Columbus Day Ideas for Kids
Crafts, Poems, and Songs for Children to Celebrate Columbus Day
Use songs, crafts, and poems to engage children's senses as they learn about Columbus Day.
"Discovery! The very word is exciting! Columbus Day, October 12th, is our holiday in honor of the great discoverer, Columbus." Nina R. Jordan (author of Holiday Handicraft a classic kid’s craft book).
Use the following poems, songs, and crafts to help children experience more fully the story of Christopher Columbus and his wonderful mistake.
Poems
Below you will find the traditional verse that we all learned at school to help us remember that all important date: the year Columbus first sailed to America.
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
~ Anonymous
The poem below makes it easy to understand why people would have thought that the world is flat.
12 October
From where I stand now
the world is flat
flat out flat
no end to that.
Where my eyes go the land moves out.
How is it then
five hundred years ago (about)
Columbus found
that far beyond the flat on flat
the world was round?
Songs
The Holiday Zone has some Columbus Day songs set to well-known tunes. Two songs are particularly good. The first is Columbus Day set to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb. The second is Oh, Columbus set to the tune of Oh My Darling. Clementine. Both are good for helping children memorize the year during which Columbus first sailed and accidentally discovered the Americas.
Three Fun Projects for Children
Supplies for All Three Projects
- black and yellow craft foam or
- black and yellow construction paper
- glue or other adhesive
- Columbus Day coloring pages
- spices
- stickers (if desired)
- scissors
- staples
Make a newspaper hat. To make a more durable hat, use kid’s craft foam. To see hats made of craft foam, look at image 5 below. Hint: Staples or a durable adhesive are necessary for hats made with craft foam.
Make a telescope from a paper towel role. Cover the role with black construction paper or black craft foam. Add a yellow band of paper or craft foam around the end. Decorate as desired. To see an example of a telescope see image 4 below.
Make spice collages. Find coloring pages of Christopher Columbus, his ships, and a map of the world or other subject suitable for Columbus Day. Use glue and spices to decorate them (like decorating a drawing with glitter). Remind the children that Columbus was trying to find a short cut to the Far East to buy silks and spices and that he found America by accident. See images 1, 2, and 3.Hint:Be aware of what spices you use. Some spices will cause a great deal of sneezing. Avoid 'HOT' spices such as cayenne powder because they could be hazardous and cause injury to eyes or sinuses.
 |
 |
 |
 |
