Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with kindergarten students is a wonderful opportunity to teach them about equality, justice, and the importance of treating others with kindness and respect. First introduce MLK day with a few short videos and discuss ideas and concerns with the class. Then provide a few engaging activities to celebrate MLK day with kindergarten kiddos.

Introduction of MLK Day for Kindergarten

Introduce MLK day with these short videos. This sets up the rest of the week easily. This is sometimes called an anticipatory set.

An anticipatory set is an activity that occurs at the beginning of a lesson to prepare students for new material and learning. Anticipatory sets are also known as hooks, bridges, or attention grabbers.

They are designed to:

✅Engage students
✅Encourage student participation
✅Access students’ prior knowledge
✅Build a bridge between current knowledge and the information that is about to be presented
✅Tell students what the lesson will be about
✅Gauge students’ background knowledge of the subject

Engaging Ways to Celebrate MLK Day

. Here are some age-appropriate activities and ideas:

Read Age-Appropriate Books:

Choose picture books that introduce the life and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. Some examples include “Martin’s Big Words” by Doreen Rappaport and “Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King” by Jean Marzollo. Checkout the books on my Amazon Storefront

Songs and Movement:

Introduce simple songs related to Martin Luther King Jr. or civil rights. Incorporate movement activities to make it engaging for the children.

Art Work:

Engage the children in age-appropriate crafts that relate to Martin Luther King Jr. they can create handprint doves, peace signs, or friendship bracelets to symbolize unity and love.

1. 2D Coloring Page- It is a fun fine motor art project that incorporates 2D shapes in math. If you have a colored printer, the kiddos have to use small markers to color the shapes to match. Use the black line worksheets to have the kiddos color the entire page. Grab the package HERE.
2. Directed Drawing of MLK and/or themes for the celebration. Check out the ones we did below!
3. Create handprint doves, peace signs, or friendship bracelets to symbolize unity and love.

Remember to adapt activities based on the attention span and interests of the kindergarten students. Keep the focus on positive values, friendship, and the idea that even small actions can contribute to a more inclusive and compassionate world.