Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Getting Ready to Celebrate His Birthday and Him

On Monday (the third Monday of January) the United States celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. His actual birthday is today, January 15th. To celebrate his birthday there are many events and most have to do with community service--doing for others. There are also parades, special breakfasts and all sorts of ways different people celebrate. With Hazel being five and just starting to really notice a difference in race, I thought we would spend some time learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and how he helped change the world we live in.

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Book Review and Martin Luther King Day for Kids Series

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today I am writing about a new book in the Ordinary People Who Changed the World Series by Brad Meltzer. It goes on sale today!! And in perfect timing it is also my post for the Multicultural Kid Blogs Martin Luther King Day for Kids Series. I am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos brings the life, teachings, and beliefs of Martin Luther King, Jr. to kids in a fun way. 

Black History Month Blog Tour for Young Kids -- a First Look Tour

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Ideals Books./Worthy Kids. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Can you believe it is already February? Today starts Black History Month in America and I get to share with you two board books to introduce perhaps the two most famous civil rights activists in America to the youngest kids. It seems like the perfect way to kick off Black History Month. The first book is The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. written by Johnny Ray Moore and illustrated by Amy Wummer. 

Teaching Young Children about Martin Luther King, Jr.

This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Martin Luther King Day for Kids Blog Series. 

With all the talk in the news today about race and the race issues and violence that have been occurring I think it is the perfect time to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. I have teamed up with some members of Multicultural Kid Blogs to share resources for celebrating Martin Luther King Day. I have decided to share with you ideas on teaching younger children about Dr. King.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Books and Crafts

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

Hazel colored this page she picked up at the library,
but I have seen it available for free at Teachervision

In the United States today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In some states it is called Civil Rights Day. The theme usually is a Day of Service since Dr. King devoted his life to serving and helping others. Last week we did a book round up with books on Dr. King and on the holiday. On Sunday I shared two crafts to honor his teaching of peace through love.

Inspiring and Educational Books

Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Linda Lowery gives some information I had not gotten from any of the other books. I enjoyed learning more and some of it made me do more research and learn even more. It discusses some of the ways the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated when it became a federal holiday in 1986. With parades in Chicago, marches in New York City, 400 people riding a "freedom train" to Washington and balloons being released by children in Arizona, there was a lot of celebrating in the United States. There was also celebrating in more than 27 other countries. Now I questioned the part of children releasing balloons in Arizona since there was quite a controversy in it becoming a state holiday in Arizona. I could not find any other reference to the balloons, however Arizona was the last state to make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a paid state holiday in 1992. It became a state holiday after the voters declared they wanted it to be one. At one point the legislature wanted to make it one and to take away Columbus Day, but many Italian American groups complained about this idea. (Source)
 

Child of the Civil Rights Movement by Paula Young Shelton and Raul Colon is written in the voice of Paula. She was four-year-old when her family marched in the Selma to Montgomery March. Or should I say she and her family did the first day of marching and then the children stayed at her grandparents' house in Selma while her parents continued the march. I love this book because it personalizes Dr. King or as she called him Uncle Martin. Her father, Andrew Young, worked closely with Dr. King in the Civil Rights Movement and she knew all the Civil Rights Leaders as aunts and uncles. They all took turns carrying her during that first day of marching after she got tired.

Riding to Washington by Gwenyth Swain is a fictional tale of a young, white girl from Indiana riding with her father and his friends from work on the bus to hear the "I Have a Dream" speech. Gwenyth was only two years old when her father and grandfather made this journey and she has often wondered what it would have been like to be a child there. It is a wonderful story showing strength and working together and then of course being in awe of the words of Dr. King's speech.

We March by Shane W. Evans is a simple picture book (very few words) about heading to Washington for the march and ending with the "I Have a Dream" speech. This is a wonderful book for younger children.

Just Like Martin by Ossie Davis is a chapter book for older children. It is about a young black boy who wants to join others in marching, but his father does not agree with the nonviolence demonstrations and does not let him go. The boy who has met Dr. King wants to be just like him and this story is about his courage to stand up for what he believes.

Crafts to Honor Dr. King's Teachings

At the end of this section I will share all the places that inspired these crafts. Many were inspired by several different crafts in different places.

