Surfin' Through Second: Leis

Aloha Friday!! My favorite day of the week!!

Mahalo to Graphics From The Pond for this cute graphic :)

Well it was our last week of school and it was a whirlwind of craziness. What made this year different was that my oldest daughter graduated from the 6th grade.

She has been with me at school since she started in preschool at 3 years old. If you have followed my blog you know that this girl is her own person and marches to the beat of her own drum. If you met her she wouldn't say much, but if you had any sort animal or story about how you helped an animal she would become your best friend:)

Her 6th grade teachers really go all out and they had a dance along with their graduation ceremony this week.

This girl lives in t-shirts and shorts and wanted to wear jeans to the dance. Since her teachers told her she had to dress up she settled for a skirt. I thought she looked perfect.

She was front row and right center at the ceremony which was perfect for me. You have to understand this girl wants no attention at all!! All the girls in her class gave tear filled speeches of how much they would miss the school. Her teachers were great and had her read a story that she had written in class.

I think everyone was thrilled that she was a comic relief after all the tears.

Her teachers and principals presenting their leis and certificates.

Leis are then given from family and friends.

Pictures with the principal

Her fun and wonderful teacher

The fun starts when all the kids give each other leis of candy, flowers and any other goodies that can be worn around your neck!

The graduation was over at 10:00 and I still had my kids in my class to pass out goodies to! At noon I said goodbye to my class, cleaned up a bit and quickly headed to the beach for a 6th grade party put on by the parents. It was a gorgeous day and I may or may not have napped most of the afternoon.

We left around sunset just as a bit of rain was sneaking over the mountains.

We arrived home at around 8 pm after a long, but fun filled day. My girls were exhausted and went to bed on their own!

After a long and busy week it was nice to be home and just kick back and relax.

So happy to be on summer break for 2 months!! How was your week? Go link up!

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.

Source

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!