Martin Luther King Jr. Day Activities for Kids

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States, which may mean kids are home from school (my daughter’s school is in session; they call it a “day on” instead of a day off and do service projects in the community that days). Whether you’re talking about King’s story and legacy in the classroom or at home, there are lots of different activities and resources available.

If you have a kid who is practicing cursive, these Martin Luther King Jr. cursive quote sheets from 3 Boys and a Dog are a great way for kids to reflect and learn. They also have handwriting practice sheets for younger kids or those not learning cursive yet.

This printable pack from Meet Penny also includes some writing practice with quotes, as well as other worksheets where students can share what they have learned from books and other resources.

Dare to dream your own dreams and write about them with this printable activity from Thirty Handmade Days. Or follow in King’s footsteps and have kids reflect on what they could do to change the world with this activity from Teach Them to Fly.

Pencils to Pigtails has a lot of good information about talking about King with younger kids, as well as a resource pack you can get from Teachers Pay Teachers that includes these fingerprint art activities.

Doodle Art Alley has some cute coloring pages, most of which are quotes you can color and talk about with your kids.

Watch this video to get a little virtual tour of the National Civil Rights Museum, which is located at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where King was killed. Learn more about the museum at its website. There’s lots of great information and activity ideas for educators there as well.

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Dog Themed Learning Activities

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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