EYFS & KS1 January Special Dates Calendar & Printables | Little Owls Resources
Looking for some age-appropriate & engaging activity ideas for January? Our free January calendar download includes key events, festivals and celebrations to help inform your nursery school, childminder, preschool or school activities and planning. Have fun! 😊
Quick Links to our January Special Date Pages | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas:
Sat 17th - Fri 23rd - Big Energy Saving Week
Sun 18th - Winnie the Pooh Day
CLICK HERE to visit our ‘SPECIAL DATES CALENDAR PAGE’ for an entire year of key EYFS & KS1 events, festivals & celebrations.
Overarching Themes This January | EYFS & KS1 Adventures ❄️📖
Welcome to January! As the festive glow fades, this month offers a clean slate to delve into themes focusing on the natural world, healthy habits, and the power of language and stories. It’s a great time to introduce new concepts related to animals, conservation, and diverse communities.
We've grouped some of the key dates and popular EYFS/KS1 topics to help you plan a truly engaging month!
📌 Nature, Wildlife, and Observation 🐧🐿️
The heart of January in EYFS and KS1 is often focused on the outdoors, especially birds and other small animals that are active during the winter. This theme connects Understanding the World with practical observation skills.
Special Date: Thu 1st - Sat 31st - Walk your dog month
Themes: Pets, People Who Help Us (Vets), Habitats
Connections & Learning Focus:
Focus on animals, their needs, how to care for them, and road safety when out walking.
Special Date: Tue 6th Jan - Fri 13th Feb - Big Schools Birdwatch
Themes: Birds, Habitats, Seasonal Change
Connections & Learning Focus:
An extended focus on local wildlife, observation, counting, and data collection (‘checklists, scavenger hunts & tally charts’ or ‘graphs & charts’).
Special Date: Tue 20th - Penguin Awareness Day
Themes: Polar Animals, Habitats, Science (Ice/Cold)
Connections & Learning Focus:
Broadens the animal theme to explore creatures in cold climates and how they adapt.
Special Date: Wed 21st - Squirrel Appreciation Day
Themes: Woodland Animals, Hibernation
Connections & Learning Focus:
Focuses on local wildlife, discussing their diet and how they survive the winter.
Special Date: Fri 23th - Sun 25th - Big Garden Birdwatch
Themes: Birds, Outdoor Learning, Conservation
Connections & Learning Focus:
Practical application of the bird theme, encouraging children to identify, count, and make feeders.
Special Date: Mon 12th - Sun 18th - Houseplant Week UK
Themes: Plants, Gardening, Life Cycles
Connections & Learning Focus:
A lovely indoor link to nature, discussing plant care and how things grow, even in winter.
📌 Stories, Language, and Imagination 🐻🏴
This theme is crucial for Communication, Language, and Literacy development, using established characters and cultural traditions to inspire creativity.
Special Date: Sat 17th - Fri 23rd - Big Energy Saving Week
Themes: PSED (Being responsible), Understanding the World
Connections & Learning Focus:
A practical theme focusing on the importance of saving energy and caring for the planet, which can be linked to stories about conservation.
Special Date: Sun 18th - Winnie the Pooh Day
Themes: Familiar Stories, Friendship, PSED
Connections & Learning Focus:
A celebration of a classic children's character, inspiring role-play, discussion about friendship, and creative writing.
Special Date: Sat 31st Jan - Sun 8th Feb - National Storytelling Week
Themes: Literacy, Speaking and Listening, Traditional Tales
Connections & Learning Focus:
The culmination of the literacy focus, promoting oral storytelling, creating character puppets, and sequencing narratives.
Special Date: Sun 25th - Burns Night
Themes: Nations of the UK, Poetry, Culture
Connections & Learning Focus:
A celebration of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, introducing poetry, traditional music, and cultural heritage.
📌 New Starts and World Views 🌍🕰️
This theme focuses on time, new beginnings, and expanding children's understanding of the diverse world and different belief systems.
Special Date: Thu 1st - New Year’s Day
Themes: Time, My Family, Seasons
Connections & Learning Focus:
Reflecting on the past year, talking about personal goals (PSED), and discussing the sequence of months and seasons.
Special Date: Tue 6th - Epiphany
Themes: Festivals and Celebrations, Christianity
Connections & Learning Focus:
Learning about the Christian tradition of the three kings, often a final look at the nativity story.
Special Date: Sun 18th - World Religion Day
Themes: People and Communities, Beliefs
Connections & Learning Focus:
An opportunity to gently and neutrally introduce the concept that different people around the world have different ways of celebrating and believing.
Browse ALL of our January Special Date Activity Ideas Pages for EYFS & KS1:
Read our new Educational & Informative Event Blog Posts. Browse awareness dates below using the arrows and click through to our dedicated blog post pages to read more.
Let's scamper and learn about squirrels! 🌰 Squirrel Appreciation Day is an annual observance, typically celebrated on January 21st. It was created in 2001 by Christy Hargrove, a wildlife…
Waddle on over and learn about penguins! 🐧❄️ Penguin Awareness Day is an annual observance, typically celebrated on January 20th…
Let's learn about different ways people believe! 🌍🤝 World Religion Day is an annual observance, typically celebrated on the third Sunday in January. It was initiated in 1950 by the…
Let's green up our learning space! Houseplant Week UK is an annual observance, typically held in early-January. It was launched by The Joy of Plants, an initiative of the Royal…
Chirp, tweet, let's count the birds! 🦜🦅 The Big Schools’ Birdwatch and The Big Garden Birdwatch are annual citizen science events organised by the RSPB (Royal Society for the…
Let's put on our walking shoes (and paws)! 🐾🚶♀️ Walk Your Dog Month is an annual observance, typically celebrated throughout January. It's believed to have originated in the United States as a…
January Festivals & Celebrations | Printable Resources and Activity Ideas for EYFS & KS1:
Explore our dedicated festival and celebration pages. Learn more about each event and find a wealth of resources and activity inspiration for your setting or school by clicking on the page buttons below.
Popular January Themes | Activity Inspiration & Resources for EYFS & KS1:
Whether you’re a nursery, preschool, school, childminder or parent looking for some fresh ideas, please feel free to browse our topics using the arrows on the right to scroll through the buttons below. We’ve selected some of the most popular themes for January.
Popular EVERGREEN Themes | EYFS & KS1 Inspirational Activities & Resources:
Are you looking for themes that are adored by children all-year-round? Use the arrows on the right to browse and select key themes for childminders, nurseries, preschools, year 1 and year 2.
Additional Special Date Events Calendars | EYFS & KS1 Planning Support for the Whole Year
Looking to plan further ahead? Why not check out the rest of our Monthly Special Date Events Calendars?
Once upon a time... there was a special week for stories! 📚🗣️ National Storytelling Week is an annual event in the UK, organised by the Society for Storytelling. It typically takes place during…