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Columbus Day activities

Click here to see our selection of Columbus Day activities.

· Making Mayflower ships:

You may want to explain the class a little bit about the Mayflower and settlers to the “new land” before you get started with this Columbus Day activity.

You will need:
Walnut shells
Playdough
Toothpicks
Small squares of white paper (for the sails)
Hole punch

First, give each child the supplies they will need for this Columbus Day activity: half of a walnut shell, a small piece of playdough, a toothpick and a small square of white paper for a sail.

Second, let the kids decorate their sails with crayons.

Third, help each student punch holes in his or her sail, and stick his or her toothpick in one hole and out the other hole.

Fourth, have all of your students roll a small piece of playdough into a ball, then put the ball of playdough in the bottom of the walnut shell.

Fifth, have the children stick their toothpick sails into the playdough in the center of the walnut.

Columbus Day activities such as the one above are best for younger children. But here is one Columbus Day activity more suited for older students:

· Columbus and his Voyage:
As I mentioned before: Columbus Day activities should be fun as well as educational, after all—it is a Columbus Day activity for school.

For this Columbus Day activity you will need a globe.

Trace the journey of Columbus from Spain to San Salvador.
Describe how Columbus had taken a long tiresome journey for the 100 sailors of the three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Explain to the students that weeks passed with no sight of land. The rations, water, and other supplies were almost gone. Most of the sailors were restless and wanted to turn back. Columbus cheered them by talking about the riches they would find at the end of their journey. Finally there were signs of land. The sailors saw branches with green leaves and red berries floating past in the water. They knew there would be land, and at last, they saw it, filed with excitement, on the horizon. This Columbus Day activity is mainly informative, at first.
The actual Columbus Day activity itself is having the children draw and/or color a picture of what they imagine that the sailors and/or the inside of the boats looked like when they finally found land. Then have the children describe why they drew their pictures the way that they do. For instance: if a child draws a very thin, bearded man smiling and walking on the shore, the child can explain that the sailor is thin because they were running out of food, that the sailor has a beard because he has not had a chance to shave in a long time, but that he is smiling because they had finally found land and were saved.

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Homeroom Teacher has the best selection of Columbus Day activities at the lowest prices!

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