Hummingbird Educational Resources

HOW MAUl MADE THE SUN SLOW DOWN
A Hawaiian Folktale Adapted by Elizabeth McKinnon
Long ago there was a boy named Maui who was very strong and brave. He lived with his mother beside a beautiful waterfall. Maui's mother spent her days making tapa cloth out of mulberry bark. First she soaked the bark in water. Then she pounded the bark into flat sheets on her tapa log. When the tapa cloth was soft and smooth, she laid it out in the sun to dry. One day Maui's mother said, "HoW I wish that the days were longer. I start pounding my tapa early in the morning, but by the time I finish the sun is already in the west. Sometimes my tapa c\oth never gets dry because the sun moVes acroSS the sky So fast." "I know what to do," said Maui. sun and make him slow down." in the center of Maui's noose. Maui pulled hard on the other end of the vine, and the noose closed tightly around the sun' s ray. That night Maui climbed to the mountaintop where the sun was sleeping inside a deep hole. He found a long vine, and in one end of it he tied a noose. He placed the noose near the edge of the hole where the sun was sleeping. Then he picked up the other end of the vine and hid behind a rock. "What is the meaning of this?" roared the sun. "Let me go!" "Not until you promise to move more slowly across the sky," said Maui. "My mother needs more hours of sunlight to dry her tapa cloth." Early the next morning the sun woke up and began climbing out of the hole on his long yellow rays. As he did so, one of his rays stepped right "You can't keep me tied up," cried the sun. "Without me, all the plants and animals on earth will die." "I'll find the "Then let's make a bargain," said Maui. "I will set you free if you promise to go across the sky slowly for part of the year. Then for the rest of the year you can go as fast as you always have." The sun was very angry , but what could he do? His ray was caught fast in Maui's noose. "All right," he said at last. .'1 promise." So Maui set the sun free. Then he hurried home to tell his mother that now she would have more sunlight for drying her tapa cloth. The sun kept his promise. To this day he still moves fast across the sky in fall and winter. But in spring and summer he travels slowly, giving us long days filled with warmth and sunshine.

HAWAII IDEAS
Submitted by Lois
*When you "land" in Hawaii have some bright Hawaiian music ready to play along with a display of tropical fruit (mangoes,pineapple, oranges,lemons, limes, coconuts, bananas). Have books and pictures of Hawaii ready to explore. Talk about jungles, oceans, mountains . Let children "unpack" and play dress-up and pretend to check into a hotel. Go on an imaginary mind trip to the ocean (everyone can close their eyes and tell you what they see). Write down what they say.

Phase II/The Vacation: Activities on the Beach/Hawaii
*Set out a lot of cans of various sizes and shapes to play like"steel drums". Play a variety of Hawaiian music during the day. Do the Hula Dance too. It really sets the mood. Dance! Dance! Dance!

*Pretend to "sunbathe" on large sheets of paper "towels" (use large newsprint or grocery bags but to lie flat.) Help children to feel comfortable to make designs on the paper that will become their "towels". They can even draw "Me" pictures on their paper and outline their bodies by helping each other. Children can decorate their "Me Towels" by using markers, crayons etc.  They might even cut and paste real material scraps for bathing suits.

*Play lots of beach wear dress-up. Have grown up and child sizes of bathing suits, cover-ups, sunglasses, beach hats, flip-flops, etc.
Provide large towels and let children pretend to sunbathe.
Take pictures with an instant camera if possible. Make a memory album for the group. Encourage parents to send bathing suits for the week. Let the  children wear their suits.

*Waterplay! Write it is very warm outside, set up a small pool or dish pan full of water to explore. Give children large and small items to fill and dump to fill. Older children might add salt for a real ocean effect.

* Sea Shells! Write the words BIG and LITTLE on two pieces of paper. Children can sort shells accordingly. Draw a sample size to help non-readers. Set out a book of shells so older children can find matches. Very young children will simply enjoy examining the shells. Talk about the colors of shells and how the sun has bleached them.

*Fruit! Keep the fruit out for a few days to provide atmosphere and to encourage exploration. Talk about big and little fruits. Use a few items each day for meals and snacks. Let the children help make a fruit salad one day. Make banana bread. Fry bananas that have been sliced and lightly floured. Have a fruit tasting session (perhaps with eyes closed). Talk about how fruit grows in Hawaii. Look for pictures of fruit growing in your library books. Plant any seeds and the top of the pineapple in wet sand.

