with a National Geographic Kids Arctic Animals virtual tour.
Create a Polar Bear Mask: Use paper plates, cotton balls, and markers to make polar bear masks while practicing speech/language targets. A visual example with instructions can be found on a post by I Heart Crafty Things. Be sure to include sequencing words (first, next, then) and/or themed vocabulary while creating the craft.
Popular Children's Books:
Little Polar Bear – Written and Illustrated by Hans de Beer: Follows the adventures of a polar bear cub who gets lost, highlighting themes of friendship and courage. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Where Do Polar Bears Live? – Written by Sarah L. Thomson and illustrated by Jason Chin: An informative book that explores polar bears’ Arctic habitat and the effects of climate change. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? – Written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle: A rhythmic story where animals take turns making sounds, helping children practice listening and prediction skills. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
🍓 National Strawberry Day (February 27)
About: A day to celebrate the popular, sweet fruit enjoyed worldwide.
Fun Facts: Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside, which technically makes them "not" berries. They belong to the rose family.
Strawberry Sound Hunt: Write out the following /str/ clusters on strawberry images to use for articulation practice: strawberry, straw, stripe, stretch, string, struggle, straight, street, stranger, strum, strike, stroke, streak. You can use this free Strawberry Activities resource (includes a 50 Strawberry Trials for articulation practice).
Strawberry Craft: Check out this free* Strawberry Craft on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Strawberry Numbers for Articulation: Use these free* Strawberry Numbers clip art images to create number cards for articulation practice. Pick a strawberry card and practice the same number of words.
Compound Word Activities: straw-berry, cup-cake, milk-shake, foot-ball, note-book. Check out these free* compound word resources on TpT.
Popular Children's Books:
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear – Written by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood: A playful story with humor and suspense about protecting a delicious strawberry. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud, creative adaptation]
Jamberry – Written and illustrated by Bruce Degen: This book features a berry-loving boy and an endearing rhyme-spouting bear. A fun wordplay with bright paintings and lots of details. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
February 28:
🥞 National Pancake Day (February 28)
About: There are two National Pancake Days (September 26 and February 28). IHOP is most known for promoting this month's celebration. Pancake lovers welcome both dates to cherish the fluffy, golden delights.
Fun Fact: The world record for pancake flipping is 140 flips in one minute.
Pancake Articulation: Use play dough to make pancake shapes (or paper plates or any circle shape). Have students use a spatula to flip the pancakes over as they practice their speech sound targets.
Compound Word Activities: pan-cake, cup-cake, milk-shake, foot-ball, note-book. Check out these free* compound word resources on TpT.
Free Pancake Theme Activities: Check out the free* pancake resources on TpT.
Popular Children's Books:
If You Give a Pig a Pancake – Written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond: This story takes readers on a fun journey through a pig's request that triggers a series of humorous events, teaching children about cause and effect. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud] 🛒 [Free Resources on TpT]
Pancakes, Pancakes – Written and illustrated by Eric Carle: A story about a boy making pancakes, perfect for sequencing practice. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
🔬 National Science Day (February 28)
About: Honors Indian physicist C.V. Raman's discovery of the Raman effect, which is the scattering of light that changes its wavelength when passing through a material. You can see the rainbow effect of light scattering in bubbles or prisms.
Fun Fact: The Raman effect is sometimes called the "fingerprint of molecules".
Scientific Vocabulary Matching: Label and discuss the function of common Scientific Instrument Vocabulary.
Rainbow Density Jar: Layer colored liquids of different densities (such as honey, corn syrup, dish soap, and water) into a clear jar to create a rainbow effect. Add food coloring to each liquid and carefully pour them in layers using a spoon to maintain separation.
