Cinco De Mayo Activities For The Preschool Classroom
Posted: Thursday, April 24, 2008
by Stephany Springer
Cinco De Mayo is a great way to expose preschoolers to the Mexican culture. The educational unit is one that will surely excite your class as activities celebrating the holiday will stimulate all their senses. Cinco De Mayo is celebrated across the country as a way to celebrate Mexican culture and pride. What an awesome day to expose your preschoolers to a different culture. Here are some activities for all the centers of the classroom.
Art Time
Making a piñata is fun for all ages. An easy way to make one is to take a small brown paper bag and fill it with candy and toys. Then take three to four pieces of bright color tissue paper and cut slits in the bottom. Glue the pieces to the bag. Then tape streamers to the bottom of the bag.
Let the kids fingerpaint with red, white and green. Allow older kids to paint a flag like Mexico's flag. Make sure you have one up for the kids to look at.
Mexican flowers are an easy craft for preschoolers three and up. Give each child 3-5 different colored squares of tissue paper and have them set the one on top of another. Fan fold and then wrap a twist tie around the middle of the fan folded paper. Have each child carefully open his flower by pulling the different colors of paper upwards or downwards to separate each layer.
Music time
Have the children make maracas. There are many different ways to do this. Take beans and place between two plates. Staple the plates together. Glue a craft stick to one side. Allow the kids to paint or decorate the plates how they like. A second method of making maracas is to put beans in a water balloon. Then blow up the balloon. Staple a craft stick to the end. Coat the balloon with papier mache. Then let the kids paint. Finally if you need to just buy some maracas, turn on some music and let the kids go.
Another way to use music is to sing a song in Spanish. This song is sung to 1 little, 2 little Indians:
Uno, dos, tres amigos.
Quatro, cinco, seis, amigos,
Siete, ocho, nueve amigos,
Diez amigos
Games
Toss beanbags into a sombrero is a fun game to play. You can also play "Hot Pepper" instead of "Hot Potato."
Homeliving
Allow the children to pretend to cook Mexican food. Get pretend tacos, chips, queso, etc. for your homeliving center. For fun one day, cook quesadillas with cheese and tortillas and serve the kids outdoors for a picnic.
Cut tortillas into triangles. Allow the kids to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the triangles. Bake in the oven for a tasty snack later.
A second snack the kids can make is a sombrero cookie. Take a sugar cookie, allow kids to put icing on a gumdrop and stick to the cookie.
Sensory Table
Fill the sensory table with hot chocolate mix. The smell alone will excite the children. Have the children practice stirring the mix and pretending to make hot chocolate. As they stir, recite: Bate, Bate, chocolate!
There are endless book titles that can expose preschoolers to the Mexican culture. Diego and Dora are of course the most popular. Preschoolers are like sponges so be sure to introduce them to some Spanish words as well such as si, por favor, adios, hola, coma estas, etc.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)In the song set to "Ten Little Indians," the first line should be uno, dos, tres amigos. "Trece" is thirteen.Cuatro is also spelled with a C, not a Q.
Now I wonder why we find it necessary to expose our children to a specific culture when we as a nation are made up of many? I have no problem with becoming familiar with cultures from around the world and I do believe it is good to understand them. I just have a problem with selectivity and why we have little time for our own culture? Do we not remember the many great events of our own culture that our children seem to not even know about? I dare say even some teachers. We cannot even keep traditional holidays that formed the basis of this nations founding and few know of our leaders, the constitution, our Republic. Yes, Mexicans should be very proud and they should observe their heritage and it is nice to know about their hertitage but perhaps it is time we started teaching them a little more about ours? Perhaps then they would understand what we as a nation have to offer them? Like that young man who gave his life for our nation, now he was a true American. Probably proud of his heritage but longing to become an American at the expense of his life. I would give them all who serve immediate citizenship, period! Cinco deMayo ok, but a little more of our own would be nice.All I can say to your comment is WOW! Who are you? Why have you taken offense to such a harmless activity for children? Have you not woken up to the beautiful melting pot that America is today? People of all colors, religions, and races that celebrate their families and the backgrounds and traditions of lands they have come from before they were here in America? Technically the only true Americans are Native Americans. They should be the only ones complaining about people invading their land! There are many people in this country that celebrate holidays from all over the world. Lighten up whoever you are and celebrate the life you have been blessed with. Stop hating! RBWell I'm a Mexican American, belive me as growing up in this American school public system we were very well thought in the events of America on any subject regarding history of USA if anything thats the majority of the teaching, in schools (hence) the reasons to learn others cultural to make sure children know thats there is all this cultural in the USA because of FREEDOM and LIBERTY . Holidays and President day, Fore Fathers, the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving and any other cultural like our Afro Americans have all of Feburary to celebrate their culture,Me as a mexican only have Cinco de Mayo to celebrate here in America, we are not shoving it down on your throat to accept it, but it is a shame you think how you think, really this children learn about this country all year some times a little change does not hurt.
This article was very helpful to me. As a student in Early Childhood Education, I was looking for ideas that would be fun to do with my class and that would include everyone. The kids will love doing these activities - isn't that what learning is all about? Thanks for the ideas!
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