February is a special month because there are two days to celebrate the number two! One of those days falls on a “Two’s Day.” They are on February 2, 2022, and February 22, 2022. Now, I’ve always enjoyed 2-22 because it’s my parent’s anniversary, but now it’s even more fun because the year lines up with the month and the day.
Another fun reason to celebrate 2-22-22 is that it falls on a Tuesday, making it an unofficial Two’s Day, or as some might call it – 2s Day! I love unofficial! Make sure to get your free Two’s day decor here.
Here are some great ideas for creating a fun Two’s Day for your elementary classroom. I include ideas for both K – 1 and 2 – 3.
Two’s Day Morning Work
Our students are coming in to color their Two’s Day cover booklet. I place all the sheets necessary for the day inside the booklet and staple the left side to bind it together. We do this to keep them organized to find a previous activity if they didn’t get to finish.
I also like that my early finishers can go back and color the illustrations on previous activities. It’s a lifesaver!
Two’s Day Centers
I’ve set up everything into centers, but you can do these as stand-alone lessons as well. My students seem to enjoy moving throughout the classroom and getting hands-on. It keeps them interested and engaged in learning.
We have twelve centers for literacy and math. The centers include grammar, phonics, writing, operations and algebraic thinking, numbers and base tens, measurement and data, and geometry.
We take about 15 – 20 minutes for each center. I run through my usual mini-lessons, and then students break out into their groups. We keep the same groups throughout the centers, but you can have them pick and choose their centers until they complete all of them.
Literacy Centers
For our literacy centers, we have several different activities. They include:
2s Day Writing
Students write about what they want to be in 22 years. You may have to help them add how old they’ll be. For example, my kindergarteners will be 27 or 28 years old! That’s old enough to drive a car, vote, graduate college, etc. I’ve included options on the writing page so that they have some support when writing. Of course, they like to write other things too, and I encourage them to do so.
Color – By – Code (Sight Words)
I try to add sight word practice whenever I can. Students read the sight words in the shapes for this activity and fill in the corresponding color. Not only does sight word recognition give them extra practice, but it also helps their fine motor skills develop. Plus, it feels like play!
Long Vowels Matching (Magic e)
Students show a word in TWO ways with letters and a picture for this activity. They must find the matching cards to put together. You can do this with a memory game by placing all the cards face down or having students mix up the cards and find their partners. This is an excellent review for phonemic awareness and long vowels with the silent e.
2s Day Tissue Paper Art
I love adding arts and crafts to our day! The kids love it, too, because it’s their time to explore creative expression. To create this 22 Craft, we give each student a printable. Next, they use either tissue paper or construction paper to rip and glue onto the paper. I prefer tissue paper because you can see the lines on the printable for where to cut. Then, students cut the 22 on the black lines. At last, they glue the numbers onto construction paper or a printable 22 art sheet. These make cute keepsakes for hanging on a bulletin board.
22 Things
February is all about kindness, and I wanted to incorporate that into our unit. Students write or draw 22 reasons they love our classroom. This activity is my favorite because they will say unexpected things like, “Mrs. Barnett’s hugs.” It’s so sweet to read these! It also helps me know what to try again next year.
Two’s Day Phonics Game
Since my students are already masters at playing my math games, I also decided to create a phonics game. This phonics game includes a review for short vowel sounds (CVC) and long vowel sounds (CVCe). I added a few vowel teams, but I gave extra points for those cards since they are tricky. The students love this game, and I made a 2’s board a little more festive! This game is similar to my elementary math games.
Math Centers
I like to mix math centers with our literacy centers so our students can switch it up. You can do one math and one literacy, or two/three math and two/three literacy. Or, you can keep it separate too! For our math centers, the activities include:
Sorting 22 Objects and Writing
I lay out math manipulatives like counting bears, shapes, bills and coins. Students sort these manipulatives into two groups. Then, they label the groups and write statements about their categories. For first grade, you can have the students write about how many are in each group. This is excellent hands-on practice for measurement and data.
Teen Numbers Matching
Decomposing numbers is tricky! That’s why I thought it was essential to practice this skill some more. Students show the number in two ways. They show it with pictures and with numbers. Similar to the Long Vowels Matching activity, you can place these cards face down for a memory matching game or leave them facing up for students to make a match with all cards. This supports their learning with place value and helps them make sense of numbers’ value.
