Columbus Day Activities for Kids

Columbus Day may be falling out of favor as a holiday these days (even in the few years my daughter has been in school, she’s gone from having the day off to having a different day off this month and calling it “fall break” instead) but it does provide us with an opportunity to talk about exploration and to look at how Columbus’ journeys to the so-called New World changed the world in ways good and bad.

Of course what you tell your kids about Columbus will depend greatly on their age. Time has a good rundown of how to talk to kids about America before Columbus depending on the age of the kids. Modern Mami has a take on how to talk about Columbus with kids, from the perspective of a Caribbean family. And Indian Country Media Network has links to lots of great resources for teaching about Columbus and the indigenous people of the Americas.

Columbus Day also gives us a chance to work with boats and maps with kids of all ages. Here are some fun activities you might want to check out:

Engineer a Boat that Floats — Planet Smarty Pants

Columbus Day Coloring Sheets and Writing Prompts — 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Paper Boats for Kids to Make — Kids Activities Blog

Columbus Day Learning Unit — Lasting Thumbprints

Christopher Columbus Mini Pack — 3 Dinosaurs

Christopher Columbus Activities for Kids — Happy Brown House

Christopher Columbus Unit — Royal Baloo

Map Skills for Elementary Students — National Geographic

[Photo by Eric Fischer via Flickr.]

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Activities and Ideas for the 100th Day of School

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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