May Day Is Lei Day in Hawaii

Aloha everyone!  The month of May is almost upon us and I have so much to do.  Many of you may be getting ready for a little Cinco de Mayo festival, but in Hawaii May 1st is Lei Day.

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Each year on May 1st Lei Day is celebrated throughout the islands.  Leis are made from so many of the gorgeous flowers on the island and there are dozens of lei making competitions.  

Leis are given for all occasions,  May Day, birthdays, Mother's Day, graduation, new jobs and of course as a welcome to the island.

Our own Hawaiian studies teacher has asked that students bring in a lei to wear on May 1st.

Well I know that there will be some that bring them in, but also quite a few who will not have anything to wear.  So I thought I would make some leis with my students this week to celebrate.

Materials:

To make leis you will need 16 paper flowers per student.

(I used the die cut machine at my school)

Beads with a larger opening like the blue and purple.

Don't forget to hole punch the flowers. 

( I folded them in half and punched half a hole)

Straws cut into 1 inch pieces

 Yarn (40 inch pieces) Prep-Tie a bead to one end and dip the other end

in glue to keep it from unravelling. Using tape works, but it makes it harder

to fit through the beads.

I told the students that there is a pattern to make the lei:

bead, straw, bead, flower, bead, straw, bead, flower

I had them sit on the floor in groups of five around the room.  It was a perfect way to have them work together and share materials without spilling all over the desks.

They wanted to take them home so badly, but we are keeping them at school until Wednesday.

If you have older students there is another lei that you can make that is a bit harder.

You will just need pipe cleaners

You will need around 16-20 depending on how long you would like your lei.

Each flower begins with a loop.

You will make four equal loops and twist to keep them in place.

I use one pipe cleaner for the final connection and only loop the ends.

It is much more comfortable to wear.  

This is a fun way to celebrate May Day.  I plan to have my students make another one for Mother's Day.  They are also great for Luau's and if you just purchased my Aloha Unit, then this is a great craft

to add to it.  

I filmed my students singing May Day Is Lei Day, but I left my iPad at school!  Bummer :(  But I did a google search and I found this video, which is great until the same guy gets up and walks across the video several times.  It reminds me of Mystery Science Theatre, lol!  Enjoy!