Mardi Gras can be fun to celebrate with preschoolers. Typically thought of as an adult theme, there is a lot of history and culture that are the center of Mardi Gras festivities. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season. Festivities begin at the beginning of February, leading up to Mardi Gras day, and consist of parades, dancing in the street, costumes and masked balls.
Here are some preschool Mardi Gras activities to try:
- Make Mardi Gras Sensory Bottles – Fill empty plastic bottles with 1/3 karo syrup, 1/3 water with green, yellow or purple food coloring, and 1/3 cooking oil. Add beads, and allow kids to shake the bottle to try to move the beads into the middle section.
- Paint with Mardi Gras Beads – Set out paper, paint and strings of Mardi Gras Beads. Have children dip beads into the paint and dab on paper for a unique collage.
- Play ‘What’s Missing?’ – place several colored beads in front of children. Ask them to turn around, and remove one color. See who can guess what color beads are missing.
- Mardi Gras Masks – give each child a Mask to decorate. Provide beads, feathers, sequins, paper scraps, etc.
- Play Jazz music for the kids to dance to.
- Use Fruit Loops to make patterned necklaces.
- Give children beads and ask them to make different shapes using the beads.
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