Matching Coins Puzzles
I’ve noticed we don’t have a standard for when it comes to identifying coins for first grade or second grade, but somehow, we expect our students to start solving money word problems in second grade. I decided to add some coin identification for our Two’s Day because they need to begin this practice. In this activity, students find the two puzzle pieces to match the name of the coin. Students find the coin and the value to match the puzzle piece. I like this activity because it’s adaptable all year long and helps! As I said, you can laminate the puzzle pieces to create a center for the entire year.
Search and Find 22 Tutus
I love this activity because it has the cutest elephants in tutus! My students are obsessed with those “I Spy” book series. I created a worksheet with 22 number twos hiding throughout the picture. Students circle the twos. This is great for 1:1 counting because students are constantly going back to count how many they’ve found so far. They don’t even know they’re counting! Then, they go back and color the adorable illustrations.
Cut and Paste Partners (Sums within 10)
This is a great hands-on activity for our students. We use small manipulatives. For this, I chose miniature puff balls. This allows students to count. They cut the number sentences on the bottom and find the pair of number sentences that make the same sum. Students use the manipulatives to model their number sentences and prove their answers. Once they’re finished, they glue the number sentences in the same box.
Addition and Subtraction Game
Of course, I wanted to throw in another math game. In this game, students practice solving simple math sentences. I’ve added tutus to model the number sentence because, you know – It’s TWOs Day! Our kids love these games. If you want to add in another skill from my Kindergarten Math Games, you can mix it with these cards so that they’re working on the current standard while mastering a lower-level skill.
Read this blog post to learn how to play this math game.
I’ve also created print-and-go math worksheets for second and third grades! These include skills like skip-counting numbers, using properties of multiplication, telling time, and so much more! Use these worksheets in math centers too!
STEM Activities
I like to end the day with some fun STEM activities. For the little ones, I do the paper airplane and coin experiment. I do the index card chain and the wind-powered car for upper grades.
Coin Science Experiment
Can a coin hold 22 drops of water? I love this simple science experiment because it’s so easy! Students use a dropper to place 22 drops of water onto a coin. They can experiment with different-sized coins to see. After they’ve used water, challenge them to do this with oil. Does it do the same thing? No! That’s because water has polar molecules. That means it acts like a magnet and attracts to itself.
Paper Airplane
Can you create a paper airplane that flies at least 22 feet? Have students use a ruler to assist with the paper folds. Creating a paper airplane is particularly challenging for younger students as their fine motor skills are still developing. I think that’s why activities like this are also important, so they get to practice developing those muscles.
Index Card Chain
Creating an index card chain sounds easy, but it requires a lot of critical thinking! Students make their cards go 22 feet using the fewest index cards. To be efficient with the index cards, they must trim the width of the index card to be as small as possible. Doing so increases the length. This activity is a tangible way to teach students about area!
Wind-Powered Vehicle
Can you create a wind-powered car that travels 22 feet? I love this activity because it is challenging! Students first create the wind-powered vehicle. They must solve all sorts of problems like the size of the sail, the sturdiness of the wheels, the size of the front, etc. There are tons of issues that will pop up in this STEM challenge. In this case, problems are good because it forces our students to get creative and solve them.
Treats and Other Fun Ideas
We also like to include treats and other fun stuff with any theme day. The following ideas aren’t necessarily academic, but they will create a delightful spirit of togetherness for your classroom. I don’t do much to transform my classroom, but I use this adorable banner.
Show your Two’s Day spirit with this fun free classroom decor.
If you really want to take Two’s Day to the next level of fun, try these activities:
Twinning
Find a coworker or partner teacher to dress the same. You two can twin together and be two-of-a-kind. The kids will love this, especially if it’s a familiar face to them.
Tutus
Invite students to wear a tutu for Two’s Day. Another fun option is to use tissue paper and string to create your tutus in class. It’s just a fun way to get into the spirit of things.
Starburst
I love Starburst – especially the pink ones. The Fun Sized packs have TWO Starburst inside them. These make the perfect Two’s Day treat.
Mystery 22
Invite students to bring 22 objects to place inside a brown lunch bag. Students can use their five senses to describe the objects and have other students guess what’s inside.
Graphing 22 Candy Hearts
Give each student 22 candy hearts and graph the hearts by color. Students can compare data and make statements about it.
These are my ideas for celebrating Two’s Day. I would love to hear your ideas too! Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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