Looking for martin luther king jr crafts for preschool? These pictures include dream clouds, portraits and colorful handprint projects, plus a few related classroom activities.
Start with a simple conversation about Dr. King’s work for equal rights and fair treatment, then choose something your little learners can help create.
You can keep things small with a coloring page or work together on a classroom display. Some ideas aren’t specifically about Dr. King, so those are included as optional activities with connections explained below.
MLK Craft Ideas and Classroom Activities
little kindness clouds
We’re starting off with these sweet hanging clouds. Each one carries a short handwritten thought, including “Be nice” and “plant a tree.”
I love how they hang at different heights.
For your own version, invite children to name one way they can care for someone. Write their words on a cloud and display the ideas together.
hand-shaped peace bird
How cute is this little bird? The white hand shape has a black eye and an orange beak against a blue background.
Above it, a handwritten note shares ideas about peace.
You might ask your preschoolers what peaceful play looks like, then record their answers beside their birds.
handprint wreath with a red bow
I love this wreath with its overlapping hand shapes in light and dark shades. The red ribbon threaded through the middle ends in a big bow at the bottom.
Try a shared version with a hand tracing from each child. It could accompany a conversation about including everyone.
portrait on a blue background
This portrait has so much personality! The large eyes, rectangular hair pieces and black bow tie stand out against the blue background.
The sentence across the top says he was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
If you’re making portraits of Dr. King, look at a photograph together first. Let children choose and arrange their own simple shapes.
brown and white egg observations
Here’s an observation activity rather than a craft. A brown shell and a white shell sit above a worksheet showing the eggs before and after cracking. Both eggs have yellow yolks.
An adult should handle the raw eggs and cleanup. If you use this comparison, explain that people deserve equal rights even when they’re different, not because they have to be the same.
dream cloud mobile
This is one of my favorite displays here. The large “I Have a Dream” cloud sits above smaller clouds with hopes for school, community and the world.
Introduce Dr. King’s dream of racial equality before inviting children to share their own hopes for fair treatment. You can write down their words if they aren’t writing yet.
torn-paper rainbow heart
Love a colorful collage? This heart has rows of red, pink, yellow, green, blue and purple pieces inside a thick black outline.
The uneven edges are part of what makes it so lovely.
This isn’t specifically an MLK design, but you could pair it with a conversation about showing care and standing up for someone who is treated unfairly.
dove above open hands
I love the raised wings on this dove. It holds a green leafy branch above two pink open hands, with bold black outlines around each shape.
Use it as a starting point for talking about peace. For a preschool version, an adult could prepare the detailed cutouts while children choose the colors.
a circle of colorful hands
There’s so much color in this group display! Long decorated arms spread out from a yellow center, with striped hearts on the palms.
The pictured display is a general togetherness project, not an MLK tribute. To adapt the idea, you could add a shared message about fairness in the center and let every child decorate an arm.
giving tree display
The layers of green leaves are my favorite part of this tree. Red apples carry handwritten notes, with a little illustrated child reaching up from the lower corner.
This is a classroom donation display rather than an MLK craft. You could borrow the tree arrangement for a service project, adding children’s ideas for helping their community to the apples.
dream big coloring page
Don’t want to pull out lots of craft supplies? A portrait coloring page is another option.
This one shows Dr. King beneath large “DREAM BIG” letters, with small clouds around him.
While children color, share that he worked to change unfair laws and practices that treated Black people unequally. Keep that history part of the activity, not just the slogan.
dotted peace plate
This peace design keeps the shapes simple. Green strips form the symbol across a white plate, with dots in several brown and beige shades scattered over it.
I’d keep that mix of light and dark dots for a similar version. Explain that the peace symbol is a general symbol, not something created by Dr. King.
portrait with a black tie
Here’s another portrait idea, this time with scalloped black hair, a large mustache and a long black tie. The bright blue background makes the face easy to see.
Use this as shape-collage inspiration alongside a real photograph of Dr. King. Children’s portraits don’t need to match the example exactly.
linked paper people
Sometimes a simple design says plenty. These two rows of plain figures link hands across a dark background, with no extra decorations.
An adult could prepare connected shapes for children to decorate. You might use the finished chains to talk about welcoming others and joining together against unfair treatment.
a dream drawing bubble
If your preschoolers would rather draw than write, this page gives them lots of room. A large thought bubble fills the space beneath “I can dream like Dr. King.”
After discussing his work, invite children to draw a place where everyone is treated fairly. Add their explanation in their own words.
rainbow of handprints
How lovely is this shared rainbow? Red handprints run around the outside, with orange, yellow, green, blue and purple rows underneath.
White clouds at both ends hold colorful name labels.
This is a general classroom project. You could use it alongside an MLK lesson to discuss how everyone can take part, while keeping the history lesson separate and clear.
bright decorated crowns
These pink, blue and yellow crowns have tall points and colorful circles, stars and squares. They’re playful dress-up crafts, but they aren’t a direct match for an MLK lesson.
King was Dr. King’s surname, not a royal title. I’d save these for a separate dress-up activity rather than use them to represent him.
give peace a hand
I love how everyone’s handprints become part of one big peace symbol here. Blue, pink, yellow, green and darker prints fill the design beneath “Give Peace A Hand.”
For a shared display, you could lightly outline the symbol before children add their prints. Pair it with a short discussion of Dr. King’s commitment to nonviolent action.
hanging hearts
These pink, red and white hearts are so pretty hanging beneath the red ring. The different sizes and string lengths give you plenty of little details to borrow.
It’s a general heart mobile rather than an MLK-specific craft. You could add children’s words about caring for others to your version.
Keep the finished mobile and its strings out of children’s reach.
mix-and-match expression faces
Last, we have these faces with different eyebrows, eyes and mouths. The loose pieces beside the smiling face show several other expressions you could try.
This is a feelings activity, not a portrait of Dr. King. As a companion activity, invite children to discuss how exclusion might feel and what they could do to help someone join in. Use large pieces with adult supervision.
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