I wasn't sure if I wanted to do Black History Month crafts with my kids or not this year. My girls seem so color blind, and I was concerned about introducing ideas to them that may have never have crossed their minds otherwise. I thought that maybe it would be better to wait until they noticed or asked questions on their own about skin color.
Then I realized how silly that was of me. I enthusiastically teach them about other cultures. We talk about different places and different people. So there was no reason for me to not teach them about such an important part of their own country's history and culture.
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We started with one of America's greatest sports heroes, Jackie Robinson! First we read a few books from the library about Robinson's life. We started with a basic children's biography, Jackie Robinson: Hero of Baseball by Carin T. Ford. Then we read some story books, Play Ball, Jackie by Stephen Krensky and Luke Goes To Bad by Rachel Isadora We talked about what an amazing athlete Jackie was, how brave he must have been, the way he was treated and how unfair it was. Then we started work on our craft!
You just need some construction paper, scissors, glue, and markers.
Older children can cut out the shapes on their own after you draw or trace them. For younger children, you'll want to cut the shapes out yourself and let them do the gluing. I traced a circle for Jackie's head, then traced the same circle and cut it in half for his ball cap. Add an thin brim for his cap. Next, you just need two circles for eyes and a little rainbow shaped mouth. Jackie's shoulders are made from a white semi-circle.
Add a white 'B' on his cap (for Brooklyn) and label his jersey. We also added a baseball and bat. Done! Making this craft really helped my girls remember a lot about Jackie's life. Since we talked more about his story while we worked, the information really stuck. They were able to tell their dad all about Jackie Robinson over dinner!
For more ideas for Black History Month, follow the Cutting Tiny Bites Pinterest board below!
