Monday, January 16, 2012 we will be celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. in the US. It is a good opportunity to talk to our youngest students about fairness, equality, friendship and peace. Parents and preschool teachers can recognize this day with some age appropriate art and learning activities.

We are different and the same activity
You can talk with young children about how even though we are different in many ways (skin color, hair color, eye color, age, etc.) - that EVERYONE is special and we have many of the same hopes, dreams and feelings on the inside. A simple activity that highlights this concept uses brown and white eggs. Show the child/children how the eggs look different on the outside. Ask them what is different about the eggs? Then open them up and show them that even though they look different on the outside - they are the same on the inside, just like people. Afterwards, you can cook up the eggs for snack - compare how they taste!

Handprint wreath
An art project that you can also do on this day is to make a handprint wreath using multicultural skin tone paints. In a classroom setting, this is a beautiful way to reflect the diversity in your classroom ... in a home setting, it is a wonderful way to explore all the lovely shades of skin colors that exist in the world. Paint children's hands with the paints and have them make a print on a sheet of paper. Once dry, cut out handprints and arrange them in a circle on a bulletin board or large sheet on easel paper. Display with the heading "Love comes in many colors"!

Other MLK Day ideas from around the web
There are so many great resources available online to get more ideas to celebrate MLK Day. Here are just a few that I found, take a visit and get inspired!

    "I have a dream" handprints The SEEDS Network

    MLK Day ideas Our Pinterest MLK board

    Teaching diversity to children PreK and K Sharing

    Learning about Martin Luther King Jr in preschool Teach Preschool

    Crafts for Martin Luther King Jr Day Frugal Family Fun

    Martin Luther King Activities Twiggle Magazine

    Martin Luther King Preschool Plan It