Preschool Columbus Day Crafts and Activities
Looking for fun Columbus Day crafts and Christopher Columbus activities for your classroom? These hands-on projects are the perfect way to introduce young children to the story of Christopher Columbus in an age-appropriate way during this October holiday. From simple fun crafts to literacy tie-ins, your students will practice fine motor skills, sequencing, and even shape recognition while learning about Columbus’ famous journey across the ocean to the New World.
These Christopher Columbus Day activities are a great resource for October lesson plans, small groups, centers, or colorful bulletin boards that showcase your students’ work.
Christopher Columbus Explorer Craft
One of the most popular Christopher Columbus crafts is the famous explorer craft. Preschoolers cut and paste the pieces to create their own version of Columbus. While working, you can share simple facts like the year 1492, the king and queen of Spain, and how Columbus hoped to reach the New World.
This fun craft builds fine motor skills and helps students follow directions step by step. Display the finished explorer crafts together for a bright and festive Columbus Day bulletin board that your students will be proud of.
Columbus Day Ship Craft
A favorite activity for young learners is making the three ships Columbus sailed: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. With this Columbus Day ship craft, students cut and paste simple paper boat shapes, then label or decorate each ship.
This is one of the best preschool Columbus Day crafts for combining history and shapes by practicing shapes—the sails as triangles, the ship base as a rectangle, and flags or windows as circles or squares. Preschoolers love discovering shapes while creating something new.
It’s an easy connection to social studies too. Students learn vocabulary like ship names, voyage, and New World while building their crafts. Put the ships together on blue butcher paper to make a classroom fleet—a perfect bulletin board for October!
Preschool Columbus Day Timeline Craft
The Columbus Day timeline craft is a simple, visual way to introduce sequencing to younger kids. Students cut and paste pictures showing the main events in Columbus’ journey—being born, landing in the New World, sailing back to the king and queen of Spain to tell them what he discovered, and getting sick and dying.
This project reinforces early literacy and is a fun activity to use during Christopher Columbus Day lesson plans. Finished timelines make an excellent display for a Columbus Day bulletin board or hallway showcase.
Easy Reader Mini-Book
Pair your crafts with an easy reader mini-book for a literacy connection. This kid-friendly book uses short sentences and illustrations so preschoolers and kindergarteners can learn about Columbus, his three ships, and his journey to the New World.
Mini-books are a great resource because they combine reading, coloring, and comprehension in one. Students can take their books home, making this a fun way to share learning with families after your classroom Columbus Day activities.
Tracing Pages for Preschool Columbus Day Activities
Tracing pages are a fun activity and one of the easiest ways to prep for Columbus Day. Not only do they strengthen handwriting, but they also enhance letter formation, and fine motor skills while reinforcing Columbus vocabulary. After tracing, they can color the illustration, giving the page a dual purpose as both literacy practice and art.
These pages are perfect for young children in preschool or kindergarten who are still developing their pencil control. Teachers love them because they are quick to prep, easy to differentiate, and can be added to centers, morning work, or sub plans.
Columbus Day Spyglass Telescope Craft
Give your students the chance to feel like real explorers with their very own spyglass telescope craft! This is a simple DIY Columbus Day activity that works well for kids of all ages.
Materials:
- Empty paper towel tube or toilet paper rolls
- Aluminum foil or metallic paper (to wrap the ends)
- Construction paper or scrapbook paper (to wrap the body) – or brown paint if you’re brave
- Stickers, markers, or crayons for decorating
- Scissors
- Tape or glue
- Optional: clear plastic wrap or cellophane (colored) to tape over one end as a “lens”
Steps:
- Give each child a paper towel roll (or tape two toilet paper rolls together for a longer telescope).
- Wrap the tube in construction paper, scrapbook paper, or foil, and secure with tape.
- Decorate with stickers, markers, or crayons. Encourage students to write “1492” or draw simple ships.
- Cover one end with plastic wrap or colored cellophane to make a pretend lens.
- Let kids look through their spyglass as you retell the story of Columbus sailing to the New World.
This craft is a fun way to spark imagination and tie in dramatic play. After creating their spyglasses, students can wear their Columbus Day hats and pretend to be explorers searching for land. It’s also a fantastic add-on for classroom lesson plans and bulletin board displays.
Columbus Day Color by Code Activity
A fun way to combine Columbus Day activities with math and literacy skills is through a color by code worksheet. In this activity, kids are given a simple picture of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships and a key that tells them which colors to use for different letters. As students identify each letter and match it to the correct color, the ship slowly comes to life with sails, flags, and waves in bright shades.
This type of activity works well in centers, small groups, or as morning work because it’s highly engaging and low-prep. Color by code crafts also strengthen fine motor skills, reinforce classroom concepts, and provide a calm, independent task that still feels exciting for young learners. By the end, students will have a beautifully colored Columbus Day ship that can be used as part of a bulletin board display or taken home as a keepsake.
Comprehension Passage with Questions
Help your students build listening and reading comprehension skills with a short, age-appropriate Christopher Columbus passage. The passage introduces facts in simple sentences that children can understand, such as Columbus sailing from Spain with three ships in 1492.
After reading, students answer comprehension questions that check for understanding. This is a fun way to integrate literacy into your social studies lesson plans and ensure that students can recall key details about Columbus and his voyage.
