Grab the October Activity Calendar filled with a daily theme including a book and book based activity. These October stories for kids will give you a fun day to celebrate each day in the month of October, making it a great way for the whole family to get together for fun. Great fun for toddler, preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade students.
October Activity Calendar
Do you look forward to National Pumpkin Day or World Math Day? These are just a few of the fun monthly holidays to be found during the month of October. Celebrate these fun holidays with a daily October stories for kids and a book based activity. These fun October activities for kids are perfect for families with toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 students.
>> Find other Monthly Stories for Kids <<
October Stories for Kids
Scroll below to see all the daily themes, special days, books recommended, daily October activities featured with the free printable activity calendar for October, and some alternative activities too.
Simply 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 in a new window for you to save the freebie and print the calendar template. Enjoy!
October 1 – National Hair Day
It’s time to celebrate National Hair Day with all things HAIR! The book, When Your Llama Needs a Haircut, is a fantastic way to start the celebration. To continue celebrating, break out the cardboard and scissors for this fun cutting paper hair craft your kids will love. Finish up the day by this making silly grass craft and see how silly you can make the hair grow.
October 2 – National Pumpkin Seed Day
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? is the perfect book to read on National Pumpkin Seed Day. After reading how many seeds can be in a pumpkin, find out for yourself by getting the seeds out of a family pumpkin! You can then use pumpkin seeds to make a pumpkin seed turkey craft or to work on names and letters with this activity.
October 3 – National Poetry Day
There are so many wonderful poems out there, but a classic poetry book that will delight your children is Where the Sidewalk Ends. Celebrate National Poetry Day by reading that then work on creating a simple color poem together. If you have older kids, you can help them learn all about poetry with these Ralph Waldo Emerson worksheets!
October 4 – National Taco Day
What better way to celebrate National Taco Day than with some tacos … taco pizza that is! After everyone is full from this delicious taco recipe, it’s time for some fun with books. Read Dragons Love Tacos with your kids first, then get creative and hands-on with this Dragons Love Tacos playdough activity. This will be a Taco Day to remember!
October 5 – American Cheese Month
For American Cheese Month, you’ll want to make everyone’s favorite cheesy dish … you guessed it, mac and cheese! Cheese monsters are also a great snack that will help your whole family celebrate American Cheese Month. Although not as tasty, your kids will also have fun reading The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.
October 6 – National Mad Hatter Day
The Mad Hatter is a favorite Alice in Wonderland character for many children. Celebrate Mad Hatter Day by reading Mad Hatter’sTea Party. Host your very own pretend play tea party after reading the book to keep with the Mad Hatter theme. Finish the day with some learning fun with these Alice in Wonderland worksheets.
October 7 – National Book Month
Challenge your entire family to read this National Book Month. This reading log and bookmarks printable will make it easy to keep track of the books each family member reads. Or encourage kids to read with these free Monthly Reading Logs, Princess Reading Logs, Super Hero Reading Logs, Cars Reading Chart, or these Frozen Reading Logs.. Plus you can see how well kids remeber what they’ve read with these Free Reading Comprehension Bookmarks. You can also get your kids this Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Collection so that they have different books to choose from! Since it’s October, they can also choose from one of these Halloween books on this book list. So much reading fun!
See book recommendations by grade level here!
October 8 – National Caramel Month
If you’re looking for a tasty caramel treat for National Caramel Month, 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes has some fantastic caramel recipes. Another great caramel treat to make are these caramelized pumpkin seeds. They’re so good, your kids will beg for more, even after Caramel Month is over! If you want some hands-on fun mixed in with this tasty month, you’ll want to make caramel apple slime!
October 9 – Fire Prevention Day
Fire prevention is an important topic that children need to be educated on. This Fire Prevention Day, start learning about fire safety by reading the book Pete the Cat: Firefighter Pete. Keep learning with these fire safety worksheets, which will help kids learn what they need to know about fire prevention. Finish the learning with a little bit of fun with this fire safety scavenger hunt that kids will love!
October 10 – National Cake Decorating Day
For National Cake Decorating Day, break out the cooking utensils and frosting and bake a delicious cake, followed by a decorating party! The Cake Decorating Book will give you plenty of ideas for decorating the perfect cake. You can also use this amazing fall apple cake as inspiration for your decorating. If you’d like to decorate something that will last, then this puffy paint cake decorating activity is the perfect way to finish your cake celebration!
See all of our amazing birthday party ideas with amazing homemade cake ideas!
