May has so many holidays and celebrations, from pets to composting. No matter what day of the month you celebrate, you’ll have a blast with this free printable May activity calendar. Each day includes not only a fun may theme or may fun holiday, but a May book for kids to read together, but a may craft for kids or may activities for kids too! Parents will love these pre-planned, book bakes activities for kids! Just print and go!
May Activity Calendar
Celebrate all the fun may holidays for kids with this may activity calendar filled with special days in may and may themes for each day of the month. Each day includes a may book for kids along with a may activity. So grab the printable calendar with book based may activities for kids and you are ready to read, play and learn in the month of may with kids!
May Activities for Kids
Simply scroll to the bottom of the post you can download and print the free printable May activity calendar. Then check out these May book recommendations from the library and take a peak at this post for fun, clever activities for families to do together! You’ll love this LOW PREP activity calendar! >> Find other Monthly Stories for Kids <<
May Stories for Kids
Are you interested in making May a fun and exciting month for your kids? These May stories for kids will help! Each day of the month, you’ll find a new holiday or celebration that will get kids excited. From tasty hamburgers to lucky pennies, have fun discovering all of the fun ways to celebrate May.
May 1 – May Day
May Day is all about spring and flowers, so celebrate today with some fun crafts! Start by reading And Then It’s Spring, a story about a boy and his dog who plant a garden and wait for spring to arrive. Then, have fun making this adorable Flower Suncatcher Craft or this Painted Flower Craft in hopes that the first day of May brings your family some flowers. Another great way to celebrate May Day is to head outside and look for some of those beautiful blooms so that you can make flower crowns or the printable flower hat. You can also practice matching upper and lower case letters with this flower alphabet game.
May 2 – National Brothers and Sisters Day
Celebrate siblings with the book What Brothers Do Best, a story about all of the fantastic things a brother (or sister) can do. Next, get all of the siblings together and have them make an Acts of Kindness Jar, an activity that will encourage siblings to be kind to each other. In the spirit of getting along, encourage siblings to have fun together by playing this free spring numbers to 20 board game! Older siblings can help younger siblings learn their numbers.
May 3 – Garden Meditation Day
Whether you have a garden in your yard or not, you can still celebrate Garden Meditation Day. The book, Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, will help you discover the joys that can be found in the garden. You can then create your very own garden with this paper plate garden craft. After making your garden plates, use this garden printable pack for more learning fun.
May 4 – Star Wars Day
May the “fourth” be with you this Star Wars Day! Star Wars: 5-Minute Stories is a great book to read to celebrate. You can read one or more stories, all in the spirit of the day. After reading, break out the crayons and markers for some coloring fun with these Star Wars coloring sheets. While crafting, don’t forget to make this Yoda puppet to finish your Star Wars celebration.
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
This Cinco de Mayo, celebrate by reading Fiesta Time! This book will help kids understand all about Cinco de Mayo and why this celebration is so important. After reading about this tradition, kids will be excited to color these free Mexico Coloring Pages and make these egg carton maracas! If they’re ready for even more Cinco de Mayo crafts & activities, this slime recipe is the perfect way to end the celebration!
May 6 – Beverage Day
Beverage Day is all about yummy drinks, which means kids will love celebrating it! The Lemonade Stand Cookbook has tons of recipes and crafts that are perfect for celebrating this day. You can also make this electric blue mocktail (uses lemonade and doesn’t have to contain alcohol) as a delicious way to celebrate. If you’d like to have some education thrown in for the day, this making hot chocolate sequencing pack will get kids excited about learning while sticking to the theme of the day.
May 7 – National Tourism Day
For National Tourism Day, take some time to travel somewhere, even if it’s somewhere close to where you live! Before hitting the road, make sure your kids have a travel journal so that they can record their thoughts and experiences. Once you’re on the road, you can use this road trip printable to keep the kids occupied, whether it’s a 10 minute trip or a couple hours! Afterwards, talk about how there are so many popular tourism spots, such as ancient wonders around the world.
May 8 – National Pet Week (May 1-8)
To finish National Pet Week, discover what your family’s perfect pet would be with the book, The Perfect Pet. You can also use these pet worksheets to learn important math and reading skills or put together your own Pet Shop Emergent Reader, all while talking about favorite pets. If you don’t have any pets at home, you can still celebrate by making your very own pine cone pets or doing this pet writing activity
May 9 – National Bike Month
The book, B is for Bicycles, is just what you need to start celebrating National Bike Month. Keep going with the bike-themed fun with this bike craft. You can also learn about bicycles and other modes of transportation with these transportation preschool worksheets. After learning all about bicycles, the only other way to celebrate is to head outside and take a bike ride with the family.
