Activities for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

King Day is typically a time of service and reflection on what each of us can do to help make our communities better places, as well as discussions of racial equity and how our nation still falls short of King’s dream.

This year the day looks different since many of us aren’t venturing outside the home or school to do service projects, but that doesn’t mean it’s a day like any other.

We should definitely be talking with our kids about King’s legacy, especially, for kids who are old enough, in the context of the past year’s protests calling for justice. Listening to and reading King’s speeches is also great.

This activity from Scholastic is an easy way for kids of all ages to express their own dreams.

Kids in early elementary will enjoy this printable coloring book from Real Life at Home (she also has a book for older kids).

Or check out the collection of picture books, activities and videos that Becky from Kid World Citizen compiled for All Done Monkey.

I’d love to hear what you are doing to mark the occasion with your kiddos.

[Photo: Real Life at Home.]

Check out some of our favorite educational reading books about Martin Luther King

If You Were a Kid During the Civil Rights Movement

The Story of Ruby Bridges

Real Stories – The March On Washington

10 True Tales: Young Civil Rights Heroes

And if you are looking for more printable lesson plans then check these out on Etsy

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day Activities for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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