Ahoy, mates, welcome aboard our ‘fun with pirates’ month. Now it’s summer, what could be better than learning about pirates? We all know pirates may not make the best role models for our kids, but they are an important part of history, and there are many fun and interesting lessons that can be learned from studying their culture and history. Plus, we have to admit, pirates are just fun, so they make a great way to help kids continue learning during school break.
Over the next three weeks we’ll be adding pirate themed printable activities, finishing up with a printable board game and Kindle book to accompany the game. These activities and story, along with the ideas in this article, will help you and your kids have a fun filled pirate summer!
So let’s dive right in with eight ideas for parents to help their kids have fun learning from pirates!
Make a Buried Treasure
Rumor has it that pirates didn’t actually bury any treasure. Their lives were fairly short-lived, so they had more fun spending their booty as they stole it.
That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with the idea of buried treasure, an idea that has been engrained in our minds since our first pirate movie!
Making a buried treasure is fun and fairly easy. You can do it yourself or create an activity for your kids to do it on their own.
- Let the kids make their own jewels for buried treasure. They can follow this rock candy recipe from We Are Not Martha that doubles as a treasure and a tasty treat!
- Grab an old shoe box and let the kids decorate the outside. They can paint it, color it, add stickers or stick on jewels, cover it in paper or even aluminum foil. Once it’s decorated, start filling it with treasures from around your home. Throw in coins, dollar bills, jewelry, some fake jewels from the craft store, rock candy if you made some, and any other “treasures” your children want to add.
Once you have your treasure, all you need to do is hide it! You can choose the location yourself, or you can engage your kids. Ask them where they think the best place to hide a treasure is and why. They’ll have fun imagining all the places to hide treasure that can’t possibly be discovered without a map!
What kids can learn: critical thinking, motor skills and creativity.
Make a Treasure Map
This is a great one to go with the buried treasure. Make your own map, hide the treasure, then let your children use the map to follow the clues to find the treasure. You can add compass points to help them learn north, south, east, and west.
If you don’t want to use the buried treasure, let your kids draw their own map. They can swap maps with a family member to have fun deciphering them. They can use a toy as their buried treasure, or receive a treat after solving the map. Or just enjoy the map making process.
There are also websites where you can create your own map. National Geographic has their own MapMaker, if they’re more interested in the map itself.
If your child isn’t into making their own maps, grab a book from the library or look online for some old maps. This is a good way to learn geography by locating where pirates set sail to and from.
What kids can learn: how to make a map, how to read a map, observation, critical thinking, and geography.
Create a Costume
You may already have a pirate costume leftover from Halloween for your kids to dress up in. If not, you probably have enough stuff around the house to make a pretty cool one.
Once they have a costume, kids can spend hours playing dress up, making their own pirate ship using chairs and blankets, putting on a play, or reenacting a famous pirate battle.
Make Your Own Costume Ideas:
- Use a blanket to make a cape.
- Grab a pair of winter boots.
- Use some fabric scraps and cut out an eyepatch. You can cut two small holes on either end of the patch and run some string through it to tie it on.
- Grab a picnic cup and cover it in aluminum foil. Cut a hole in the top. Using additional aluminum foil, create a hook with the straight end long enough to go through the hole in the cup. Make a small loop for a finger to hold it in place.
- If you want to add a sword, a good stick from the backyard works great. We recommend adult supervision if you decide to add a sword, just in case they decide to reenact the ending of Pirates of the Caribbean.
What kids can learn: imagination, creativity, coordination, and motor skills.
Put on a Play
By this point, your child may have the buried treasure and the costume, which is all they need to put on a play!
We prefer the “make your own” script idea for this one. A play doesn’t have to be anything fancy, and can last 5 minutes or an hour, depending on how creative they feel.
They can find inspiration for their play from a book, a movie, or history. They can involve friends or family members, or put the show on by themselves.
All you need for a great play is the start of an idea, a few props from around the house, and a theater. Living rooms, family rooms, or the great outdoors make the best theaters.
What kids can learn: imagination, creativity, collaboration, writing and research.
Watch a Move, Read a Book
Movies and fiction books tend to romanticize the life of a pirate, but they’re still a great way to learn some facts. They usually include real-world places and some real historical figures and facts.
Fictional pirate movies and books are also a great entry point into fact vs. fiction. Did pirates really bury their treasure? Was life on board a ship actually fun? What really happened during a mutiny? Did pirates really talk like that?
If you want a really great book that kids will love, check out “Pirates” by John Mathews. Not only is it easy to read with lots of pictures, it includes popups, letters, maps, and more. It’s a great one for the fact vs. fiction discussion.
Other pirate books and films we love:
- Captain Blood (a black and white classic film starring Errol Flynn)
- Pirates of the Caribbean films
- Treasure Island (Disney film version, Muppet film version, book by Robert Louis Stevenson)
- The Princess Bride (the movie version is great, the book is best suited for older kids)
- Peter Pan (there are a lot of great versions of this classic but we love the Disney animated film and the play (to read) by J.M. Barrie)
- Hook (a movie starring Robin Williams)
What kids can learn: pirate facts and lore, a love of reading, history, geography, and imagination.
Visit a Pirate Museum
This one might be tricky depending where you live or vacation, but if you can find one, pirate museums are a must for anyone with kids. Full of artifacts, hands-on activities, movies, and more, your child will have an amazing day exploring the world and history of pirates.
What kids can learn: history, geography, motor skills, and engagement.
Create Your Own Pirate Dictionary
After they’ve read some books, looked online, or watched a movie or two, have your child create their own pirate dictionary.
You can use a notebook or they can create their own using some brown paper for the front and back and regular printer or notebook paper for the interior. They can then paint, color, or decorate the front any way they want, and add as many pages as they like.
Learning and practicing pirate vernacular will make dressing up, a play or even dinner time a lot of fun.
Some words to get them started could be ahoy mates, aye, parley, walk the plank, black spot, and doubloons.
They don’t have to stop at pirate words. They can include their own treasure maps, drawings, notes, thoughts and more in their dictionary, turning it into a pirate encyclopedia.
What kids can learn: new words, practice handwriting, and creativity.
Invent a Pirate Game
Developing your own game isn’t as hard as it sounds. If your child has already read books, watched movies, looked online or even made their own map, they can create their own game to play with friends and family!
They can make their own board games, create their own treasure hunts, develop card games, and more.
Trivia games are a lot of fun too, and fairly easy to invent. You can use categories such as:
- Famous pirates/pirate ships
- Popular pirate movies/books
- Fact vs. Fiction
- Where did he/she sail/die?
- Favorite places to hide treasure (desert island, jungle, underwater cave, etc.)
- Types of bootie: gold, silver, gems, rum
What kids can learn: critical thinking, creativity, imagination, history, and geography.
We hope you enjoyed these fun ideas for a summer with pirates, and that your kids will too!
Don’t have time this summer? Save it for the fall, winter or spring months! Pirates don’t have to be seasonal!
Make sure to check back for all the fun pirate activities, games and story we’re launching this month!
Kedi's Pirate Adventure on Kindle
Follow along with Kedi on his quest to become a pirate. What gear does a pirate need? What makes a good treasure? Where is the best place to hide a treasure? Learn all this and more as you read along with Kedi the Cat!
A charming story for young readers! They’ll learn new words, new ideas and have a laugh with Kedi and his friends. This is Kedi’s third adventure, and you may notice he has a new look!
