Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day
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Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day is going to be celebrated on January 17, 2022, and it is a perfect opportunity to teach your preschoolers who was this person, and why we celebrated this day.
I’ve included a FREE mini bundle for you to use, which you can find at the end of this post.
The Significance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day
Before you begin any of the activities you want to do with the children to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day, you have to teach them about the significance of this celebration. Since preschoolers are young and might not understand things like equality, freedom, and racism, you can start saying something like: Years ago people were divided by the color of their skin. Children with brown skin couldn’t go to school with children with white skin, sit on the same bus, or go to the same places, and that is NOT OK!
Dr. Martin Luther King was one of those children with brown skin, and when he grew up, he worked very hard to change what was happening, so everybody, regardless of the color of their skin could go where ever they wanted and be treated with respect and kindness, and that everybody could be together and be friends.
Today, we can do that and in January we celebrate Martin Luther King’s birthday because he was a hero.
What is a Hero?
Ask the children if they know what a hero is. Take dictation of the children’s comments, and then explain that a hero is someone brave, and honest, and works hard to help, so people, animals, and our planet are safe, healthy, and happy. It is someone who people like and admire.
You can show them the read-aloud video about Who Was Martin Luther King Jr.? with author Lisbeth Kaiser:
You can also read one of the books about Martin Luther King I suggested below, and use songs and rhymes such as:
- Martin Luther King by The Kibbomers.
- Rise Up by Jack Hartmann. This song highlights Martin Luther King Jr.’s belief that we will rise up and celebrate brotherhood, peace, hope, and love.
Martin Luther King Jr. Activities
As I said before, it might be difficult for preschoolers to understand what you are trying to teach them about civil rights, diversity, and equality; therefore, these are good hands-on learning activities to help them understand those concepts.
To Explain Discrimination:
Ask each child to draw a self-portrait using a piece of paper and crayons. Have them share their drawings and tape them to a previously designated wall. Explain that we are all equally important, no matter how different we might look or where we come from. Have them look at each other and find differences and similarities.
Explain that discrimination is treating somebody differently because they don’t look like you, they think differently, they have physical challenges or don’t speak your language, etc. Use concrete examples such as:
- “You cannot play with me because you’re a girl and I’m a boy”.
- “You are ugly because you don’t have blue eyes”.
- “I cannot be your friend because you don’t go to my church”.
Then form pairs or small groups of children that don’t usually play together, and have them do an activity in one of the centers.
To Introduce Diversity:
I saw a very interesting post a long time ago about using eggs to demonstrate diversity. In that post, the author showed her children white and brown eggs and encouraged a discussion about the possible differences among the eggs because of their color. Then she opened the eggs and showed her children that all eggs were the same inside, regardless of the color of the outer shell. I think it was an excellent way to demonstrate this concept.
Another good way to introduce cultural differences and the concept of diversity is by using one or both of the following activities:
- What is Diversity? from Kids Activities Blog.
- Diversity with Playdough from BonBon Break.
To Explain What is Peace:
One of the things that Martin Luther King Jr. talked about was peace. Ask your preschoolers if they like it better when they are playing nicely together or when they are fighting over a toy. Explain to them that when they are fighting, screaming, or arguing there is no peace.
- You can use the Fingerprint Dove Craft from Busy Kids Happy Mom as a way to wrap up the lesson.
- There are two more simple crafts about peace in Crafts for Martin Luther King Jr. Day from Inner Child Fun.
- To make a really pretty symbol for this concept you can with the Peace Handprint Flower Craft from Art is Helping Children
To Introduce What is Freedom:
Start by introducing the concept of freedom and explaining to your preschoolers what freedom or being free means. Ask for volunteers to be restrained in a small area, to demonstrate what is not to have freedom. Wrap up the lesson using the following activity:
- Freedom Bell Craft from Kids Soup combines art and language art.
To Support the Concept of Working Together to Change the World:
Talk to them about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought to change the way people of color were mistreated and about his dream of a better world. Explain to your students that there are still things that need to be changed in the world to make it better and that if everybody works together, we accomplish this. I found two activities that are great to support this concept:
- How Would You Change the World from No Time for Flashcards.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Poem Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers from Preschool Daze.
Other Activities You Can Use
It is important to support the concept of unity, peace, and friendship at all times, not just during Martin Luther King Jr.’s celebration, to imprint in our preschoolers the knowledge that we when all look different, think different, and maybe even act differently, in the end, we are all the same, and we all have to work together to encourage peace and love for each other across the globe.
Some of the activities you can do to encourage these concepts are having them work together in pairs or small groups to:
- Build puzzles and block structures.
- Make a painting.
- Trace each other hands and paste them together to make a quilt.
- Clean up and organize the centers.
- Prepare a snack.
- Draw each other and exchange the drawings.
- Have cooperative games such as a race tie-up in pairs.
Books About Martin Luther King Jr.
I’m always encouraging my readers to fill out your library, centers, and book baskets with storybooks related to the theme or season you are in, no matter what it is. These are some of the books you can use during Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday week or even the entire month of January.
These books can be found at your local library, used books store and on Amazon. For your convenience, just click on the images to get to my affiliate link.
- I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This beautiful and powerful illustrated edition of Dr. King’s world-changing “I Have a Dream” speech brings his inspiring message of freedom, equality, and peace to the youngest among us—those who will one day carry his dream forward for everyone.
- A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler. Pairing detailed illustrations and an accessible narrative of Dr. King’s life, this book is ideal for a discussion about the history behind the holiday, or an early introduction to the struggle for civil rights in America.
- Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? by Lisbeth Kaiser. This age-appropriate introduction to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s meaningful life is presented in just a few sentences per page and fresh, stylized illustrations, honoring and sharing the life and work of one of the most influential civil rights activists of our time.
- The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. by Johnny Ray Moore. An approachable way to introduce young children to these civil rights.
- Good Night Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Adam Gamble. This inspiring and educational board book introduces your children to the life and legend of Martin Luther King Jr.
Pin It for Later
If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable, just pin it to one of your Pinterest boards for later.
I hope you find these ideas useful and help you explain to your preschoolers who this great man was, how he changed history, and why we have to acknowledge, respect, and promote his hard work, to help our children understand why it is important for each of us to continue with his legacy.
Please receive this FREE Martin Luther King Jr. Mini Bundle for Preschoolers, as a token of my appreciation for visiting my post. Just enter your information for an immediate download.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.S. Your feedback is really important to me because my goal is to always create things that you will find useful. Please let me know if you like the activity, or if you think I have to change something.