Comprehension Cut-and-Paste Worksheet
For an interactive twist, the comprehension cut-and-paste worksheet lets students match words within short sentences to make their own comprehension passage.
This activity is both hands-on and literacy-rich, giving students a chance to practice vocabulary and comprehension. It’s a fun Columbus Day activity that combines the joy of cutting and gluing with meaningful content. Plus, the finished worksheets look great on a bulletin board or inside a social studies notebook.
Paper Plate Columbus Day Crafts
Paper plates make versatile and inexpensive materials for fun Columbus Day crafts. Here are two easy projects that your preschoolers will love:
1. Paper Plate Columbus Mask Craft
Materials:
- Paper plates
- Scissors
- Markers or crayons
- Yarn or painted cotton balls (for hair)
- Construction paper (for hat/telescope)
- Craft stick or popsicle stick
- Tape or glue
Steps:
- Cut eye holes in the paper plate.
- Color the face and add features like eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Glue yarn or cotton balls around the top/sides for hair.
- Cut a simple hat or telescope from construction paper and attach.
- Tape a craft stick to the bottom so students can hold it like a mask.
This fun craft doubles as pretend play—kids can “be Columbus” while reciting the chant In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
2. Paper Plate Ship in the Ocean Craft (Moveable Version)
Materials:
- Paper plates
- Blue paint, crayons, markers, or pieces of blue construction paper
- Construction paper (for ship and sails)
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
- Popsicle stick
Steps:
- Color or paint the paper plate blue for the ocean waves and sky. It would also be cute to let students tear and glue blue construction paper for the sea.
- Cut a small slit along the bottom third of the plate (this will be the “track”).
- Cut a ship shape from brown construction paper and triangle sails from white paper. Label sails with Niña, Pinta, and Santa María.
- Attach the ship to the top of a popsicle stick.
- Slide the popsicle stick through the slit so the ship can “sail” across the ocean.
This interactive craft is a fun way to bring Columbus’ journey to life. Students love making the ships move, and the finished product is perfect for a bulletin board or classroom display.
October Preschool Columbus Day Hats
Looking for a quick and easy Columbus Day craft? These Christopher Columbus hats are a perfect low-prep activity for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. Students simply color, cut, and staple their hat piece to a sentence strip to create a fun wearable headband.
The printable includes both black-and-white and full-color versions so you can choose whether students design their own or use a ready-made option. Hats are a fun way to celebrate Columbus Day in October while tying into your lesson plans or whole-class activities.
Kids love wearing their finished Columbus Day hats during story time, while singing the Columbus Day song, or while working on other Christopher Columbus crafts and activities in the classroom.
Columbus Day Song and Chant for Kids
Music and rhythm make history fun for preschoolers! Add this Columbus Day song and chant to your lesson to help kids remember key facts like the year 1492 and the three ships.
Columbus Day Song (Tune: Row, Row, Row, Your Boat)
Sail, sail, sail the sea,
In fourteen-ninety-two.
From the shores of Spain he sailed,
Across the ocean blue.
Sail, sail, sail the sea,
With Niña, Pinta too.
Santa María sailed along,
Three ships sailed the blue.
Columbus Day Chant
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain,
He sailed through sunshine, wind, and rain.
Both the song and chant are short, catchy, and easy to learn. They’re a fun way to wrap up your Columbus Day crafts or perform together before hanging student work on your bulletin board.
Kid-Friendly Columbus Day Read-Alouds
Pairing your Columbus Day crafts and activities with a simple picture book for your read-aloud time is a great way to give students background knowledge and spark discussion. Here are a few kid-friendly picture books that work well for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary classrooms:
- “In 1492” by Jean Marzollo – A rhyming picture book that tells the story of Columbus’ journey in a simple, sing-song style.
- “Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus” by Peter Sís – Beautifully illustrated and straightforward, this book works well for young children.
- “A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus” by David A. Adler – An easy-to-follow biography that introduces Columbus’ life and voyages.
- “Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus?” by Jean Fritz – A humorous, approachable take on Columbus’ story, great for slightly older students.
Why Preschool Columbus Day Crafts Work
Crafts are more than just fun—they’re a fun way to build early learning skills. Plus with these hands-on activities kindergarten kids will get cross-curricular learning in too. These preschool Columbus Day crafts and activities support:
- Fine motor development through cutting and pasting
- Sequencing and comprehension through timelines and passages
- Early literacy with tracing, reading, and mini-books
- Math readiness by practicing shapes during the Columbus Day ship craft
- Creativity with paper plate crafts and wearable Columbus Day hats
- Classroom community with colorful Columbus Day bulletin boards
If you’re searching for fun Columbus Day crafts that double as meaningful lessons, these are great resources for your preschool or kindergarten lesson plans.
Grab the Complete Columbus Day Learning Pack
If you want everything ready to go, my Christopher Columbus Day resource pack includes:
- Cut-and-paste Columbus Day crafts (explorer, ships, timeline)
- Easy reader mini-book
- Tracing pages
- Comprehension passage + questions
- Cut-and-paste comprehension worksheet
- Song & chant printables
- October Columbus Day hats
Check out the Columbus Day pack here on TPT
It’s perfect for preschool Columbus Day crafts, kindergarten, and 1st grade social studies lesson plans. Just print, copy, and go!
