Siblings Day | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with any single founding organisation for Siblings Day. Due to its grassroots origins and varied observance, there isn't one official website to credit beyond the general understanding of its purpose.

Understanding Siblings Day in EYFS & KS1

Let's celebrate our brothers, sisters, and special family friends! 💖👫 Siblings Day is a special day celebrated every year on April 10th in many places. This day was first thought of by a lady named Claudia Evart, who wanted to remember her own brother and sister. It became a day to celebrate the wonderful connection between brothers and sisters! Even though it's not a big official holiday everywhere, it's a lovely time for people to remember to appreciate, honour, and spend time with their siblings. It reminds us of the unique and important bonds we share with our family.

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderfully personal and empathetic theme for exploring families, relationships, kindness and friendship, emotions and feelings, and personal, social & emotional development (PSED). It's about helping children understand the special roles siblings play (whether by birth or through close bonds), fostering positive family relationships, and encouraging acts of kindness within the family unit and beyond. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about family love and friendship both essential and heartwarming!

Why Is Learning About Siblings Day Important for Young Children?

Integrating Siblings Day and lessons about family bonds and kindness into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) helps nurture healthy family relationships, develops social-emotional skills, and promotes empathy.

• Celebrates Family Diversity: Acknowledges various family structures, including those with and without biological siblings, and highlights the importance of chosen "sibling-like" bonds.

• Fosters Positive Relationships: Encourages appreciation, respect, and kindness among siblings and close friends.

• Develops Empathy & Understanding: Helps children understand the dynamics of sibling relationships (sharing, playing, sometimes disagreeing, and reconciling).

• Enhances Emotional Literacy: Provides opportunities to discuss feelings like love, jealousy, joy, and resolution within family contexts.

• Promotes Communication: Encourages children to talk about their families and the special people in their lives.

• Reinforces Kindness: Directs focus on specific acts of kindness and appreciation towards family members and friends.

Engaging Sibling & Family Activities for Siblings Day (0-7 Year Olds)

Let's hug our siblings (or special friends!) and celebrate for Siblings Day with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on family, friendship, and kindness! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated 'Families' and 'Kindness and Friendship' resources, as well as broader 'Emotions and Feelings' and 'All About Me' themed materials.

Here's some inspiration for celebrating Siblings Day in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

• Celebrate Families & Siblings:

  • Discuss different types of families and who lives in each child's home. Emphasise that "siblings" can be brothers, sisters, or even very close friends who are like family.

  • Use 'Families - Topic Display Banners' to decorate your space.

  • Have children create their own 'Families - 'My Family' Picture Frame Booklet' or 'My Family' Booklet'.

  • Engage with 'Families - 'Family' Themed Colouring Sheets', 'Families - Posters', 'Families - Make A Family Member - Playdough Mat', and 'Families - Draw A Family Member'.

  • Encourage drawing and writing about family members with 'Families - 'My Family' Writing/Drawing Sheets’.

• Kindness and Friendship:

  • Focus on what makes a good sibling or a good friend. Use 'Kindness And Friendship - ‘What Makes A Good Friend’ Mark Making'.

  • Encourage children to perform 'Acts Of Kindness' Activity And Display' and record them on 'Acts Of Kindness' Mark Making/Drawing/Writing A4 Sheet'.

  • Have children make cards for their siblings or special friends using 'Friendship' Card Templates’ and 'Thank-You For Being My Friend!' Cards'.

  • Celebrate kindness with 'Kindness And Friendship - Display Certificates/Notes' and 'Kind To Me' Display Certificates/Notes'.

  • Reinforce positive social interactions with 'Be The Reason Someone Smiles Poster'.

  • Link to collaborative play activities like 'Outdoor Picnic Area - 'At Our Picnic We...' Display’.

• Emotional Understanding:

  • Discuss the range of emotions experienced in sibling relationships (e.g., happiness when playing together, sadness when disagreeing, joy when sharing).

  • Use 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Sad?' Activity Pack' and 'Emotions - 'Why Is Teddy Happy?' Activity Pack' to explore feelings.

  • Introduce resources that encourage connection, like 'Let's Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Poster' and 'Let's Connect - With Each Other - Activity Prompt Cards'.

  • Discuss worries and coping mechanisms using 'When I Feel Worried - Prompt Templates' and 'Mental Health - 'Healthy Minds' Poster' (from Mental Health resources).

• All About Me & Our Place in the Family:

  • Have children talk about themselves and their family members (linking to 'All About Me').

  • Use 'Transitions - 'This Is Me' Sheets - Black And White' for self-reflection.

• Creative & Play-based Activities:

  • Integrate general creative resources, such as 'Hearts Counting Puzzle/Activity/Game' and 'Colour Mixing Experiment Sheets/Display'.

  • Set up a "home corner" where children can role-play family scenarios using 'Houses And Homes - Home Corner Mark Making Pack'.

• Explore More: You may like to explore additional pages covering relevant and/or connected themes such as ‘All About Me’, ‘Birthdays’, ‘Emotions and Feelings’, ‘Families’, ‘Food’, ‘Handwashing and Hygiene’, ‘Holidays, Vacations and Travel’, ‘Houses and Homes’, ‘The Human Body’, ‘Kindness and Friendship’, ‘Mental Health’, and ‘The Little Red Hen’.

These activities offer great inspiration for making Siblings Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering family bonds, kindness, empathy, and positive social-emotional development.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Siblings Day’

Free ‘Sibling’, ‘Family’ & ‘Kindness’ related EYFS & KS1 resources:

‘Sibling’, ‘Family’ & ‘Kindness’ related EYFS & KS1 resources:

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for April

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

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Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Siblings Day'. This day is an annual observance celebrating the bond between siblings and is not officially affiliated with or endorsed by any single founding organisation that governs its celebration globally. It was conceived by Claudia Evart to honour her siblings. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this informal observance. The activities provided aim to encourage appreciation, kindness, and positive relationships within families and among friends.