These two crafts could be made with a felt background and made into pins or with a clay background  and made into magnets. One of the inspiring crafts made it this way and taped a string to be a necklace on it. The faces are various colors of wooden beads. On one I used a puffy heart sticker and the others I used small heart buttons to show the love Dr. King spoke about.

This craft is a wonderful reminder that God wants us to "Love one another" (John 13:34). Hazel traced her hand on one piece of paper and I cut them out of five skin shades of paper as well as some hearts and made it all into a mobile/wall art.

United we stand or holding hands as part of The Dream are the perfect title for this one. Simple peg dolls made from different color clothespins with pipe cleaners for arms and hands. Hazel had fun making one of these as well.

Craft Inspiration Came From:

• Danielle's Place
• Artists Helping Children
• Spoonful (Sorry the pin does not go directly to the craft)
• Artists Helping Children

Plus from these books. Some of these books have wonderful ideas for classrooms or families activities as well!

How do you celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?

Reflections on the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr. and a simple craft

As I thought about what I wanted to do this year for Martin Luther King Day for Kids I reflected on what we have done in the past. We have shared numerous books on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as other Civil Rights Activists. We have done various crafts about unity and diversity and peace. I'll be honest I wasn't sure what to do. Hazel understands the teachings of Dr. King and we have focused quite a bit on the Civil Rights Movement in the past. I want to first reflect on a few things.

Black Lives Matter-- Mary McLeod Bethune & Coretta Scott King

 

I only have a few more people on my list for our Black Lives Matter Series. I have been saving these two women for the end but wanted to share them because today is World Teacher Day. These two were both activists. We will start with Mary McLeod Bethune because she was a teacher!

Sharing Saturday 15-3

A huge thank you to everyone who shared with us last week!! It was the largest party we have had in awhile. I had a very hard time choosing features since there were so many amazing posts. Here are some of the ones I liked the best, but really there are many more to see if you have not checked them out yet. The topics for this week's features are Martin Luther King, Jr. (Monday is MLK Day in the US), Frozen, Valentine's Day and some lesson and polar bears ones.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Features

For everyone featured in this topic and ones not picked, please also link up at the Multicultural Kid Blogs Martin Luther King Day for Kids link party!!

Peace Through Love teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

Monday the United States celebrates the holiday remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last week I shared a simple craft and a round-up of books to learn about the holiday and about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Since Dr. King believed in change through peace and getting rid of hatred by love. 

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I wanted to do some crafts involving symbols of peace and love. I went looking for some inspiration on Pinterest. I knew I had pinned some dove crafts in my Religion/Church Board. For my first craft I was inspired by Holy Spirit Craft - Make a Dove from a Paper Plate on Catholic Icing.

This craft is easy. You draw the head to tail body on the plate and cut it out and then use the scraps to get the two wings. You add a face and feet and glue the wings on. Then I added a heart button and the words "Peace through Love". Now we have a visual reminder of Dr. King's teachings.

For a similar craft I was inspired by Handprint Dove on Free Kids Crafts. I used Hazel's handprints for the wings and the printable provided by Free Kids Crafts. Then I glued it on to a large heart doily (which Hazel is using for her Valentines). I thought it made another nice visual of Dr. King's teachings. 

For more ideas check out my Civil Rights/MLK Pinterest Board and join us tomorrow for some more on Martin Luther King, Jr. including more books to share and more crafts!!

Coretta's Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King -- Book Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you get Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off? I am guessing your kids do. Do you know it is the first national holiday for a person that is not a president or Christopher Columbus? We celebrate it in thanks to the work Coretta Scott King did to make it a holiday to honor her husband. Come learn about the life and times of Coretta in today's book. It is Coretta's Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King by Alice Faye Duncan and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. This beautiful picture book biography is recommended for ages 7 to 10.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Source

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. --Martin Luther King, Jr.

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today we continue the Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour. The Ordinary People Change the World Series is by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulous. There is a giveaway from Penguin Kids below for the whole series as well!! Today's book is I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. I had the pleasure of reviewing this book at its release in January. 

