It’s Cinco de Mayo, aka May 5th, which is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, during which vastly outnumbered Mexican forces defeated French invaders during the French-Mexican War (contrary to popular belief it has nothing to do with Mexican independence, which is marked on September 16.)
Cinco de Mayo is fun to celebrate with kids because it’s a colorful holiday (in the United States, at least) and give you an opportunity to talk about Mexican culture, eat fun food and do great crafts.
Start out by watching some teacher-approved videos about Cinco de Mayo and other topics in Spanish. This collection is from Simply Kinder.
Or use this book list from Planet Smarty to find some good kids’ books about Mexico.
Make Mexico-inspired crafts like:
Tissue Paper Papel Picados | Create Craft Love
Repujado-style Cuff Bracelet | Spanglish Baby
Folk Art Bowls | Inspired by Family Mag
Mexican Flag Craft | Paper and Glue
Upcycled Castanets | Education.com
Paper Bag Pinata | Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
Foam Cup Maracas | Macaroni Kid
Easter Egg Maracas | Our Daily Craft
And don’t forget the food! It’s not very culturally sensitive to default to Tex-Mex style tacos for Cinco de Mayo, so why not try:
Arroz con Pollo | Kidspot
Chicken Chilaquiles | Hope’s Kitchen
Cheesy Tortilla Soup | Produce on Parade
Or check out the kid-friendly Mexican recipes at Food.com (hello, Mexican hot chocolate!) or the recipes from the episode of Mexican Made Easy on Food Network about cooking with kids. So yummy!
Then just turn on some Mexican music and you’re ready to go.
How do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Leave a Reply