April showers bring May flowers! Whether we're celebrating a wacky holiday or a whole national month of fun, Macaroni Kid is here to help inspire you to create family experiences you’ll never forget. While you're on our site, check out all the summer camps in our Summer Camps and Programs Guide. We are updating these as we find all the fun to be had this summer! Many have discounts if you register this month!
This month you won't want to miss:
Celebrate these things all month long
- National Humor Month
- International Guitar Month
- Keep America Beautiful Month
- Lawn and Garden Month
- National Kite Month
- National Poetry Month
- Stress Awareness Month
- Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Celebrate these weekly:
- Week 1 Library Week
- Week 2 Garden Week
- Week 3 Organize Your Files Week
- Week 4 National Karaoke Week
April 1 - National Walking Day
- Head to the Farmer's Market and walk around Downtown Roanoke. Check out the many vendors and yummy fresh veggies you can purchase!
- Getting out for a walk is one of the best things you can do right now. Fresh air will do us all some good, and you can make it extra fun today with some of these ideas:
- Take sidewalk chalk with you and stop every so often to draw pretty pictures or write an inspiring message.
- Bring paper and crayons with you, and make some nature rubbings while you walk.
- Collect items along your walk like stones, leaves, sticks, etc., and create an art project with them when you get back home.
- Play “I Spy” as you walk.
April 3 - World Party Day
- Have a party for your family! Blow up some balloons and have a dance party, or here’s a video that will show you some simple instructions on How to Make Party Snacks quick and easy.
April 4- Easter!
This year still doesn't look like a normal Easter for our family, but we will make the best of it for sure! Here are some fun ideas to celebrate this holiday:
April 5 - Read a Road Map Day
- We may not be able to go anywhere right now, but that doesn’t have to stop you from getting out the map and looking to see where you’d like to go, or you can watch some of these Virtual Field Trips and then find where the places are on a map.
April 6 Plan Your Epitaph Day
- Here lies...sounds morbid right? Not always. Mel Balnc has “That’s All Folks” written on his tombstone, Rodney Dangerfield has “There Goes the Neighborhood”, Merv Griffin has “I Will Not Be Right Back After This Message” and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. has “Free at last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty I’m Free at last.” Take time with your family to talk about what you would want written on your tombstone. Pick something funny or pick something serious - it’s a great way to start a conversation on what kind of person you want to be.
April 7 - No Housework Day
- Yup, this is a day moms all over the country skip laundry, leave a sink full of dishes and ignore the pet hair and dust bunnies. You’re thinking I’m crazy right? If it’s not possible for you and you feel the need to do some spring cleaning, at least Get the Kids to Help with Chores and here’s some more great cleaning tips:
- More Natural Approach to Cleaning
- Spring Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Home Fire Safe
- Combine cleaning with science and Show Kids How to Clean Pennies
April 10 - National Siblings Day
- There’s nothing better than a brother or sister, someone who follows you cradle to grave, but if you have more than one child you know the “He touched me” or “She’s looking at me” fighting that often occurs (and is probably happening a lot more now with so much togetherness!). Make sure you let the kids know it’s their special day and there’s no fighting on National Siblings Day. Only love. Good luck! Just in case here’s some advice in how to deal with siblings:
April 14 - Look up at the Sky Day
- Wondering what this holiday is all about? It’s the same message Ferris Bueller tried to teach us in 1986, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Take a little time to slow down, be more mindful and appreciate the little things in life. One idea is to spend time in nature with the kids, looking up at the beautiful sky and appreciating the outdoors:
- Create a Cloud in a Jar
- Fun Facts About Flying Kites
- DIY Make Your Own Kite
- Take a blanket outside and have these sky-inspired treats: Easy Star Biscuit Bites or Berries in a Cloud
April 15 - World Art Day
- Visit an Art Museum, virtually, and talk about some of the pieces that catch your eye. Here are just a few you can visit:
April 20 - Volunteer Recognition Day
This would be a great day for you to shout out to the helpers you're seeing stepping up in the community to help neighbors during this time.
April 22 - Earth Day
- This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the theme is “Climate Action”. There are so many things you and your family can do to help protect and restore our planet. Take a trash bag out with you when you walk and pick up all the trash you pass (we recommend wearing gloves, too). We know the importance of reusing and recycling but here are 3 Outside-the-Box ideas you might not have thought of, 10 Green Tips to Help Save the Planet and Your Wallet and 15 Great Organizing Tips Using Everyday Items. You can also celebrate with the kids with a few Earth Day recyclable crafts:
April 23 - Take a Chance Day
- Do something outside your comfort zone. Learn a new language, take up knitting, ax throwing, cooking, or get together with friends to get out of an Escape Room. Do something that you’ve always wanted to do and it might be a great opportunity to make a new friend or reconnect with an old one- virtually, even if that is what works for you!
April 24 - Arbor Day
- It’s a National holiday celebrating trees. The Lorax reminds us, “I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” Trees are so loved and universal that many countries across the world have their own Arbor Day. The day usually coincides with the planting time of the area. The best way to celebrate Arbor Day is to plant a tree or donate to an organization that will plant one for you.
- Did you know Brown Hound Tree Salvage has beautiful wooden slabs for home decor as well as art? They try to repurpose every tree they cut down. Learn more about the mama behind the business here: Money Making Mama Carrie Poff and Check them out on Facebook
April 25 - DNA Day
- Today is a great day to talk about Genetics with your family, and here are some fun things you can look at with your kids to compare traits and genes:
- Who has attached earlobes and whose earlobes are detached?
- Curling your tongue: Can anyone curl their tongue? How about flipping your tongue?
- How curved is your thumb? (Called hitchiker’s thumb)
- Who has a cleft chin?
April 27 - National Pretzel Day
- Try your hand at making homemade pretzels with this video that shows you how to make them 4 different ways.
- Try dipping pretzels in different things like chocolate, hummus, nutella, mustard, guacamole, cheese, yogurt or peanut butter. You can turn this into a learning opportunity by graphing the results, too.
- Try one of these recipes at home.
Spring Break Camps, Summer Camps, events popping up every week here in Roanoke... these are just some of the things we are looking out for and ready to post about as thing start to open up! Happy April, everyone!
