remembering the man that had a dream

for the past few years, i've tried to plan a little something on martin luther king, jr. day.  since we homeschool, we really don't get a day off for this holiday, so we could easily let the day pass by without even bringing it up.

but i feel it's important for my kids to know who he was.  the man with a dream.  a dream that made such a great impact in our country.

i always have grand plans for activities we can do together...after the fact. but simpler does end up being better, and i'm glad i didn't make things too complicated.

we watched three videos together.  the first one was a brief kid-version synopsis of dr. king's life.


the second was more of an audio-book type video from the book, martin's big words.


the last video was of his "i have a dream" speech.  we didn't watch the whole thing, but i think being able to see him in action made an impression.


we talked a lot about how people look different from the outside, and how God made each of us unique and special. we talked about how within our own family and among our friends there are people with different colored skin, and how we treat one another.  my favorite example that i use every year is about their daddy and his arm-covered tattoos.

i tell them that when some people see a person with lots of tattoos, they automatically think he/she is bad and/or mean.  "is that what you think of your daddy when you see him?"  i would ask.  just watching the kids' expressions, seeing how they're working it out in their minds, is amazing.  the response is always a resounding "no," with a look of shock on their faces-why would anyone think their daddy is a mean person?

our activities were simple (i got some from here).

my favorite (and i think it was the kids' favorite too) was coloring a chain of people with different colors.  i love how each of them had their own interpretation of "different colors."

i'm thankful that my children love people for who they are on the inside, not by how they look on the outside.  while i may not judge people based on the color of their skin, i think that if i'm honest with myself, i can still be quick to judge people on outside appearances in certain situations.  sometimes i wish, i was more child-like in that respect, and not so quick to pass judgement on people merely on how they look.

i'm thankful for the reminders today brings me: the privileges we enjoy today that are often taken for granted, and what it looks like to really love your neighbor as God commands me to do.

happy martin luther king, jr. day!