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

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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