Two of the Big Six: John Lewis and A. Philip Randolph #blacklivesmatter

As I thought about who to do next for our Black Lives Matter Series I realized I should do John Lewis since he passed away this weekend. He was last of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to die. As I did my research I realized that A. Philip Randolph was as well so today I am going to share about both of them. The Big Six were Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. They were instrumental in the planning of the March on Washington in 1963. 

Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King -- written for kids

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

February is Black History Month. It is a month where everyone focuses on Black history as part of the United States history since our society tends to focus on white male history most of the time. It saddens me that we need these cultural history months as every day we should be focusing on history of different cultures that have helped build our country, but alas that is not the case. Having the cultural months ensures that schools focus on the history that is not always focused on during the entire year. Today I am sharing a new book that is perfect for celebrating Black History Month with lower elementary aged students. It is Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King by Coretta Scott King and the Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds and illustrated by Ekua Holmes. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Sharing Saturday 16-3

Last week we had many amazing ideas shared!! Thank you to everyone who shared with us!! Our features are just a sampling of the wonderful things shared, so if you haven't checked out the rest you should!! The features for this week include Holiday Features (Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the US), Winter Features and Educational & Family Features. I have also host a craft link party (the crafts just have to be family appropriate and not necessarily kid related) and it is a place to share crafts, reviews of patterns, craft books, etc. and patterns. I hope you will come check it out Sunday.  This month's Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is beginning Sunday morning for all your posts that are culture (multicultural) related!

I Am Helen Keller -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour and Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today we are sharing I Am Helen Keller by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. It is part of the Ordinary People Change the World Series. We have been having fun with the Blog Tour for this book series this month and have already shared the ones on Abraham Lincoln, Lucille Ball, and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

My Selma -- Review of New Middle Grades Book About Growing Up in Selma During the Civil Rights Movement

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I am sharing a book I had hoped to finish and share during Black History Month. Unfortunately the last couple of weeks (since I have had the book) have been crazy at school and left me exhausted when I got home so I didn't get it finished until today. But what a great book!! The book is My Selma by Willie Mae Brown. It is suggested for ages 10 to 14. 

The Real Women Mathematicians of Hidden Figures - Black History Month Blog Hop & Giveaway

Disclosure:  Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Have you seen Hidden Figures yet? Now as a family we hardly ever go to the movies. We really do not like supporting the Hollywood scene or spending the huge amounts that it costs to go out and get a popcorn. However on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day our family went to the movie theater to see Hidden Figures. Between my love of multicultural stories and math, my engineering husband's love of space, and Hazel's love of history and learning, we all loved this movie. We felt it was worth the money spent and found it to be a great activity for the day. Now I was especially excited for the movie since my post last year for the Black History Month Blog Hop was about Katherine Johnson. The movie made me want to learn even more and teach Hazel more about these amazing women. 

I Am Gandhi and I Am Sacagawea Blog Tour

Disclosure: Penguin Kids sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I get to share with you the latest two books in the Ordinary People Change the World series by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. I am sharing these books as part of the blog tour!

Let's Read About Black Characters & People -- Round-Up of Children's Books

The other day as I talked to Hazel about current events on our walk and was telling her my plans for Crafty Moms Share, she said, "Did you ever notice that when there is a black person in a book there is just one in a group of white friends?" Oh, yes, we still have the token black person in our society of books and television shows. She even commented how sometimes the group is made up of one person of different races like in The Start-Up Squad Series. I recently read an article about how white people need to do more than talk to our kids about racism. Where we live, who our neighbors are, books we read/provide our kids, who our friends are, the diversity of the school we send our kids to all play a part in how our kids grow up and understand race relations. Now I cannot change your neighborhood or their school but I hope I can change the books in your house and your library. I asked some fellow bloggers as well as authors that are part of the Multicultural Children's Book Day group for any books, activities, and reviews they had with black people as the main characters. Today I am going to share a round-up of books shared and some others I found (on Amazon). I will link reviews and activities whenever possible. It is important that all of our kids read books that have people like them but it is also important that our kids read books with people who do not look like them. This will build their understanding and help them to grow and learn about race and culture and hopefully not be racist when they grow up. I have the books separated into picture books, fairy tales, chapter books/novels, and non-fiction/biographies. There are some separation within some of these genres as well.