May 10 – National BBQ Month
When teaching your kids about National BBQ Month, you’ll want them to know that the BBQ is all about the sauce! Barbecue Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades gives you some great ideas for creating your very own BBQ meal. You can also use this appetizer BBQ meatballs recipe or this crockpot BBQ chicken recipe to create a delicious meal that everyone will love!
May 11 – International Migratory Bird Day
For International Migratory Bird Day, learn all about the peregrine falcon’s annual migration with the book The Peregrine’s Journey. Next, kids will enjoy making their very own migratory birds with this paper plate bird craft. To make it more interesting, you can have your kids research a migratory bird, figure out what physical attributes it has, and then create a paper plate bird that matches its colors and feather patterns. To finish the day, this birds on a branch alphabet match game is a fun way to close your migratory bird learning.
May 12 – Mother’s Day (2019)
This Mother’s Day, celebrate MOM with the book The Night Before Mother’s Day. Since Mother’s Day is all about mothers, it’s important to make sure they feel special! Kids can accomplish this by making a Mother’s Day flower pot, or even a special Mother’s Day card. No matter what kids decide to do for their mothers, it’ll be special simply because of the time they spend creating these masterpieces.
May 13 – Frog Jumping Day
On Frog Jumping Day, gather around with the family and read Jimmy the Racing Frog. After reading this adorable children’s book, hop on to the next thing with this frog sight word game. Kids can even create these construction paper frogs for even more frog jumping fun! Although these frogs sit on lily pads, it’ll only take a little bit of imagination before they’re hopping around.
May 14 – Dance Like a Chicken Day
Dance Like a Chicken Day is finally here … which means it’s time to break out your dancing shoes!! Get started with the book Dance, a story about a chick who learns to dance. Afterward, make your very own geometric chicken to dance around with. Keep the chicken fun going with some farm worksheets, which includes (you guessed it) chickens!
May 15 – National Chocolate Chip Day
Learn all about how chocolate is made with Making Chocolate, the perfect book to read on National Chocolate Chip Day. After exploring how chocolate chips are made, it’s time for some hands-on learning … or as I like to call it, baking! You can bake these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies or these chocolate chip cooking roll-ups. Have fun baking!
May 16 – Love a Tree Day
There are so many things to love about trees … how beautiful they are, how they help the environment, just to name a few. This Love a Tree Day, start your celebration by reading Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book. After reading, it’ll be time to make your own trees. This T is for Tree hand art project is the perfect way to do so. You can also teach your kids about how trees change during each season with this four seasons tree craft.
May 17 – National Pizza Party Day
Be prepared for some pizza fun this National Pizza Party Day! Start with the interactive recipe book, Pizza! and find a recipe that you and your kids want to make! Mix some learning into your day with a fun pizza counting activity that will get your kids excited. After using pizza to learn how to count, use this homemade pizza dough recipe, along with your favorite toppings, to make a delicious pizza dinner for the entire family. Or try this easy taco pizza recipe
May 18 – National Egg Month
For National Egg Month, start your celebration by making some eggs for breakfast! After satisfying your egg hunger, you can celebrate with the book, The Good Egg. For fun, give your kids the supplies to make egg sun-catchers or even some playdough or buttons to create Easter egg colors. There are so many fun egg activities to do.
May 19 – World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day
The Vegetables We Eat is a book that’s all about vegetables, making it perfect for Plant a Vegetable Garden Day. After reading all about vegetables, having some fun by making a pretend play garden. You can also use these count to 10 vegetable clip cards or learn about the many kinds of produce in this Fruit and Vegetables from A to Z Reader to help your kids learn how to count while sticking to the theme of the day. After a day of learning about vegetables, you and your kids might be inspired to plant your very own vegetable garden. If you do, these home vegetable garden tips can help.
May 20 – Pick Strawberries Day
In honor of Pick Strawberries Day, you can read the book, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear. Next, have some learning fun with these strawberry picking rhyming cards. After learning, it’s time to pick some strawberries with this paper plate strawberry craft. If you have time left, don’t forget to head out and find a strawberry farm to pick some real strawberries!
May 21 – National Salad Month
When you think of a salad, do you think of green leafy vegetables? Although salads can have green leaves, there are so many different kinds of salads! Learn more about this during National Salad Month with the book Salad People and More Real Recipes. Then, get ready to taste some delicious salads, starting with avocado egg salad sandwiches. If you’re looking for a hands-on activity that kids will love, then they can make a paper salad, adding their favorite “ingredients” to the top!
