Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Today my family and I are on a field trip day but I didn't want that to stop us all from celebrating this amazing day.
I always have the kids study Martin Luther King Jr., his life, his speeches, and his example of standing up for what you believe while making sure to not compromise your Christian beliefs.
In case you have no idea what to do or just need me to walk you through this because the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet, here are some things we've used to honor the day:
MLK Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech
I have the kids watch the "I have a dream" speech on YouTube and then we discuss it. We talk about how 100 years before the speech was the Emancipation Proclamation and what had changed since then. Then we talk about what has changed between the speech and present day. I'm going to have them talk to their grandparents about the time period of the speech. Last year I had them go and speak with my grandmother who passed away a couple of months ago. She grew up in North Carolina and was able to tell them about how she was able to take a bus to school but the black children couldn't. It was really good to hear an actual oral account of everything going on in the south and I cherish those times as she is gone now. She was able to talk to the kids how she never understood why they couldn't ride the bus with them.
Biography
One of my favorite websites is Super Teacher Worksheets. If you become a member it's only $19.95 a year to have full access but they also have a ton of free things! This Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. biography is one of those free things. You can print off however you need and it comes with a sheet to read, questions to answer, and an answer key.
Cut Out Hands
Okay, I don't know how much of a craft you would call this, but you could have your kids trace their hands on black paper and white, cut them out and glue them together. We do this and it's so cute to pull them out from the bin every year and see how little their hands used to be.
We did this activity after we watched the speech and talked about the section where Dr. King said:
"...one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."
So I hope that helps you with some simple things you can do today to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day.
If you have any other ways you honor MLK Jr. let me know, I'd love to share!
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