While the themes behind Martin Luther King Jr. Day are serious and thought-provoking, they are still worth introducing to our preschoolers. Of course, we want to do this in an age-appropriate way without overwhelming our kids. So let’s talk about ways to prepare our preschoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We can think about the big ideas of kindness, fairness, and helping others. And we can use everyday moments to honor this day in ways that our preschoolers can understand and relate to.
For our young children, learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. isn’t about memorizing history facts or understanding complex events. It’s about learning how to treat others with care, noticing how our actions affect other people, and practicing kindness in our everyday lives.
Keep it Simple
As we prepare our preschoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it’s important to start with ideas they already know. Preschoolers understand kindness, sharing, helping, and taking turns because they experience these moments every day.
So we could explain that Martin Luther King Jr. was someone who worked to help people be treated kindly and fairly. When we keep our explanations short, reassuring, and hopeful, it helps our children feel safe while learning something new.
There are some signs that can help us as we talk about these ideals. Signs like friend, help, and love can support what we’re saying to our preschoolers. They can also help our kids have a way to show their understanding, even when they don’t have all the words yet.
Use Stories and Songs
Stories and music can be really helpful to prepare our preschoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We could get some picture books about kindness or friendship. Then we can make Monday special by reading these stories about kindness and friendship. As we read, we can pause to notice moments of kindness. It helps to ask questions like, “How did that make their friend feel?” or “What could we do to help?” These simple reflections help preschoolers connect big ideas to situations they can understand.
Then there are songs. We have a lot of songs in our shows over at My Signing Time. Positive and uplifting songs can help us teach our kids about kindness, inclusion, and care for other people. And singing Signing Time songs together can help our kids connect their emotions with actions.
Plus, take a look at the shows we have about friendship here.
Ways to Use Playtime
One of the most effective ways to prepare our preschoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day is to practice inclusion during everyday play. When we invite others to join, share toys, and take turns, it helps our kids understand that everyone belongs. Let’s help our kids to see that everyone has rights, not just me.
These small, everyday moments support the big values behind Martin Luther King Jr. Day in ways preschoolers can understand and practice.
Use Some Activities
Hands-on activities are a wonderful way to prepare our preschoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Of course, we want to keep this learning light and engaging. We can draw pictures of friends, create a kindness collage, or act out helping scenarios with our toys. These intentional activities help our kids to explore these ideas through their creativity and imaginations.
A kindness goal is another great activity. We could choose one simple kindness goal to work on together for the day. Maybe we could look for ways to help other people, or we could find ways to use as many kind words as possible.
No matter what we decide to do, when we prepare our preschoolers for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we are planting seeds of kindness, empathy, and understanding. As our kids grow, these ideals grow with them until they can understand them in a more mature way. But it does make a difference when we introduce these ideals to our little ones.
So let’s help our kids learn that their words, their hands, and their hearts can make a difference, both on special days like Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in our everyday lives.