Play Like a Pirate with These Fun Pirate Activities for Kids

Sept. 19 is National Talk Like a Pirate Day, a holiday I’ve never completely understood, but why not have a day devoted to pirates? Kids seem to love stories of daring and plunder and adventure on the high seas, so why not make a day of it with some fun pirate activities for kids?

Since pirates lived their lives on the ocean, Pirate Day is a great time for some water-related STEM activities. Why not try a pirate-themed version of a sink or float challenge, like this one from Science Sparks? Or you can have kids design a boat and see if it floats. This one from Red Ted Art is made from cork so it’s easy to make and will float every time.

Have kids make their own treasure maps with this idea from The Imagination Tree. Or they can map the playground or back yard and decide where they think treasure is likely to be buried.

Try some pirate-themed play dough activities with these printable play dough mats from PickleBums. Or hunt for sight word treasures by writing your words on “gold doubloons (this one is also from The Imagination Tree).

I Can Teach My Child has a printable pirate map for letter matching (and I love the wipe box painted gold being used as a treasure chest; brilliant!). Or add a writing component with the alphabet treasure maps from Powerful Mothering.

Practice number recognition with the count and cover pirate treasure activity from Fun Learning for Kids. This one has different options based on the numbers the kids need to work on, and it’s so fun to use gems as your treasure counted out to cover each number.

Powerful Mothering has a free printable pirate activity pack with a maze, I-spy, memory game, flag design sheet and more. And Miniature Masterminds has a 50-plus page activity pack with math, writing, coloring, games, cutting practice and more.

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Ocean Unit Studies and Activities

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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