Learning about Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a celebration that I’ve written about a little in the past (see: Kwanzaa Activities for Kids) but I feel like it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves since it happens in the week after Christmas. It’s not a time most kids are in school, but you can talk about it as part of winter holidays around the world, or discuss it at home and talk about how you bring the principles of Kwanzaa to your family.

If you need a refresher on the basics, this coloring sheet from Crayola covers the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Kids Activities Blog has a set of printable fact sheets that talk about when it is celebrated, why it was started and what the celebration means. There are also lots of great videos about Kwanzaa for kids, including this song about the seven principles from Sesame Street and a Kwanzaa facts video by Twinkl.

Around the Kampfire has links to other videos and more ideas for talking about Kwanzaa in the classroom. They teach about Kwanzaa in a holidays around the world unit, which you can purchase from them if you need it. Mrs. Richardson’s Class also has a mini unit about Kwanzaa that you can buy that includes vocabulary cards, fact organizers, pocket sorting and a compare and contrast between Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

Crafting a Fun Life has a couple of great projects for your Kwanzaa study, including making a kinara (candle holder) craft out of simple shapes and a collage. She made hers using Kwanzaa stickers and paint, or you can print out Kwanzaa clip art from places like Free Images to use in your project. That’s where the kinara photo above came from.

Need more coloring pages to help your kids learn about Kwanzaa? This set of 17 pages from Academic Intelligence on Teachers Pay Teachers includes individual pages for the seven principles, as well as other images. Another good one on TPT is this Kwanzaa PowerPoint presentation from Shelia Melton, which is great for K-5 students. It goes into good detail about what the seven days mean and how Kwanzaa is celebrated.

I also like these activity sheets from Malisa Goes Digital on Etsy. They include fact cards that you can read and use as a memory game, cutting practice and two-piece matching puzzles.

Guy Fawkes Night, otherwise known as Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night, is celebrated on Nov. 5 in the UK to mark the occasion in 1605 when Fawkes and other Catholic dissenters attempted to blow up Parliament and kill Protestant King James I. The plot was uncovered and stopped, but the day is still remembered and used as an occasion for bonfires, fireworks and fun, celebrating the nation’s (and the king’s) deliverance from a potentially fatal event.

Learn more about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, plus grab some worksheets if you’re a member (for example, this word search), from Activity Village. You’ll learn that using the word “guy” to refer to a man comes from Guy Fawkes, among other interesting facts. Kids Konnect also has some Guy Fawkes facts and worksheets for you to use in the classroom or at home.

Get some fun Guy Fawkes Night coloring pages from Coloring Pages Only. Admittedly some of these are a little silly but the whole idea of celebrating this day is a little weird to me so I’ll allow it.

Print out a Guy Fawkes mask from Twinkl, or you can do a full body scene to cut and paste from DLTK Kids. Check out more resources and some oddly cute 3D Guy Fawkes paper crafts that are also from Twinkl.

This is a great time to bring out all your fireworks and bonfire crafts (for example, this pointillist fireworks craft or a pretend play campfire). Find a few ideas for fireworks themed crafts for Guy Fawkes Day at Mud Mates. I love the look of the fireworks toast, pictured here.

EParenting has some more good ideas for ways to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with kids. They also have a word search and have gathered some cute snack ideas for you to check out.

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