Celebrate Madiba’s legacy with these Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids. Includes printables, crafts and books that teach us about the great man!

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”

Imagine a country with a nickname as pretty as the ‘Rainbow Nation‘. You’d think the people living there would be cheerful and happy all the time, smiling and sharing and helping each other.

Unfortunately, South Africa was anything but happy, despite having such a colorful name. The country was deeply divided along racial lines – the white people ran the country, made the rules and lived good lives, while the colored people were exploited, not allowed to vote or even share the same places as the white people.

But everything changed when a man named Nelson Mandela decided that enough was enough. He fought for equality and democracy, sacrificing a lot, but ultimately gaining success!

Today, Nelson Mandela is considered one of the 20th century’s most iconic leaders, alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

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Timeline of Nelson Mandela’s Life

1918: Born into the Tembu tribe in Mvezo, South Africa
1942: Qualified as a lawyer
1944: Joined the African National Congress (ANC)
1961: Created the secret military group called Umkhonto we Sizwe, or Spear of the Nation
1962: Arrested and jailed after the Rivonia Trial, sentenced to life imprisonment
1990: Freed from jail
1991: Became President of the ANC
1993: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with F W de Klerk
1994: Became South Africa’s first black president
1999: Announced retirement
2013: Died following a lung infection

Here’s one more: In 2009, the UN General Assembly decided to observe Mandela’s birthday, 18th July, as Mandela Day. Since Nelson Mandela had dedicated 67 years to the anti-apartheid struggle, it was recommended to donate 67 minutes to helping others in any way possible. Now, if you can’t think of anything, we’ve got a way to get you started – share our list of Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids – and try them out yourself too!

10 Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids

1. Printable Nelson Mandela Facts for Kids

Let’s kickstart our list of Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids with a printable fact sheet from Kids Activities Blog, which features two sheets you can color and learn from. Here’s a fun fact to start with: Nelson Mandela was born ‘Rolihlahla Mandela‘, where Rolihlahla is a Xhosa word that means “troublemaker”. It was his teacher at school who gave him the name ‘Nelson’, which stuck!

2. Mandela Day Printable Poster

Nelson Mandela spent all of 27 years in prison, simply for fighting for the rights of black people in his country. He suffered a lot in prison, being locked up in a tiny cell and made to sleep on a straw mat. He had to work in a lime quarry, and the glare from the lime damaged his eyesight permanently. He was not allowed to attend the funerals of his son and mother, and was often racially harassed by the jail supervisors. Kids Puzzles and Games shows the determination with which Mandela held on, beautifully depicted in this printable poster.

3. Nelson Mandela Jigsaw Puzzle

We can’t do a list of Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids without mentioning his close relationship with India, mainly being influenced by Gandhi’s non-violent form of resistance. He was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1979 and the Bharat Ratna in 1990. The title of his speech, “No Easy Walk to Freedom“, was taken from a quote by Jawaharlal Nehru, whom he admired a lot. Mandela was also very fond of Indian food! Learn more interesting facts about the man as you play this jigsaw puzzle from Twinkl.

4. Madiba Shirt Craft for Kids

Mandela’s clan name was Madiba, and this became his nickname of sorts in the later years. As a result, the shirt he used to wear became known as the Madiba shirt! Mandela was impressed by the batik shirts worn by Indonesian president Suharto and decided to make those his staple wardrobe, even wearing them to formal occasions. Se7en has a fun craft where you can create your own patterned Madiba shirt!

5. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

This is an abridged version of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, published in 1994. This version is specially curated for kids and includes lots of pictures along with some humor. It explains Madiba’s life in chronological order, highlighting major milestones and the struggles along the way. It’s an excellent book for 7 to 12-year-olds to get a more in-depth idea about Mandela.

6. Color for Change Mandela Day Activity

Mandela’s milestone birthdays have seen some unique celebrations. His 70th birthday saw a massively-viewed concert at London’s Wembley Stadium, while his 80th birthday was also his wedding day when he married Graça Machel. On his 90th birthday, another concert was held, this time at Hyde Park in London. For this Mandela Day, Dark Light Creations brings us a fun activity where you get to decorate Madiba’s shirt!

7. Nelson Mandela Drawing Tutorial

Nelson Mandela was considered a true champion of the children. He famously said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” He started the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, to which he donated a third of his income. For his contributions, he was awarded The World’s Children’s Prize in 2005 and named the Decade Child Rights Hero in 2009. Now kids can learn to draw Madiba themselves, with this tutorial from Activity Village.

8. Madiba: Our Children’s Champion

The Centre for Early Childhood Development released two books on Nelson Mandela, one of which features his speeches about children. Titled ‘Madiba: Our Children’s Champion’, this book also contains illustrations of Mandela done by children around the world. The book is available for free download and is a must-try in this list of Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids!

9. Madiba Shirt Sewing Tutorial

Mandela often brought a friendly, casual tone to his official meetings, and it is believed that the Madiba shirt contributed to that vibe. Although most batik shirts are made in bright colors, Mandela preferred earthier tones like browns and beiges. If you have plans to sew a Madiba shirt, check out the tutorial at Muser.

10. Nelson Mandela Rainbow Nation Fingerprint Tree

Everyone who knew Madiba closely remembers how he was always the perfect gentleman – well-dressed, with good manners and controlled speech. He was also very down-to-earth – he insisted on making his own bed even when he was President! He never talked down to anyone and often interacted with workers and children. Celebrate the colorful spirit of Madiba with this fingerprint art from Twinkl.

We hope these Nelson Mandela Activities for Kids inspire kids to learn more about the great man and imbibe some of the lessons from his life. 27 years is a long time to be imprisoned, and anyone would jump at a chance to escape. But not Madiba; he was offered freedom on two occasions, but refused to bow down; instead, he chose to stand by what he believed in.

What’s more, he didn’t spend all that time in jail feeling bitter or planning revenge. He read whatever he could get his hands on and spent his spare time gardening. When he was allowed to, he pursued his LLB degree studies and eventually got his degree.

These are powerful lessons to learn, especially in today’s world when it’s rare to see people standing for the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Let’s hope Madiba’s life inspires us to live more courageously and to make the best of any situation!