October Holidays & Celebrations

From Roller Skating to Reptiles, and Columbus to Cookbook, Learn More About October's Special Days

Angela W. La Fon, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Oct 1, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

October is the tenth month of the year and the first full month of fall. The October calendar is of course home to the ever popular holiday of Halloween but there are many other lesser known holidays and celebrations waiting to be noticed in October.

Month Long Celebrations in October:

October is...

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Find a mammography center near you.

Computer Learning Month

Check your local library for free computer classes.

National Go on a Field Trip Month

October is a perfect month for a family field trip with views of fall leaves along the way. Don't forget the camera.

National Roller Skating Month

Consider rolling with your family this month.

International Dinosaurs Month

Dinosaurs are a popular topic for theme teaching.

Dinosaur diorama crafts

Dinosaur lesson plans with books, center ideas and snacks.

Dinosaur lesson plans with crafts and games.

National Dessert Month

Clergy Appreciation Month

Clock Month

Popcorn Poppin' Month

Hunger Awareness Month

Many families, churches and organizations will sign up to serve or deliver meals through out the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Hunger doesn't take a holiday. Consider volunteering at or sharing with a local food bank in October.

National Pizza Month

National Caramel Month

Cookbook Month

Here's one of my very favorite cookbooks for kids, The Disney Magic Kitchen Cookbook.

It's also a great time to let your kids make their own cookbook. Find ideas here.

Week Long Celebrations in October:

Spinning and Weaving Week

National Newspaper Week

Fire Prevention Week

World Rain Forest Week

National Clean Air Week

It makes great sense for Clean Air Week and National Rain Forest Week to be celebrated together. What a great discussion and research topic for science students.

Special Days in October:

Columbus Day, the second Monday in October

Find 15 Interesting Facts about Columbus here.

You may also enjoy Should We Celebrate Columbus Day? by one of my favorite Associated Content writers, Pauline Dolinski.

October 16

Dictionary Day

Dictionary Day is celebrated each October 16^th on the birthday of Noah Webster.

Do you and your computer using tweens and teens know about Dictionary.com? Check it out.
Quick quiz: Do you have a book dictionary in your home? Does everybody know where it is?

Sweetest Day, the third Saturday in October

Sweetest Day began in 1922 and is most popular in the Great Lakes region. Where as Valentine's Day could be considered a day to celebrate your true love, Sweetest Day is a day to celebrate everyone special to you in some "sweet' way.

October 21

Reptile Awareness Day

Have you hugged a lizard today? Well I don't recommend it but I do recommend these:

Free Printable Reptile Coloring Pages

October 28

Make a Difference Day

Statue of Liberty Day

Take a quiz. How much do you really know about the Statue of Liberty?

*This was my very first article on Associated Content. It needs some love.

October 30

National Candy Corn Day

October 31