Martin’s Big Words

Though the subject matter may seem too brutal for the sensitivities of children, especially little ones, we encourage parents to the find age-appropriate ways to share the history and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with their children. Even children as young as three and four can begin to understand the difference between a person’s skin color and their character–and they should know that there was a time in this country when there were laws–to name one example kids can relate to–forcing children of different skin colors to drink at different water fountains; and that Martin Luther King and many other brave people helped change all that. For young kids (4 and up), one great way of having that conversation is by sharing the wonderful award-winning picture book, “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” A discussion with older kids can begin by watching his I Have A Dream speech on you tube. Locally, there’s also a lot of special kid-friendly events about MLK this weekend. We hope our list will inspire you.