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Martin Luther King Jr. Day Activities for Kids

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States, which may mean kids are home from school (my daughter’s school is in session; they call it a “day on” instead of a day off and do service projects in the community that days). Whether you’re talking about King’s story and legacy in the classroom or at home, there are lots of different activities and resources available.

If you have a kid who is practicing cursive, these Martin Luther King Jr. cursive quote sheets from 3 Boys and a Dog are a great way for kids to reflect and learn. They also have handwriting practice sheets for younger kids or those not learning cursive yet.

This printable pack from Meet Penny also includes some writing practice with quotes, as well as other worksheets where students can share what they have learned from books and other resources.

Dare to dream your own dreams and write about them with this printable activity from Thirty Handmade Days. Or follow in King’s footsteps and have kids reflect on what they could do to change the world with this activity from Teach Them to Fly.

Pencils to Pigtails has a lot of good information about talking about King with younger kids, as well as a resource pack you can get from Teachers Pay Teachers that includes these fingerprint art activities.

Doodle Art Alley has some cute coloring pages, most of which are quotes you can color and talk about with your kids.

Watch this video to get a little virtual tour of the National Civil Rights Museum, which is located at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis where King was killed. Learn more about the museum at its website. There’s lots of great information and activity ideas for educators there as well.

Check out more MLK Day content:

 

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Knit Dinosaurs on a Circular Knitting Machine

Circular knitting machines are a lot of fun, and one of the best ways I have found to use them is to make seasonal decor and toys. I guess that’s because these are the kinds of projects that I don’t want to spend a ton of time on but still want to make from time to time.

That’s not to say that knitting machine projects can’t be detailed and time consuming. And really the great ones are those that take the time to add fun details to make the finished project that much more interesting.

Like these adorable dinosaurs from Three Magic Sheep Co. The pattern includes instructions for a triceratops and a stegosaurus. Here they’re shown in coordinating candy colors, which I love, but you can of course make yours in any color you like. 

The larger pieces of the body and legs are worked on either a 46 or 48 pin machine, while the smaller parts are worked on a 22-pin machine. I don’t know if a lot of people have both but the 22 pin machines are so inexpensive it’s nice to have both for projects like this. I’m not sure what she used for the triceratops horns, but in customer pictures on the listing it shows people have made them with both knitting and crochet so you can do that, too, instead of buying horns to use.

The details on these are really cute (you will want to buy safety eyes, or you can embroider eyes on if you’d rather) and customers note it takes longer to sew the pieces together than it does to crank them.

This looks like a fun pair of patterns to make for a dinosaur loving kiddo (or adult!) in your life. You can check out the pattern and all the customer comments and photos at Three Magic Sheep Co. on Etsy.

[Photo: Three Magic Sheep Co.]