Michaelmas Activities for Kids

Michaelmas is one of those holidays that is religious in nature but also has a more secular meaning, especially in England.

Michaelmas is variously known as the Feast Day of saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael or the Feast of the Archangels, and it is generally celebrated on September 29 (or November 8 in Eastern Christian calendars). In England it also marks the end of a quarter both financially and academically (if you’ve ever read a book that talks about Michaelmas term, this is what it’s talking about) and historically the end of the farming year, when accounts would be settled.

In a religious context it celebrates Michael’s defeat of Satan, which also involves slaying, or a least controlling, a dragon, but it’s also a day to mark the progression of the year into fall because it falls near the equinox.

Waldorf educational communities celebrate Michaelmas because Rudolf Steiner believed it was the second most important festival of the year after Easter. They may have a play or a field day celebrating feats of strength and overcoming fears. Season to Gather has a guide available for purchase that includes the story of St. Michael and the dragon, crafts and activities, recipes and more with a Waldorf approach.

I also found this publication from a Waldorf school that has lots of ideas for celebrating Michaelmas with groups of kids, doing things like obstacle courses, rope tugs and races. The booklet also includes songs and recipes to try.

Because they both have to do with saints and dragons, you can pull out your St. George’s Day activities for Michealmas, too, but here are a few more ideas specific to Michaelmas. I’d love to hear about your traditions if this is a holiday you celebrate.

Faith and Fabric has a cute St. Micheal softie project kids or adults can make.

Catholic Icing has a printable pack for purchase that includes stand up figures of the angels in color and black and white as well as coloring pages and the St. Michael prayer printable. She also has a printable party pack with a banner and angels you can use as cupcake toppers.

There are a lot of traditional foods that are involved in a Michaelmas celebration including bannock (a Scottish harvest bread), blackberries and goose (though many people sub chicken or Cornish game hens these days). You can also throw in angel food cake, or devil’s food cake, deviled eggs or spicy foods to celebrate overcoming the devil.

Another traditional activity at Michaelmas is hitting a pinata that is shaped either like Satan or a dragon. You can see this in action and get more details about how one family celebrates Michaelmas at Catholic All Year.

My daughter has always liked math, which is a relief to me as someone who never really got math when I was growing up. (As a knitter I use math a lot now and have managed to learn what I need, but not much else.)

For kids who aren’t fans of math who could use a little encouragement and understanding of what math is for, there’s Dear Math, We’re Not Friends by Lina Chopra Haldar with illustrations by Teresa Martinez.

Nikil starts school not liking math and his teacher has him write letters to math. He complains that math makes his tummy hurt but thinks it’s funny when his teacher says talking about shapes and drawing are part of math.

As the year goes on he learns about skip counting, counting backwards, fractions and the special names for different shapes. When he learns about octagons he starts seeing them everywhere. He discovers that math is part of being an astronaut and an artist, two things he might like to be when he grows up.

Math helps him with soccer and helps bees make honey, and he uses it in his art projects, too. In the end he decides that math really is his friend because it helps you make things and understand the world around you.

The book is cute and has full illustrations that literally show math in different environments. It also includes a page about the inspiration for the story and why the author, a math teacher herself, wanted to write a book addressing math anxiety. It has prompts kids can use to write their own letters to math or use in discussions about math, as well as other ideas to help kids feel more confident about math.

This would be a good book for math teachers and others to have on hand for those kids who don’t love math or see a purpose for it outside of the classroom. The target reader is ages 5-8.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Beaming Books. Suggested retail price $19.99.

Have you read?

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