Looking for some fun 3 Wise Men activities you can use in your classroom? Keep reading to learn more. 

I love teaching my kindergartners about Christmas and all it entails. I want my students to truly understand that Christmas doesn’t end on the 25th. The Christmas season continues until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and includes the Feast of the Epiphany. 

To help my students understand that Christmas is more than just one day, we learn about the 3 magi when we come back from Christmas/winter break. If you are like me and want to teach your students about how the three kings followed the star, here is a list of different 3 wise men activities and lessons we do in our classroom to help get you started.

The Story of the Three Wise Men (Magi/Kings)

• Joy to the Word: Tomie’s Christmas Stories by Tomie dePaola

This is one of my favorite books with several different Christmas stories, and it includes the Story of the Three Wise Kings. I love to read this story to my students first to introduce the Feast of the Epiphany to students, and it has beautiful pictures to accompany the story.

• The Story of the Three Wise Men Booklet

I like to follow up the story from the book mentioned above, with a simpler version of the story for my kindergarten students. I was having trouble finding a simpler version with just the key details for my students, so I created my own. It presents some of the most important parts of the story in an easy-to-understand way for my young students. I usually read this booklet to my students the day after we read the story by Tomie dePaola. (If you are interested in using this booklet with your students, you can find the link at the end of this post).

• Student Booklet about the Three Wise Men

This is a smaller version of the booklet mentioned above. After we have read the story, students get their own copy to color and keep. I have my students keep their booklet at our religion center and during center times students can color and read their Three Wise Men book as a center choice. I usually keep it in the religion center for a week and then students take them home.

Follow Up 3 Wise Men Activities

• Response Pages

Another 3 Wise Men activity I have my students do is respond to the story. They might respond by drawing and writing about what gift they would give to baby Jesus. Or they may do a cut and paste activity to put the events of the story in order. There are several ways students can respond to the story. I included a few different differentiated response pages and activities with the Story of the Three Wise Men Booklet. You can find the link to this resource at the end of this post.

• Christmas Writing Activity

I love to incorporate Christmas and the Epiphany into all that we do if possible. This is why I created a writing activity that students can choose to do at our writing center. Students draw a picture of the nativity (including the wise men). Then they label their pictures and write a sentence or two. Because I love using this writing activity with my students, I knew I had to share it with you. At the bottom of this post, you can find a link to this freebie.

learning Through Play: Incorporating Play Into Your 3 Wise Men Activities

• Nativity Dramatic Play Center

During Advent, I like to turn our dramatic play center into a nativity activity. They can dress up as Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, and sheep to act out the nativity story. Then, when we return to school after the break, I add the option for students to dress up as the three wise men and present gifts to baby Jesus. My students love playing in our nativity center.

• Retell Story With Puppets

I created puppets and had my students make their own puppets using paper and craft sticks. They used their puppets at our reader’s theater to retell the story of the first Christmas.

• Felt Board Retelling Activity

I have a felt board and felt characters/props that students can use to tell the story of the Nativity and the story of how the three magi followed the star to find baby Jesus. Year after year my students love playing with this and recreating the story of that first Christmas. I cannot remember where I got my felt board, but I’m sure you can find one on Amazon. This is one of my favorite 3 Wise Men activities!

• Wooden Nativity

I have a wooden nativity set from Melissa and Doug (I love this brand!). My students love using it to act out the story of that most special Christmas and I don’t have to worry about it getting broken. I keep the wooden nativity set at our religion center throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons. After we learn about the Feast of the Epiphany, I add the three wise men to the nativity set. My students love retelling this story in this 3 Wise Men activity. 

3 Wise Men Activities and Freebie

There are so many different ways to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany and Christmas in the classroom. I’d love to hear if you have any additional activities you do in your classroom. Below you will find links to a couple of the various resources and activities I mentioned above. Just click on a picture to check out the resource. I hope you find them helpful!