Science Related Words: in alphabetical order - acid, air, astronaut, atmosphere, atom, bacteria, balance, battery, beaker, buoyancy, carbon, chemical, climate, cloud, circuit, data, density, discovery, dissolve, DNA, Earth, electricity, energy, engineer, experiment, fission, fluid, force, fossil, friction, gas, galaxy, gravity, greenhouse, genetic, habitat, heat, helium, hypothesis, humidity, invention, investigation, isotope, inertia, infrared, jet, joule, Jupiter, joint, journey, kinetic, kilogram, kelvin, krypton, knowledge, lab, laser, lever, liquid, light, magnet, matter, molecule, motion, microscope, neutron, Newton, nucleus, nitrogen, natural, observation, orbit, organism, oxygen, ozone, planet, periodic, photosynthesis, physics, pressure, quartz, quasar, quantity, quantum, question, radiation, reaction, recycle, research, robot, satellite, scientist, solar, spectrum, substance, telescope, temperature, test tube, theory, thermodynamics, ultraviolet, universe, uranium, underwater, unit, vaccine, variable, velocity, vibration, volcano, water, wavelength, weather, weight, wind, X-ray, xenon, x-axis, X chromosome, experiment, yeast, yellow dwarf, yield, yardstick, zero gravity, zoology, zone, zygote, and zinc.
Popular Children's Books:
Ada Twist, Scientist – Written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts: A story about a curious girl who loves solving problems through science. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
Rosie Revere, Engineer – Written by Andrea Beaty and illustrated by David Roberts: An inspiring tale about creativity, perseverance, and invention. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
What Do You Do With An Idea – Written by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Besom: Text 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
🦷 National Tooth Fairy Day (February 28)
About: Celebrates the childhood tradition of the Tooth Fairy.
Fun Fact: The Tooth Fairy is known in many cultures, though traditions vary. Some children leave teeth under their pillows, others in special boxes.
Tooth Fairy Riddles: Have students identify and label vocabulary about tooth and tooth hygiene with this Tooth Fairy Riddles activity.
Tooth Fairy Story Creation: Create and tell a story about a Tooth Fairy adventure. Use the same format as the Let's Tell a Fairy Tale resource.
Tooth Fairy Resources: Discover these free* Tooth Fairy resources and activities on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Popular Children's Books:
Bear's Loose Tooth – Written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman: A rhyming story about Bear losing his tooth and his friends helping him. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
How to Catch the Tooth Fairy – Written by Adam Wallace and illustrated by Andy Elkerton: A playful adventure filled with rhymes and attempts to catch the Tooth Fairy. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
February 29:
🐸 Leap Day (February 29)
About: Leap Day occurs every four years to keep our calendar aligned with Earth's orbit around the Sun. Leap Year has 366 days instead of 365.
Fun Facts: People born on Leap Day are known as “Leaplings.” The odds of being born on Leap Day are 1 in 1,461.
Leap Year Articulation Practice: Use this 50 Leap Year Trials activity to color in every fourth frog while practicing target speech sounds/words. Repeat until all the frogs are colored in.
Leap Day Story: Create a story about someone celebrating their birthday on Leap Day using who, what, when, where, and why prompts.
Leap Year Resources: Discover these free* Leap Year resources and activities on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Popular Children's Books:
Leap's Day: February 29 – Written by Stephanie Bee Simmons: An engaging story explaining the concept of Leap Day through a playful narrative. 📖 [Amazon Link] 🎥 [YouTube Read Aloud]
What is Leap Year? Did You Know... – Written by Tatyana Ferrahi: Join Zachariah and Wizard as they discover the meaning behind adding an extra day to the month of February. 📖 [Amazon Link]
Ending February with Fun and Fresh Themes
February may be the shortest month, but it certainly isn’t short on inspiration! From Tootsie Roll Day to embracing the quiet on Quiet Day and wrapping it all up with Tooth Fairy Day, these are just a few of the themes that will make the last week of the month memorable. Now, onto March for even more magnificent, magical ideas.
See More National Day Themes for February:
February National Days Week 1 (February 1 - 7)
February National Days Week 2 (February 8 - 14): coming soon
February National Days Week 3 (February 15 - 21)
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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