May 22 – Buy a Musical Instrument Day
Making today all about instruments, starting with an instrument book called 88 Instruments! If you have an instrument store closeby, take a field trip there and let your kids look around at all of the different kinds of instruments available. Even if you don’t have an instrument store nearby, you can still experiment with different instruments. First, start with the basics and make a rainstick instrument, then move on to creating an elaborate PVC xylophone! Or learn about instruments with these musical instruments playdough mats.
May 23 – Lucky Penny Day
Pennies are super lucky today, so take a moment to try to find your very own lucky penny. Start by reading the book Curious George Saves His Pennies. After your kids find their very own lucky pennies, maybe finding it between the couch cushions or in the dirty laundry, they can use those pennies to make penny spinners! Don’t forget to take a moment to practice counting pennies (and other coins) with these coin value clip cards.
May 24 – National Scavenger Hunt Day
If you’re looking for a fantastically fun day to celebrate, look no further! National Scavenger Hunt Day is a “holiday” that will quickly become a family favorite. One way to celebrate is with this We’re Going on a Treasure Hunt book and then pick one of these fun free scavenger hunts:
- Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Zoo Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Easter Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Fall Leaf Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Library Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Fall Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt for Kids
- Spring Scavenger Hunt
May 25 – National Brown Bag It Day
In honor of National Brown Bag It Day, take a moment to read the book, The Paper Bag Princess, with your family. Then, it’ll be time to make your very own brown paper bag crafts, such as this owl paper bag puppet! You’ll also want to pack your very own brown bag snack, such as this microwave brown bag caramel corn recipe. What a delicious way to end the day.
May 26 – Sally Ride Day
Sally Ride was the first woman astronaut to go to space, which is why we celebrate her for this holiday. Learn more about this amazing woman and what she has accomplished with the book Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering Woman in Space. After reading the book, your kids will be inspired to create their very own space crafts, such as this outer space ABC seek and find. You can even make some space play-dough as a way for your kids to take a piece of outer space with them.
May 27 – Memorial Day
Memorial Day is an important holiday that honors soldiers who have fought and died for our country. Remember this sacrifice with this Memorial Day book. You can also celebrate while learning with this patriotic color by addition worksheet. If it’s nice weather, plan to head outside and have a muffin tin Memorial Day picnic.
May 28 – National Hamburger Day
Not only are hamburgers tasty, they’re also FUN this National Hamburger Day. Start by reading Sam’s Hamburger, a fun book about a hamburger thief. Move on to some burger learning by challenging your kids to a game of homonyms hamburgers. Your Hamburger Day celebration won’t be complete, however, until you make your very own hamburger … paper plate hamburger craft, that is!
May 29 – Learn About Composting Day
Do your kids know what composting is? By the end of Learn About Composting Day, they will! Compost Stew is a great book to read with your kids to teach them about what composting really is. Worms are an important part of composting, which is why this all about worms printable pack is perfect for today. If your kids are interested in creating their own compost pile, composting 101 will help you get started.
May 30 – Water a Flower Day
For Water a Flower Day, gather your family together and read the book, The Little Gardener. After reading this book, talk about how gardeners need to water their flowers in order to keep them alive and growing! Then grab some flowers for this amazing dyeing flowers experiment. After watering some flowers, use an empty water bottle to make this water bottle flower craft.
May 31 – National Salsa Month
What better way to celebrate National Salsa Month than with the book, Chicks and Salsa! Of course, your kids will be hungry after reading that book, so you’ll want to whip up some of this best homemade salsa. You can also make some bean burritos with avocado verde salsa for dinner, a great way to end Salsa Month!
These May stories for kids are so much fun to do! Kids will love having a new experience each day, and you’ll notice that these activities will help draw your family together.
Looking for more fun things to do this May? You will love these clever resources and ideas:
- 31 Fabulous May Activities for Kids
- May Writing Prompts – if you prefer to print out ideas with space to write on the page try these handy free worksheets
- 31 May Crafts for Kids
- 100 AMAZING Edible Science Experiments
- Spring Lego Challenge Cards
- 100 Flower Crafts for Kids
- Ice Cream Summer Bucket List
- Ready to stock up on books to read this summer? Check out our free book lists
- Free Summer Planning Printable
May Activity Calendar
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The May Calendar is wrong. I happened to look at May 11 and you have it on a Sat. when it is actually a Monday? May 1st is a Friday also, not Wed. ? Thanks though otherwise love the idea.
Sorry about that it was still optimized for last may =) It is all updated for 2020 now!
I’m having a hard time finding the link to print….where is the link to click on the actual document to print?
Scroll to the bottom of the post, under the terms of use, and click on the text link that says >> Download <<. The pdf file will open for you to print / save. Its a long post, I know =)
Love this! Thanks for sharing!