21st September Pause the World Day; World Gratitude Day

Pause the World Day is a day to turn off all the extra noise in our lives that raises our blood pressure and stresses us out. On this day, the world should be paused and our troubles should be forgotten. True silence is a rarity in our modern lives, but it can help us connect with ourselves and listen to our emotions.

World Gratitude Day is also observed each year on September 21st. It began in 1965 and was created by the spiritual and meditation leader Sri Chinmoy. The purpose of this holiday is to foster feelings of appreciation, positivity, worthiness, and connection, which can create a ripple effect of benefits for everyone involved. 

Can we combine these days into one celebration? Is it a time for all those mindfulness books? Can we think of all the things we are grateful for while enjoying the silence? We show gratitude to the people in our lives by giving them the space and time for some silence. I'm reminded of poor Mrs Large in Five Minutes Peace who just needed a short time out for herself. 

If you are good at meditation or creating calm with your students you will have a handful of go-to picture books that you use. If you don't and would like to explore these sort of books look at my Mindfulness Pinterest. Here's some books to look for in the library.

16th September Collect Rocks Day

My friend from Momotimetoread sent me this quote because she knows that I cannot go past a good stone, leaf, or treasure from nature. On a walk on a beach last week I pocketed two stones, a small piece of driftwood and a piece of dried kelp root. They all made it home and now are part of my garden. My father was a science teacher with a passion for geology and we lived in a town famous for blowholes and columnar jointing. How could I not like rocks? So this day is especially celebratory... Collect Rocks Day. There are a lot of opportunities in the calendar to celebrate rocks and of course I have written about them before. Just put rocks in the search bar of my blog.

How to celebrate?

1. Collect some rocks.

2. Use a book to identify what you have found

3. Sort your rocks. What criteria did you use? size? colour? type?

3. Display your rocks (make a cairn or turn one into a pet rock)

4. Read some more ... about rocks.

Here's some recent books to get you started:

For more suggestions look at my Pinterest page.

September Save the Koala Month

 

Save the Koala Month is the most important time in the Australian Koala Foundation’s calendar.

Every September, they ask the world to pause and think about our beautiful koalas and the urgent need to protect the bush they call home. This year, they have planned this initiative: 30 Days and 30 Ways to Help Our Favourite Fluffy Friends! This is a challenge for children to complete and it has some good ideas that you could share with your class or children.

Alternately you can just do something special on the 26th September which has been designated Save the Koala Day. This day is celebrated on the last Friday in September every year. The objective of these celebrations is simple — to save the koalas and their natural habitats, and raise awareness to prevent them from going extinct.

I would choose to read this new book because a percentage of its sale price goes to the Australian Koala Foundation.

One Koala; One Hundred Trees by Leesa Allinson; Heather Potter and Mark Jackson

One Koala, One Hundred Trees is a heartwarming tale about one family’s determination to create a safer environment for the koalas living on their property. The story is interspersed with facts about koalas and practical guides for readers wanting to build their own ‘koala corridor’ to help protect one of Australia’s most precious animals.

If you don't have this, there are lots of other book suggestions here and on Pinterest.

21st to 27th September Sea Otter Awareness Week

Held every year during the last week in September, Sea Otter Awareness Week spotlights the important role of sea otters. Thirteen species exist around the world, living near the coasts of the East and North Pacific Ocean. None live here in Australia.

Otters are part of the Mustelidae family, which is a family of carnivorous mammals that includes skunks, weasels, wolverines, and badgers. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family, yet the smallest marine mammal in North America.

Did you know?

• Sea otters have the thickest fur of any animal. 

• A sea  otter’s lung capacity is 2.5 times greater than that of similar-sized land mammals.They have been known to stay submerged for more than five minutes at a time.

• To keep its luxurious coat waterproof, an otter spends many hours a day cleaning and grooming. Such good grooming coats its fur with natural oils from their skin and fluffs it with insulating air bubbles.

• 90 percent of sea otters live in Alaska.

• Sea otters are considered a  “keystone species” because they are  critical to how an ecosystem functions as it has large-scale effects on the communities in which it lives.

• The World Conservation Union lists sea otters as endangered. Many of the ongoing threats to sea otters stem from humans, including oil spills, boat strikes, fishing gear entanglement, and habitat degradation due to global warming.

• The otter is one of the few mammals that use tools. 

• Sea otters love to rest in groups. A group of resting otters is called a raft. 

• Sea otters and river otters are not the same. Sea otters live in saltwater. River otters live on land and in freshwater. Sea otters are bigger than river otters.

Most of the children I teach will never see a sea otter, but they do like to read about animals and in particular true stories about animals who have been rescued.

Pup 681  by Jean Reidy

Washed ashore alone, a tiny sea otter pup needs help! Soon, a rescuer is there, to take her in and keep her warm and fed. The pup faces challenges in her new life without her sea otter family. But with the love and care of her rescuer, she flourishes in her new home. Inspired by a true story, Pup 681 is a heartwarming and hopeful tale about family and love.

A Sea Otter to the Rescue  by Thea Feldman

In an aquarium in California, there was a sea otter who was a mother for rescued pups. She taught them how to look for crabs and open clam shells. 

 Sea Otter Rescue by Suzi Eszterhas  

This book invites readers inside the Alaska Sea Life Center on the shores of Resurrection Bay in the town of Seward, Alaska. It explores how sea otters become orphaned or hurt and the process of healing and rehabilitating them. It also highlights the people who work at the clinic and how they aid the animals.

Odder  by Katherine Applegate
A delightful, feel-good picture book about a brave otter who creates a special family when life gets turned upside down. Based on the bestselling verse novel by Katherine Applegate.Odder spends her days playing underwater and learning from her mother. But Odder's life takes a dramatic turn when a storm hits, and she is rescued by humans.

The Otter Who Wanted to Know  by Jill Tomlinson (short novel for early readers)

Pat is an adorable little sea otter. She likes turning up her toes and floating in the sea, chasing fish and asking a hundred and one questions. One day Pat's quiet life is turned upside down when she gets caught up in a pretty scary adventure. Suddenly she doesn't have time to ask any questions, and even if she did, no one would know the answers. This time Pat just has to find things out for herself!

And others:

 

15th September International Dot Day

International Dot Day will be held on 15 September 2025 all around the world. This global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration is typically held around the 15th of September to celebrate the publication of the book.

My school has not celebrated Dot Day for quite some time now, which is such a pity because it was a day where teachers and students had fun, did some wonderful art and craft and remembered what they did for quite some time after. Everyone is so hindered by published curriculum units these days. I can celebrate with the children when they visit the library for lessons or at lunchtime and the books make a wonderful display. 

I have written about this before and I have a Pinterest page with lots of suggestions for reading and art activities. There will be a special message from Peter Reynolds the instagator here on the 14th. For some ideas to use on the day see here.

Some new books to explore: