Category: Craft

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Big Kid Big kid fun Craft Family Activities Gifts Holiday How To Infant/Toddler Learning Kindergarten Age Learning Life Parenting Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

8 Fun Monthly Subscription Boxes for Kids: Non-Toy Gifts for Kids

Instead of buying toys for special days, you can consider monthly subscription boxes for kids. These non-toy gifts for kids are fun and won’t clutter up your space as much as toys do.

Helping kids recognize and develop their skills at an early age can give them an advantage later in life. They are already scientists, explorers, cooks, bakers, artists, and many other things. The best thing you can do for your kids is to provide them with what they need to learn and grow in these areas.

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

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Monthly Subscription Boxes For Kids

1. Green Kid Crafts

Green Kid Crafts is a nature-based STEAM subscription box for kids aged 2-10. The activities included in the box inspire creativity, discovery, and learning about the world. This monthly box can be the perfect arts and crafts gift for kids.

You can shop by theme on the Green Kid Crafts website, too. The themes include:

  • Arts and crafts kits and projects
  • Fun science experiments
  • Exciting animals and ecosystems
We Craft Box

2. We Craft Box

We Craft Box is geared toward kids between the ages of three and nine. If you have a younger child, they’ll need more help. As kids do the themed monthly project, they’re experiencing creativity and making memories.

All of the materials the child will need, except water and scissors, are included in the box. My favorite part is that each kit comes with enough material for two kids, so it’s perfect for sharing.

Each We Craft Box comes with a story about the project, which helps get your child inspired and feeling creative. It also includes photo instructions that are easy to follow.

We Craft Box, We Craft
subscription box for kids
craft box

3. Bookroo

Bookroo is a monthly subscription book box for kids ages 0-10. It is super simple to sign up, and you can count on awesome books being delivered for your kids. There are three different book clubs you can join including:

  • Board Books (ages 0-3)
  • Picture Books (ages 3-6)
  • Chapter Books (ages 7-10)

Since March is reading month, you could consider starting the subscription box as a way to make National Reading Awareness Month even more exciting.

Amazing books kids love!

4. Coding Subscription Box

This monthly subscription box is best for ages six through 12. The child will receive monthly coding projects, learning how to make video games, simulations, greeting cards, and so much more.

One of the best parts is that each box comes with a guide for grownups and unlimited email support. You won’t have to worry about getting stumped when there’s help and references readily available.

monthly subscription boxes for kids

5. Highlights Magazine Subscription Box

The Highlights subscription box is available for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders. They offer a fun way to learn skills based on their age group and skill levels. Using this box for only 15 minutes a day can improve your child’s skills, and you can track the changes on included progress sheets.

6. History Subscription Boxes

Suitable for ages six through 11, this history box is perfect for kids who love history. Kids can learn about the world around them and other cultures with the included activities. Some of the skills it’ll help children improve are literacy, geography, STEAM, history, and vocabulary.

monthly subscription boxes for kids

7. Monthly Subscription Box for Tweens or Teens

Many of the subscription boxes target younger kids, but tweens and tweens can enjoy this Strong self(ie) monthly subscription box. The tween box is geared towards eight to 12-year-olds, while the teen box targets 13-17-year-olds.

Examples of Tween Boxes

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monthly subscription boxes for kids

Examples of Teen Boxes

monthly subscription boxes for kids
monthly subscription boxes for kids

8. Baketivity Monthly Subscription Box for Kids

The Baketivity subscription box involves a monthly recipe and includes pre-measured ingredients. Each recipe is easy to follow and has illustrations to help the child along.

One of my favorite parts of this subscription box is that the kids can watch and follow a chef creating the recipe. It also comes with a chef hat and apron so your child can embrace every aspect of being a baker.

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Monthly Subscription Boxes for Kids

Monthly subscription boxes for kids are the perfect solution to having too many toys. Birthdays and holidays don’t have to be all about toys, and these subscription boxes are the best gifts for kids.

What subscription boxes for kids do you love? Leave a comment and let me know!

If you want an adult subscription box, check out my post 10 Reasons to Try Bean Box Award-Winning Coffee.

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Craft crafts Holiday Winter

Easy Christmas Crafts: How to Make a Wine Cork Reindeer with Pipe Cleaners

Easy Christmas crafts are the best. You can use them as decoration, give them as gifts, or turn them into a Christmas tree ornament. This easy Christmas craft is a wine cork reindeer, and you might already have the materials on hand.

Easy Christmas Craft

How to Make a Wine Cork Reindeer as an Easy Christmas Craft

Required Material:

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

How to Make It:

Step 1

Using a knife, cut one wine cork in half crosswise. Then cut each half lengthwise to make four legs. It’s okay if they are uneven, mine were and the reindeer still stands. 🙂

Step 2

Cut two skinny slices of a second wine cork, crosswise again. One slice will be used for the neck, and the other will be cut to make the tail and ears.

Step 3

Set aside the slice for the neck, and then cut the other slice in half. Set aside one half for the tail, and then cut the other half in half again. These two pieces will be used for the ears.

Step 4

Using your hot glue gun, glue the four legs to one side of a full wine cork.

Step 5

Flip the cork over so that the legs are pointing down as if the reindeer is standing. Then glue the slice of cork intended for the neck on the end of the same full cork.

Step 6

Take another full cork and clue one end of it to the neck, with the rest of the cork hanging over the front of the “body”. This cork is the head.

Step 7

Take the half slice and glue it to the back of the “body” cork, with the curve of the cork facing outward.

Step 8

Find the two ear pieces (the half slice that you cut in half again), and glue them to the “head” cork, on the end where it’s glued to the neck.

Step 9

Twist two brown pipe cleaners around your pinky finger or a pencil to make spirals for antlers. Glue the tips of these pipe cleaners directly in front of the ears.

Step 10

Twist together one red and one sparkly red pipe cleaner to make a scarf for your reindeer. You can use any colors you want, but I used red. Green would be another cute option.

Step 11

Wrap the pipe cleaner scarf around the neck, adding a little hot glue to make sure it covers the neck.

Step 12

Add a green pompom to the front of the scarf (if you want).

Step 13

Place a small red pompom on the tip of the “head” cork to make a red reindeer nose.

Step 14

Add googly eyes.

Other Easy Christmas Crafts

If you love making easy Christmas crafts or doing sensory activities, check out these posts:

Recap: Easy Christmas Crafts – Wine Cork Reindeer with Pipe Cleaners

Now that you have your easy Christmas craft planned, you can get started making homemade ornaments and celebrating with your family.

What is your favorite part of Christmas? Leave a comment and let us know. 

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Craft crafts Holiday

Easy Thanksgiving Crafts: How to Make a Wine Cork Turkey with Pipe Cleaners

I love holiday crafts, especially when I don’t have to buy anything new for them. I have plenty of wine corks and pipe cleaners, so a wine cork turkey came to mind as an easy thanksgiving craft. My kids enjoyed making them, too. I helped put their pipe cleaners in but they did the rest and loved the result. 🙂

Easy Thanksgiving Crafts, Wine Cork Turkey

How to Make a Wine Cork Turkey as an Easy Thanksgiving Craft

Required Material:

***This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.***

How to Make It:

  • 1: Twist the pipe cleaners around your pinky finger, a pencil, or another thin object. Then slide the pipe cleaners off without straightening them, making sure to keep the curls.
  • 2: Stick the pointy metal edges of the pipe cleaners into the cork, leaving space for all four colors to go around. The pipe cleaners mimic feathers, so make sure they go around the back.
  • 3: Glue on the googly eyes. If you don’t have googly eyes, you can make eyes out of paper and glues those on instead.
  • 4: Cut a beak from orange paper and a gobbler from red paper. I ran out of red paper so I just found some red in a magazine and cut that into a gobbler.
  • 5: Glue on the beak and gobbler, and you have your turkey. 🙂

Other Easy Fall Crafts

If you love making fall crafts or doing sensory activities, check out these posts:

Recap: Easy Thanksgiving Craft – Wine Cork Turkey with Pipe Cleaners

Now that you have your easy Thanksgiving craft planned, don’t forget about Thanksgiving dinner! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I’m excited about all parts of it.

What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving? Leave a comment and let us know. 🙂

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Craft crafts Family Activities Free Activities Holiday How To Parenting Toddler and Preschool Age Fun

How to Make an Easy Last-Minute Valentine’s Card Box

How to Make an Easy Last-Minute Valentine's Card Box

I’m that mom who sees the note about the class Valentine’s party and only reads halfway through. I get the date and the number of Valentine’s cards we need, and that’s about it. Well, this time, my quick-scan method failed me because I didn’t realize we needed a Valentine’s card box!

As we were getting all of the Valentine’s Day stuff packed up for the next day, I re-read the note to make sure we weren’t forgetting anything. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. My preschooler needed a Valentine’s card box for school. Oops.

No worries, though. He had a cute Valentine’s card box for his class party that we made without running out to the store. Plus, it was super easy to make.

Valentine's Card Box

How to Make a Valentines Card Box

Step 1: Find a box that is big enough to hold Valentine’s Day treats and cards.

You can use literally any box you have. We used a pop-tart box. There are only 10 kids in his class so his didn’t need to be very big.

Step 2: Paint the box or cover it with paper.

It took a couple of coats of paint to hide the pop-tart logo. I let it dry in between each coat but it didn’t take long.

For some reason, the sides of the box were giving us the most trouble (or maybe I was just over it). So, we cut cute craft paper and placed it on each end. We didn’t do anything with the bottom of the box.

  • Valentine's Card Box for kids
  • Valentine's Day Card Box

Step 3: Add stickers and other embellishments.

We had some Valentine’s stickers so my little guy put stickers all over the box. You could also cut hearts out of different colored paper and glue those to the box.

We cut his name out of cute paper and glued that on, too. Use whatever you have and be creative. Other ideas include letting your child paint designs on the box or adding glitter.

Step 4: Cut a hole in the top.

Make sure the hole is big enough to fit treats through and not just cards.

Valentine's Card Box

While this Valentine’s card box was nowhere near perfect, my little guy loved it. Sometimes it is all about taking the time to help them create something rather than worrying about a perfect result. Sure, I could have run out to Target and hoped they had some left, but this ended up being so much more fun and I didn’t have to change out of my sweatpants.

How to Make an Easy Last-Minute Valentine's Card Box, Valentine's Card Box

Please tell me I’m not the only mom who does everything last minute?! And if you are a parent who plans ahead and already has their child’s Valentine’s card box ready, I’d love to see it!

*Does anyone in your child’s class have food allergies? If so, read this article: Keep Valentine’s Day Sweet and Safe for Those With Food Allergy.*

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Craft crafts Infant/Toddler Learning Kindergarten Age Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Fall Crafts for Kids – Handprint Leaves

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You guys, fall is RIGHT around the corner. Can you believe it? That means it’s time to get started on our fall crafts for kids!

I love so many things about fall. Bonfires, the smell of October, crisp fall air, and the falling leaves in bright colors are just a few of my favorite things. My all-time favorite part, however, is making memories with my kids.

Fall is the perfect time for family traditions and fun. Doing crafts is something we do for each season or holiday, so of course, there will be fall-inspired crafts.

This handprint leaves craft is one I first did years ago. I loved it so much I started doing it every year. I love seeing how much the kids’ hands have grown each year, and I can update their scrapbooks with the handprint leaves.

How to Make Handprint Leaves With Kids

This is a super simple craft that you can do with kids of every age. The required materials are minimal, and there isn’t much mess involved.

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Required Materials:

Directions:

  1. Begin with a blank piece of white paper.
  2. Using a clean paintbrush, paint the child’s hand orange.
  3. Quickly and firmly place the child’s hand flat onto the white paper.
  4. Carefully lift their hand, being careful not to smear the handprint leaf.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 for the red paint and yellow paint.
  6. Allow the paint to dry.
  7. Using a thin paintbrush and brown paint (or a brown marker) draw the stem lines onto the leaves.

What Do You Think?!

Tell me what you think of this easy fall craft! Which fall crafts do you plan to do with your kiddos?

Share pictures of your fall crafts for kids in the comments! Feel free to drop a link to your fall craft blog posts in the comments, too! I’d love to see them!

Check out other fall crafts and activities by clicking the following links:

Simple Fall Handprint Crafts for Kids

Easy Fall Sensory Bin With Dyed Rice

Foil Printed Fall Art For Kids

Fall Bucket List – Free Printable 

Other Important Fall Tasks

While we’re on the topic of kids and fall, I want to remind you to label all of your child’s coats, jackets, snow pants, and anything else they might lose. I’ve spent too much time and money looking for or replacing these items, so I label them each year. If you want a label that will last, I urge you to visit dutchlabelshop.com. They offer custom labels that you can sew onto your child’s clothing and outdoor gear. You can even choose a label with your child’s photo.

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Categories
Craft crafts Infant/Toddler Learning Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Paper Plate Sunflower Craft – An Easy Craft For Kids

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I don’t know about you, but sunflowers just make me happy. They remind me of long, sunny, relaxing summer days. That is why I decided a paper plate sunflower craft was the perfect one for us this week.

How to Make This Easy Sunflower Craft

Materials

Directions

1. Cut out the petals.

I created a template for this so that we would have the correct shape. You can cut them out without a template, but I always need a guide. There are three different sizes for the petals because the petals on a real sunflower are always different sizes.

I printed the template onto white paper and then cut the leaves out. Then, I traced the cut outs onto a piece of yellow construction paper. Once I had covered the construction paper with traced sunflower petals, I began to cut.

I didn’t cut just one yellow page at a time. Instead, I put five pieces of yellow construction paper in a small stack and cut through them all at once.

sunflower petals template, sunflower template

2. Glue the petals to the paper plate.

You will want to put the paper plate upside down for this part. Glue the petals to the edges of the bottom of the paper plate so that they stick out from the back when you look at the front. Do this all the way around the plate.

3. Cut out squares of yellow paper and glue them to the center of the plate.

Glue small squares of yellow paper all over the middle of the plate on the front. This will be the yellow center of the sunflower.

4. Make black dots on the yellow center to show the seeds.

Use a marker to make random black dots all over the yellow squares in the center of the plate. These are supposed to represent the sunflower seeds.

paper plate sunflower craft for kids, easy crafts

What do You Think About This Paper Plate Sunflower Craft?

This paper plate sunflower craft was so easy, and the kids loved it. Plus, it’s super cute so I can hang it up for a while!

What crafts have you been doing with your kids lately? Tell me about it in the comments!

Categories
Craft crafts Infant/Toddler Learning Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Tear Art – Little Red Riding Hood

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This tear art based on the book Little Red Riding Hood was so much fun for my daughter! It was easy, allowed her to be creative, and can be done over and over again with different books. Before I get into the details of that craft, let’s catch up!

I hope you are all having an amazing summer! I know things are a little different this year since lots of things are closed/canceled. Plus, the things that aren’t canceled or closed likely have new rules and guidelines to follow.

It definitely takes some getting used to, but we’re still enjoying all of our favorite activities! We’ve spent a lot of time at the Lake (Lake Michigan is our favorite), and spent time exploring places we’ve never been before.

The kids have loved it and they haven’t even complained about missing out on things we would normally do.

It’s been rainy here lately, though, so we have been stuck inside a little more than we’d like. That’s been fine, though, because it gives us plenty of time for reading stories and making crafts.

Little Red Riding Hood Tear Craft

My daughter is obsessed with wolf stories, which has been a theme for her for more than a year now. Lately, we’ve been reading Little Red Riding Hood over and over again.

So, when she wanted to read it for the fourth time in a row the other day, I came up with a better idea. We decided to make a craft based on the book! I love to do that anyway, so this was a perfect time.

My little lady is currently grounded from scissors (a few too many mishaps with her hair, her Barbie’s hair, and now her toy horse’s hair… along with clothes and anything else she found). I wanted to stick to my guns on this one, so we settle for tear art.

Tear crafts are awesome anyway because they help with fine motor skills and using pinching skills. This one was even more fun because we had to copy the book while tearing our paper.

Plus, when you do a craft based on a book, it will help the child remember the book better. That means, if there are any lessons involved in the book, the child will remember those better, too.

Materials:

Directions:

  • Read the book
  • Choose a part your child wants to re-create
  • Gather the necessary colors of construction paper
  • Begin tearing out the shapes
  • Glue them to the paper
  • Use crayons, a pen, or a marker to add final details if necessary
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Use Tear Art to Occupy Kids While You Work From Home

So, I’ll be completely honest here. One of the reasons I’m trying to get my kids to enjoy tear art based on books is because I often work from home. As many of you are probably realizing, working from home when you have kids is incredibly difficult.

I did this craft with my daughter, but I’m hoping that it’ll help her stay occupied on her own when I’m working. Since the materials are basic, you’ll be able to feel comfortable that your child won’t hurt themselves without your guidance.

They can choose any book they want, even ones they haven’t read before. This opens the door to so many ideas and possibilities. You’ll be able to suggest tear art next time your kids are bugging you while you are busy with work.

Your kids don’t have to only create the characters in the book, either. They can re-create the scenery or any other aspect of the book. I think rainbows and other nature-related themes would be so much fun to re-create!

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Final Thoughts on Tear Art – Little Red Riding Hood

This is a craft that kids of all ages can do. They get to use their creativity to create what they are seeing in the book.

It doesn’t matter how close your child (or yourself) gets to an exact re-creation. Just going through this process will help them remember the book and the lessons it has taught.

It’ll also keep your kids busy for a while, and they can do this craft without scissors.

What book would you want to recreate with your child? Tell me about it in the comments!

Check out this similar craft:

Big Bad Wolf Paper Plate Craft

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Big Kid Big kid fun Craft crafts Free Activities Holiday How To Toddler and Preschool Age Fun

Leprechaun Finders – Toilet Paper Roll Binoculars

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These Leprechaun Finders were a life-saver for me today as my kids desperately needed something to do. The school’s are shut down in our state because of the Corona Virus (Covid-19), and many public places have shut down as well. This includes our local indoor play places, restaurants, movie theatres and more. Unfortunately, all of this means the kids are already getting bored.

I want to keep them learning, creating, and engaging during this social-distancing time, so finding new activities to do each day is important. Along with practicing sight words for Sylas, letter recognition (capital and lowercase) for Josie, and name recognition for Liam, time for creativity has been essential.

With St. Patrick’s Day here, I thought it would be the perfect time to create Leprechaun Finders! They were easy, so much fun (they doubled as fine motor play!), and they kept the kids busy for quite some time.

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How to Make Leprechaun Finders

Materials:

This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.

Directions

1. Cut the construction paper to fit perfectly around each toiler paper roll, then glue the paper in place. If you choose paint instead of paper, you would paint the tube green here instead.

2. Have the child decorate each of the green tubes with sequins, pipe cleaners, or sequins. You could also just have them decorate with markers or crayons. It can be as simple as you want it!

3. Hold the decorated rolls side by side and place a piece of tape starting on the inside of one roll and finishing on the inside of the other roll. Do this on both the front and the back of the toiler paper roll binoculars (or Leprechaun finders).

4. Now, you can add a piece of string to this so that the kids can wear it around their necks, but I didn’t do this for ours.

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Where to Use Your Leprechaun Finders

We started out using them inside of the house, looking out windows. I think by the time they were done inside, they had spent at least 5 minutes looking out every window in the house.

When they didn’t find them outside of the windows, we took them out to the backyard. Then, eventually, we went on a walk around the neighborhood looking for Leprechauns.

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Final Thought on Leprechaun Finder – Toilet Paper Roll Binoculars

This St Patty’s Day craft was so easy and so much fun. The kids loved it, and the prep and clean-up were easy for me. I’m a huge fan of toilet paper roll binoculars, and I foresee us doing more of these for future holidays.

Now, I have less than 24 hours to figure out how to trick the kids into thinking they found a Leprechaun using their Leprechaun finders! Any ideas? Let me know in the comments.

Categories
Big Kid Craft crafts Free Activities Holiday Teenager Toddler and Preschool Age Fun

Valentine’s Crafts Based on the Book Hedgehugs

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When my son brought the book ‘Hedgehugs’ home from school last year, I was so excited. I’d never heard of it before and it quickly became a favorite. While deciding on some Valentine’s Crafts, this book immediately came to mind.

It’s a cute story about a couple of hedgehogs that want to hug but can’t find a comfortable way to do so. By the end of the story, the hedgehogs find a way to hug by wiggling into the end of a torn sock. The sock covers their sharp parts so that they can share their love.

With National Hugging Day on the 21st and Valentine’s Day less than a month away, I figured it was the perfect time to have some fun with this one. If you want to buy this book for your home library, you can get it on Amazon by clicking HERE or by clicking on the photo below.

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This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.

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Valentine’s Crafts 1 – Paper Hug

This craft is SO easy and we had everything on hand to make it ahead of time. Even more exciting, our teenager participated in this one!

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heart craft, Valentine's day, Valentines Day, Valentine's Day craft, handprint craft

Materials

Directions

  1. Cut a large heart onto pink paper.
  2. Using any of the three colors of paper, cut a long, skinny piece and fold it up like an accordion.
  3. Put white paint on one of the child’s hands and have them make a handprint on red paper.
  4. Do the same with the other hand so that you have 2 handprints for each child.
  5. Have the child cut around their handprint and glue one handprint to each arm.
  6. Glue the other end of the arm to the large heart.
  7. Using markers, draw a face on the heart.

Valentine’s Crafts 2 – Hedgehog Hugging a Heart Craft

Materials

Directions

  1. Draw or print a large oval onto white paper and have your kids paint it brown.
  2. Draw or print a medium-sized oval, a medium sized heart, two small ovals for feet, and two long, skinny ovals for arms. At the end of each long, skinny oval, make it flat instead of rounded. (I know, this isn’t an oval anymore).
  3. Mix brown and white paint to make a light brown or tan color. Then, paint the rest of the shapes with this color.
  4. Then, cut out a couple of hearts onto pink or red paper.
  5. Once all of that is done, assemble the hedgehog by beginning with the large brown oval. Using glue, add the medium-sized tan oval next, more toward the bottom of the large oval leaving about half an inch of space at the bottom.
  6. Then add the tan heart so that the top half of the heart is on the brown oval and the bottom half is on the tan oval.
  7. Next up are the feet, which should be put on the very bottom.
  8. Finally, add one of the red or pink hearts right into the center of the tan oval and put the arms so that the flat side of the arms are on the edge of the oval and the rounded parts are overlapping the red or pink heart.
  9. Add a second red or pink heart overtop of the first one and add the googly eyes to the tan heart.
  10. For the final steps, add a pom-pom to the point of the tan heart to make a nose and add claws to the feet using a black marker.

That’s it!! You’re done and you’ve created a cute hedgehog hugging a heart.

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Final Thoughts on Valentines Craft Based on the Book Hedgehugs

Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday to celebrate with your kids. It’s a good time to teach kids fun ways to celebrate rather than spending money to celebrate.

Which craft are you going to do with your kids? Let me know in the comments!

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While you’re at it, parents, go ahead and treat yourself this Valentine’s Day with some pampering and self care.