October 11 – National Sausage Pizza Day
This National Sausage Pizza Day, be prepared to have fun with some pizza-rific activities and recipes! Start out by making this yummy breakfast pizza. Then read Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin is a great book to start the day. Keep celebrating with some learning activities like this sentences pizza parlor activity, pizza counting, pizza fractions, and finally try these pizza worksheets to work on a variety of skills. Once you’ve combined learning and pizza, make some delicious Taco Pizza for dinner (our families favorite!)
October 12 – National Farmers Day
Get reading for some farming fun with the book, What Does a Farmer Do? Of course, your kids will be excited to learn that farmers do a lot of things, including interacting with animals! Kids will love these free Farm Hidden Pictures Worksheets and these Free I Spy on the Farm Printables. Then sneak in more learning with these Farm Bingo Marker Worksheets to practice writing and counitng. Next, try these Free Farm Color by Number Printables to work on number recogntition. This peek-a-boo farm animals activity is a great way to continue celebrating National Farmers Day. You can also do this Farmer in the Dell rhyming activity for more Farmers Day fun. And last, but not least, kids will love coloring this darling Free Farm Coloring Pages
October 13 – National Fossil Day
Get Curious About Fossils this National Fossil Day! When you think of fossils, you probably think of dinosaurs, which is why this D is for Dinosaurs activity list is a great addition to National Fossil Day. Since not all fossils are dinosaurs, you can also have some fossil fun by making bug fossils, a play dough activity that your kids will love.
October 14 – Columbus Day
Columbus Day is a holiday that kids will love celebrating! Get started by learning who Columbus was with the book My First Biography: Christopher Columbus. You can also use these Columbus Day coloring sheets and writing prompts to keep the learning going. After learning all there is to know about Christopher Columbus, get ready for some hands-on fun with this tutorial on making a Columbus Day paper boat. Looking for more? You’ll be inspired by these 22 Columbus Day Crafts & Activities.
October 15 – World Maths Day
For World Maths Day, you can expect a ton of math fun to happen! This monster dice match is a perfect math game to play with younger children. Kids of all ages will also love playing this Pete the Cat math game, especially since the theme is of a beloved book character. To keep the math fun going, get a copy of Math Riddles for Smart Kids and challenge the whole family to solve a math problem. You can finish the day with some Bedtime Math: A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late.
October 16 – Global Cat Day
For Global Cat Day, you’ll want to read the book, They All Saw a Cat, with the entire family. If your kids need some math practice, then keep going with the cat theme by having them practice with this Cat in the Hat math printable. Another great hands-on activity your kids will love is this Pete the Cat movement activity, which will get your kids moving and having fun. So many cat-themed things to do!
October 17 – National Pasta Day
ABC Pasta is a fun book that kids will love, which makes it a great way to start National Pasta Day! After reading this creative pasta book, your kids will be ready to have some pasta fun themselves. Get started by making this stained glass pasta craft, then continue the pasta fun with pasta play dough! Both are hands-on activities that make celebrating Pasta Day a memorable experience.
October 18 – National Chocolate Cupcake Day
Did somebody say CUPCAKE? You’ll hear a lot of this word on National Chocolate Cupcake Day! To get in the cupcake mood, read the book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake. You can also do this cupcake math activity, a great way to combine learning with cupcakes. Once you’re done with that, it’s time for the cupcake fun you’ve been waiting for … making your very own chocolate cupcakes! This Snickers stuffed chocolate cupcake recipe is a great way to finish celebrating this tasty day.
October 19 – National Dessert Month
National Dessert Month will quickly become one of your family’s favorite celebrations! There are so many desserts to choose from with Super Simple Baking for Kids. You can also make this layered ice cream dessert recipe, a quick and tasty dessert that everyone will love. Since Halloween is this month, you can also put a spooky spin on your desserts with no bake bats and mummies Halloween dessert. There are so many dessert options, you’ll need more than a month for it all!
October 20 – National Day on Writing
For National Day on Writing, your kids will have fun learning all about writing. The book Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook is a great book to start learning about writing. After reading this book, your kids will be ready to start writing their own creations. These picture writing prompts can help inspire their writing. These football writing activities can also help your young writers get started if they’re having trouble.
**Don’w miss over 500 pages of Free Creative Writing Prompts. You will find ideas based month, holidays, themes and more. Some are in a monthly calendar, others have pictures to color with writing lines.
October 21 – National Apple Day
Learn all about apples on Apple Day with the book, How do Apples Grow? After reading about how they grow, kids will be inspired to create their very own apples with this A is for Apple hand art activity or this bubble wrap apple tree. If they want even more apple fun, then it’s time for this apple-themed STEM activity, balancing apples. Practice sight words with this Apple Tree Sight Words Activityor practie letter recognition with these adorable, free Apple Letter Find Worksheets or practice alphabetical order with this ABC Apple Lacing Craft. It’s the perfect way to end Apple Day.
