Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a holiday that honors people who have died and is mostly celebrated in Mexico. It can be fun to add a little bit of learning about Dia de los Muertos to your classroom or home routine, especially if you teach Spanish or live somewhere with a large Hispanic population. Here are some Dia de los Muertos crafts and other activities to do with kids.
There are a few classic symbols of the day, one of which is decorating with or wearing masks or face paint that looks like skulls. One Little Project has a Day of the Dead mask made with a paper plate. I did something similar as a craft for my daughter’s class Halloween party several years ago, cutting skull shapes out of posterboard and giving them circles, flower petals, hearts and other shapes to use to decorate their skulls. (You can also just draw on them as she shows.)
Tissue paper flowers are a common decoration throughout the year, and you can learn to make them from Little Cooks Reading Books. Theses are so fun to make in a bunch of different colors to decorate the classroom (and a great use for all that slightly used tissue paper you’ve been keeping for reasons).
Speaking of tissue paper, papel picado is another classic Mexican craft you may see around this time of year. I found basic instructions on Pinterest, but you can also find some templates in the Fun for Spanish Teachers store at Teachers Pay Teachers.
Nicho boxes (little niches or shadowboxes) are another easy craft to make with kids for Dia de los Muertos. These boxes are sometimes seen on the altars families make to honor their deceased loved ones at this time of year. You can make your own and draw a skull inside or a picture of someone who has died. Kitchen Table Classroom has the instructions and a sugar skull printable sized to fit in the niche.
Happy Toddler Playtime has some cute Dia de los Muertos coloring pages, and you can find great fact sheets about Day of the Dead in both English and Spanish at Multicultural Kid Blogs.
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