April Fools' Day 2026 Teaching Resources

Bring the fun of April Fools' Day 2026 into your classroom with printable worksheets and more teaching resources created by teachers, for teachers.

Need to brush up on all things April Fools' Day before you introduce it to your students? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!

What Is April Fools' Day?

Not familiar with this event? April Fools' Day is a fun holiday that's celebrated on April 1 every year in the US and countries around the world. It's a day when people play jokes or pranks on each other and try to trick them into believing something that's not true. The idea is to make people laugh or smile, so pranks tend to be harmless and shouldn't be mean or harmful.

Kids pulling pranks on April Fools' Day might tell someone they have a spider on their shoulder when there's really nothing there, or they might try to convince a classmate that they will have a surprise test for math class when there's really no test on the agenda.

How Did April Fools' Day Start?

The exact origins of April Fools' Day are hard to pin down, and historians have found a variety of origin stories that compete for the one true start of the event.

One theory is that it dates back to ancient Roman festivals such as Hilaria, which were celebrated around the end of March and involved people playing pranks on each other. Another theory suggests that it began in France in the 16th century when the calendar was changed and New Year's Day was moved from late March/early April to January 1. People who continued to celebrate the New Year in April were mocked and tricked by those who had switched to the new calendar.

No matter when it began or where, it's still going strong here in the US, and kids love it!