Want to sneak in more learning? We’ve got TONS of creative apple ideas for preschoolers (like playdough mats, puzzles, and hold puching)!
October 22 – National Nut Day
What better way to learn about National Nut Day than with a book that teaches how important nuts are! Because of an Acorn teaches children that something as small as a nut can grow into something big and important, like a tree. After reading this book, keep learning with this nuts about the alphabet activity. All of that learning will make your kids hungry, so make sure you have some cranberry nut clusters available for them to snack on!
October 23 – National Pizza Month
Start National Pizza Month with an educational activity. Challenge your kids to a game of pizza fractions! After playing a few rounds, you can get started on the tasty part of National Pizza Month. This pizza sliders recipe is the perfect way to start. If you want more pizza ideas, you can use the book, Pizza!: An Interactive Recipe Book.
October 24 – National Food Day
It’s so important to have a healthy diet, so this National Food Day, talk to your kids about eating healthy foods. Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli is a great book to read to introduce this topic. After talking about what foods are healthy to eat, challenge your kids to show what they’ve learned with this healthy eating printable. You can also use this noun-verb food sort to challenge your kids with even more food fun.
October 25 – National Art Day
Art has such a rich history. On National Art Day, learn about this history with the book, The Story of Paintings. After learning about art and paintings, get your kids started on their very own art journey with this Impressionism art project that’s perfect for kids. You can also do this hands-on art history project, which will help kids discover more about art using their own creativity.
October 26 – National Pumpkin Day
Start the day with this yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. Now read The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin,a great book to read in order to celebrate National Pumpkin Day. Since it’s all about pumpkins today, break out the candy pumpkins and have fun with these pumpkin count and trace worksheets. Next, find an extra pumpkin lying around the house (or go buy one!) and have fun learning with this pumpkin volcano science activity. Practice word families with these free adorable pumpkin word family sliders, Roll a Jack O Lantern as you work on learning shapes, work on learning letters with this Pumpkin Letter FInd Worksheets , and so many other fun pumpkin activities. No matter how old your children are, they’ll love these pumpkin activities.
October 27 – National Black Cat Day
Did you know that not all black cats are the exact same? You will after reading All Black Cats Are Not Alike for National Black Cat Day. This book will inspire your kids to create their very own unique black cats, which is why this black cat craft is so perfect for this day! They can also create individual black cats with this black cat paper craft.
October 28 – National Chocolate Day
National Chocolate Day isn’t complete unless you read the book, The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling. After reading such a delicious chocolate-themed book, your kids will be ready for some chocolate fun. Hot chocolate PlayDough is a hands-on activity that’s perfect for a chocolatey day. You can also do this hot chocolate science experiment to get your kids even more excited about chocolate.
October 29 – National Pretzel Month
This Curious George book, Pretzel, is perfect for National Pretzel Month, simply because of the name! For this month’s celebration, you can expect some tasty, pretzel treats, such as this natural strawberry pretzel dessert. You can also combine your children’s education with this tasty theme by making alphabet soft pretzels! Learn about the origins of pretzels with some fun ideas on Medieval Times for Kids. Finally, practice phonics with this Hot Chocolate Phonics activity or work on sequencing with these free Hot Chocolate Sequencing Printables.
October 30 – National Candy Corn Day
For National Candy Corn Day, the book The Candy Corn Contest will fit right in with the candy corn theme. Keep the theme going with some delicious, edible candy corn playdough, a tasty treat AND fun thing to play with. You can also do this dissolving candy corn science experiment , Candy Corn Alphabet Puzzles, Candy Corn Addition/Subtraction Puzzles, and Candy Corn Multiplication/Division Puzzles,to finish the day. Don’t forget to eat all of the leftover candy corn pieces after the experiment is done!
October 31 – Halloween
It’s Halloween! That means it’s time for some spooky fun. Room on the Broom is a great book to get Halloween started off right. You can also have some spooky fun with this spider counting activity. In keeping with the spooky, creepy Halloween theme, you can also make these DIY bat corner bookmarks! After trick-or-treating, don’t forget to save your leftover candy to make some leftover Halloween bark!
    
Plus don’t miss out on 31 Fabulous October Crafts for Kids and FUN October Activities for Kids
October stories for kids is filled with fun celebrations for everyone in the family. Whether it’s making a pizza or doing some math, your kids will enjoy learning about each of these very special days.
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