Hey there teachers! Want to incorporate culturally appropriate kindergarten activities to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, but aren’t sure where to start? Well, then you’ve come to the right place!
Hispanic Heritage Month is an excellent chance for your little ones to learn about different cultures and celebrate our similarities and differences! Here are some fun activities to help do that!
What is Hispanic Heritage Month?
Before we jump into the activities, just in case you’re unfamiliar with what Hispanic Heritage Month is, let’s take a quick second to talk about it.
Each year in America, Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15th to October 15th. It’s about celebrating the rich contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to our country’s history, culture, and society. This can be anyone with ancestors from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central American, or South America.
There are many ways to recognize and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Start by choosing a couple of them and build from there! The more comfortable you are with teaching about this month-long observation and incorporating ways to celebrate, the more your students will benefit!
1) Setting the Stage for Activities
First things first, it can be helpful to start by gifting your students the feeling of being immersed in another culture! You can try stringing up some papel picado banners, those lovely intricate paper cutouts that will add bursts of color to your walls, hang up some vibrant flags from various Hispanic countries around the room, or display some beautiful paper flowers!
As a teacher, you know the joy of seeing your students’ eyes light up as they enter the classroom. The atmosphere alone can inspire curiosity and awe. When your kiddos feel like they’re stepping into a new vibrant culture, they become excited to learn more about different cultures and traditions.
A great way to introduce notable Hispanic Americans is through posters and banners. You can decorate your bulletin board, hallway, or classroom walls as an introduction, learning tool, or reference for these historical leaders!
2) Hispanic Heritage Colorful Crafts
Okay, now, let’s talk activities! In my opinion, one of the best ways for littles to learn about a subject is to get hands-on! Whether it’s painting maracas, making sugar skulls, or creating beautiful paper flowers, immersing your kiddos in a cultural activity they can actively participate in will build excitement, make memories, and help with retention.
Here are 4 easy crafts you can try:
1) Paper Flowers (Flores de Papel)
- Start with a colorful piece of paper and fold the paper horizontally, accordion style into a fan.
- Then simply, glue, staple, or tape the middle and ends of a fan to another fan to create a circle!
2) Paper Banners (Papel Picado)
- All you have to do is fold a piece of paper or tissue paper in half and then in half again.
- Cut shapes and designs into the rectangle and then unfold it.
- Attach the banners to string and hang in your classroom!
You can save time and print your banners using this Mexican Folk Crafts set! Students will also learn about alebrijes, Mexican embroidery, and Talavera patterns!
3) Play Dough Sugar Skulls
- Sugar skulls traditionally represent departed loved ones.
- Allow your littles to get creative by using play dough to create their own sugar skulls.
- Use different colors and shapes to form and design the skull.
- Display them in your classroom or pair with a writing activity about their loved ones.
4) Hispanic Writing Crafts
- These differentiated writing crafts are great to use in literacy centers, for independent work, partner work, homework, intervention programs and more!
- Your students can research and write about an important Hispanic American and the meaningful contributions they made.
- Your students can also create their own alebrije, a colorful Mexican folk art imaginary creature. They can then write about the alebrije they’re created!
- Once the reports have been completed, you can mount them onto colored paper to create a Hispanic Heritage Month bulletin board, hallway display, or door display!
3) Learn about Hispanic Leaders
If I had to recommend one activity to focus on, it would be this one! As you introduce your children to the various cultures and traditions of Hispanic countries, it’s also extremely important to teach them about notable Hispanic individuals.
Be sure to discuss the background, achievements, and importance of those achievements. Celebrating Hispanic heritage doesn’t stop at social studies. You can infuse the spirit of diversity across the curriculum.
Try using printable resources to support learning and to use as review and assessment.
Here are a few activities I recommend:
- Early Readers
- Reading Comprehension Worksheets
- Bookmarks
- Coloring Pages
- Hispanic Leaders Class Cash
- Hispanic Heritage Worksheets
Hispanic leaders included: Oscar De La Hoya, José Feliciano, Roberto Clemente, Sonia Sotomayor, Rita Moreno, Cesar Chavez, Anthony Romero, Selena Gomez, Bob Menendez, Marco Rubio)
Literacy
Early Readers
- We all know how important it is to instill a love of reading with our littles! Early readers play a key role in this and can also help with developing vocabulary and building self-confidence!
- These emergent readers are the perfect way for your kiddos to learn about Hispanic leaders and their accomplishments while practicing necessary literacy skills!
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
- Another significant literacy skill is reading comprehension.
- These differentiated worksheets motivate your students to use critical thinking and deductive reasoning to make meaning of the passages and answer the reading comprehension questions.
Bookmarks
- What better way to encourage reading than with a beautiful bookmark? Print these FREE Hispanic heritage inspired bookmarks in color or have your littles choose their favorite one to color!
Coloring Pages
- Okay, do coloring pages really need a reason to be used? No! They are fun all on their own! But these ones also incorporate some writing practice! Win, win! Your students can color Hispanic leaders and practice tracing or writing their name.
Math
Hispanic Leaders Class Cash
- This one is great for implementing a classroom economy to assist with behavior management and provide an opportunity for service learning!