Categories
Big Kid Craft Free Activities Holiday How To Printables Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Martin Luther King Jr Craft, Experiment and Quotes

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MLK Day is approaching and as I was planning a Martin Luther King Jr craft and activity, I decided to quiz my kids a little to see what they knew about him. My littles really had no idea and their answers were as follows:

5: I saw him at my school once.
Me: Like, a picture of him?
5: No, the real him.
Me: I don’t think that was him, kiddo, Martin Luther King Jr isn’t alive anymore.

4: Umm, I knew when I was a baby but I forgot now.

2: I see those M&M’s mom. Can I have an M&M, please?

With those kinds of answers, our 12 year old was on his own. He was the most knowledgeable, of course, and gave us the run down. In case your kids are still a little too young to already know, here is a run down you can summarize for them.

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  • MLK Day craft, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, MLD activity, Martin Luther King Jr Day activity, MLK day experiment, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, Martin Luther King Jr Quote
  • MLK Day craft, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, MLD activity, Martin Luther King Jr Day activity, MLK day experiment, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, Martin Luther King Jr Quote

Who is Martin Luther King Jr?

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr had a dream of equality and worked hard to make that happen in America. As a husband and father of four, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wanted his children to live in a world where they wouldn’t be judged by the color of their skin.

To give his kids the life he dreamed for them, MLK lead the civil rights movement by leading peaceful protests, marches and bus boycotts. His most famous march was the March on Washington where he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of 250,000 people.

He went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and, after he died, the Congressional Medal of Freedom. Since 1983, we celebrate MLK Day in honor of his birthday. While his birthday was the 15th of January, however, we observe MLK Day on the 3rd Monday in January.

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Martin Luther King Jr Book

We started our MLK activities with a book called Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It focuses on the dream idea and kids in the book tell what their dreams are. I think it really helps kids understand that Martin Luther King’s Dream speech wasn’t about dreams when you’re sleeping because my littles struggled with that at first.

Martin Luther King Jr Day book by Robin Hill School
Click for the link

MLK Day Craft

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Our craft, like the book, went with the dream idea.

Materials:

  • Blue cardstock or construction paper
  • White paper
  • Glue sticks
  • Markers
  • Glitter

Directions

1. Cut the blue paper in half

2. Cut out a cloud from the white paper.

3. Write the dream on the cloud

I wrote Josie and Liam’s for them. Syas insisted on doing his own and who am I to say no, so a translation is on the back. He dreamed that everyone would be nice. Liam was just not participating well and only wanted the M&M’s that we were going to use on the experiment.

4. Glue the cloud to the blue paper, leaving space at the top to write.

5. Write “I have a dream…” at the top of the blue paper, above the cloud.

6. Add glitter.

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  • MLK Day craft, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, MLD activity, Martin Luther King Jr Day activity, MLK day experiment, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft
  • MLK Day craft, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, MLD activity, Martin Luther King Jr Day activity, MLK day experiment, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft

Martin Luther King Jr Experiment

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I’ve seen so many of these experiments that use one brown egg and one white egg, but since my little guy has an egg allergy I needed a different option. We decided to use some Christmas M&M’s we had leftover. You could use any color M&Ms, and I honestly would have preferred using a regular pack with more colors.

In the first box of the printable, the kids laid out their different coored M&Ms and drew what they saw. Then, they took one bite of each M&M and put them in the second box where they drew what they saw on the inside.

Once they were done, we talked about how, like M&Ms, we all look different on the outside but the same on the inside. The kids loved this and really seemed to get it!

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  • MLK Day craft, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft, MLD activity, Martin Luther King Jr Day activity, MLK day experiment, Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft
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Heres the free Martin Luther King Jr printable that I created! Feel free to print it for personal use or to share.

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Final Thoughts On Martin Luther King Jr Day Craft and Activity

I feel like Martin Luther King Jr Day doesn’t get enough attention sometimes, so I want to ensure that my kids know and understand the sacrifices Martin Luther King Jr made and how much courage he had. MLK changed America for the better and left us with an amazing message to pass on to our kids.

What do you and your family do to observe Martin Luther King Jr Day? Tell me about it in the comments.