Sept. 19 is National Talk Like a Pirate Day, a holiday I’ve never completely understood, but why not have a day devoted to pirates? Kids seem to love stories of daring and plunder and adventure on the high seas, so why not make a day of it with some fun pirate activities for kids?
Since pirates lived their lives on the ocean, Pirate Day is a great time for some water-related STEM activities. Why not try a pirate-themed version of a sink or float challenge, like this one from Science Sparks? Or you can have kids design a boat and see if it floats. This one from Red Ted Art is made from cork so it’s easy to make and will float every time.
Have kids make their own treasure maps with this idea from The Imagination Tree. Or they can map the playground or back yard and decide where they think treasure is likely to be buried.
Try some pirate-themed play dough activities with these printable play dough mats from PickleBums. Or hunt for sight word treasures by writing your words on “gold doubloons (this one is also from The Imagination Tree).
I Can Teach My Child has a printable pirate map for letter matching (and I love the wipe box painted gold being used as a treasure chest; brilliant!). Or add a writing component with the alphabet treasure maps from Powerful Mothering.
Practice number recognition with the count and cover pirate treasure activity from Fun Learning for Kids. This one has different options based on the numbers the kids need to work on, and it’s so fun to use gems as your treasure counted out to cover each number.
Powerful Mothering has a free printable pirate activity pack with a maze, I-spy, memory game, flag design sheet and more. And Miniature Masterminds has a 50-plus page activity pack with math, writing, coloring, games, cutting practice and more.