- It can be implemented during the back-to-school season, or at any time of year!
How to Use:
- Assign students little classroom jobs (line leader, calendar manager, caboose etc.) and decide how much class cash they can earn each day.
- Then, reward your students once a week (or as often as you choose) by allowing them to choose prizes from a prize box!
- Prizes can be physical, like stickers, pencils etc. or use prize coupons, like “Eat lunch with the teacher.” or “Wear slippers for the day.”
- You can also choose to deduct class cash for negative behavior, rather than taking away things like recess time, which is important for students.
Hispanic Heritage Worksheets
- These differentiated worksheets are perfect for learning about or reviewing important Hispanic Americans and the meaningful contributions they made, while practicing math, literacy, and fine motor skills!
- You can use them for morning work, literacy centers, math centers, homework, intervention programs and more!
- Once the worksheets have been completed, you can even staple or hole punch the pages into a Hispanic Heritage Month booklet to display or for students to take home to share with care givers.
4) A Taste of Hispanic Culture
We can’t talk about a celebration without mentioning food, right? Take your students’ taste buds on a culinary journey with foods from different Hispanic cultures.
Try introducing some traditional treats like churros, empanadas, quesadillas, stuffed peppers, tres leches cake, or flan!
It’s a great opportunity to discuss the diverse ingredients and cooking methods that make these dishes special. And of course, it’s not just about the taste – it’s about learning how different cultures express love and joy through food – something that unites us all!
If you have any students in your class of Hispanic descent, try reaching out to their families to see if they wouldn’t mind preparing a couple traditional dishes for your class!
If not, see if there is anyone in your community that would like to help. You’d be surprised how valued and appreciated people can feel and how willing they are to help if you only ask!
5) Hispanic Music and Dance
Although language can sometimes be a barrier, music, and dance have a way of transcending those boundaries by sparking joy and connection.
Get your kiddos up and moving by introducing some salsa, tango, merengue, or reggaeton! It’s a great way to shake out those wiggles, let out the giggles, and expose your students to styles of music they may never have heard before!
6) Learn Spanish Words
It’s never too early to start learning a new language! Try sprinkling in a few basic Spanish words and phrases into your lessons that help our students connect with their Hispanic friends and understand the beauty of multilingualism.
One way to do this is by teaching a new word each day throughout Hispanic Heritage month. You’ll be amazed with how many your students remember!
If you’re not familiar with the Spanish language, you can try using a bilingual dictionary like this one to guide you.
7) Hispanic Guest Speakers
There’s something really special about seeing the world through new perspectives! If you’re able, try reaching out to parents, grandparents, or community members from Hispanic backgrounds to come share their stories, traditions, and maybe even a little dance or two!
You could also simply have them come and read a book related to Hispanic Heritage Month!
Here are a few I recommend:
- Spanish is My Superpower by Jennifer Jones
- Be Bold Be Brave by Naibe Reynoso
- Pepe and the Parade: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage by Tracey Kyle
- Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
It’s helpful when celebrating different backgrounds for kids to see that it’s not an abstract concept. If they can spend time with diverse people in their community, they can really start to make the connection that diversity is all around us.
Our friends and neighbors have differences that should be celebrated and also share many wonderful similarities.
8) Student Show and Tell
Along those same lines, you could also invite students to bring in items that represent their own family’s Hispanic heritage. This can include traditional clothing, family recipes, or even photographs that tell a story.
If you don’t have any students with a Hispanic background, you could also have students bring in objects from home that represent a family tradition and discuss similarities and differences! It’s important for all students to know that their traditions are special and worth celebrating.
9) Service Learning in the Hispanic Community
We all know that learning extends beyond the classroom. It’s critical for our students to know early on how important it is to make a positive impact in our world. During Hispanic Heritage Month, you can try introducing service-learning projects that connect our students with Hispanic and Latino communities.
Whether it’s raising funds for a local charity or organizing a food drive, these projects show our students that they can make a difference!
10) Family Fiesta for All
Another Hispanic Heritage Month activity you can try with your kindergarten class is hosting a family fiesta!
Give your students an opportunity to showcase all the things they’ve learned and created with a classroom party! Organize a family event where caretakers are invited to join the celebration!
Play authentic Hispanic music, provide traditional Hispanic dishes, plan family-themed crafts, and provide an environment for everyone to bond, learn, and appreciate the diversity of the classroom community.
11) Sustaining Hispanic Heritage Throughout the Year
The spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month shouldn’t end when the calendar flips to November. Our goal isn’t just to have a festive month; it’s to nurture a lifelong curiosity and respect for different cultures.
We want to continue supporting our students in becoming open-minded and empathetic citizens of the world who appreciate the beauty in our differences and can work together to create a harmonious future.
Learning about and appreciating different cultures is a lifelong journey. This means we need to continue fostering a sense of unity, understanding, and respect among our students by incorporating elements of different cultures into your classroom year–round!
I hope you’ll try out a few of these ideas to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
If you do, I’d love if you tagged me on Instagram, so that I can share in your celebration!
If you need some quality activities to support your learners, but don’t have time to make them yourself, check out this discounted growing bundle and get them at a great price!
Wishing you a happy Hispanic Heritage Month!
Until next time,
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