*Sand! Put out a tub of sand to enjoy. Add a little water to make it a different texture. Put some on the ground to enjoy toe wiggling (make big and little marks with hands and feet). Make drip castles by making sand and very wet and dripping handfuls of wet sand onto the ground.

Hawaiian Beach Scenes:
Give the children each a sheet of light blue construction paper. Let them make "beaches" by brushing glue across the bottoms of their papers and sprinkling sand on the glue  (use white sand, if available). Then let them glue on small shells and precut sun shapes, palm tree shapes, beach ball shapes, etc. to complete their beach scenes.

Talking Hula Hands
Hula dancers use hand movements to act out the words of songs. With the children make up hand movements for each of these words: "rainbow, waterfall, tree, mountain, sea, flowers, bee, dancers, me." Then recite the poem at the right and let the children use their hand movements to act out the words.

RAINBOW SONG: Sung to:"Mary Had a Little Lamb
Rainbow over the waterfall,
Waterfall, waterfall,
Rainbow over the waterfall,
Rainbow over the tree.

Rainbow over the mountain,
Mountain, mountain,
Rainbow over the mountain,
Rainbow over the sea.

Rainbow over the flowers,
Flowers, flowers,
Rainbow over the flowers,
RAinbow over the bee.

Rainbow over the dancers,
Dancers, dancers,
Rainbow over the dancers,
RAinbow over me!

Hula Hand Puppets
Use brown paper lunch sacks to make hula dancer hand puppets. Cut 5-inch fringes along the open ends of the sacks. Then pass out the flat sacks and help the children draw faces on the bottom parts. Let them glue small flower stickers or bits of colored paper under their hula dancer faces to make leis. Then play library recordings of Hawaiian songs(or use any appropriate music) and let groups of children take turns moving their hand puppets to the music while the others play rhythm instruments.

Aloha Song : Sung to: "Happy Birthday"
Aloha to you,
Aloha to you,
Aloha, hello,
Aloha to you.

Aloha to you,
Aloha to you,
Aloha, goodbye,
Aloha to you.

Explain that aloha is the Hawaiian way of saying both "hello" and "goodbye".

Hula Skirt:
Turn a grocery sack into a hula skirt!
1. Cut open the front or back of a large paper grocery sack. Then cut out
the bottom of the sack.
2. Flatten the sack out, then fold down 3 inches from the top.
4.Wrap the skirt around your waist and tape it securely.

Make a different kind of Hula Skirt by cutting a 3-inch wide strip of construction paper long enough to go around your waist. Then cut several 2-foot lengths of crepe paper and staple them to the construction paper waistband. Wrap the skirt around your waist and tape the ends of the waistband together.

Luau Games
·   Banana Eating Contest: -get enough bananas so that each child will have 1.
Have all the children line up and put on some luau music to set the mood. When you say "GO", they start by peeling their banana and seeing who finishes first. When they are done, have them raise their hand so that it
will be easier to tell who comes in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Get prizes or ribbons for the winners.
·   Limbo: -use a broomstick for the "limbo pole". Tie some raffia and green crepe paper to the two ends. Get some luau party music ready. Have two people hold the stick, one at each end. Then have all the children line up and start to "limbo" under the stick. Lower the stick a bit each time after the line has gone through. If a child falls, or touches the ground they are out. Keep doing this until there is only 1 child left. (You can also have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners).
·   Orange Relay Race: -divide the children into two teams. (If there aren't enough for two teams, you can have just one). Make two lines at one end of the yard, and two lines at the other opposite of each other. Have 1/2 of team 1 stand at one end behind the line and the other half of team 1 stand at the other side of the yard behind the opposite line. Do the same with team 2. Team 1 and 2 will be racing at the same time. Give the 1st child in each line an orange and have them place it between their knees. They have to keep it there without using their hands and "walk" to their team-mate on the opposite side of the yard. Once they get to their team-mate they can use their hands to pass it to them, and then go to the back of the line. Keep doing this until the last child has gone and see which team finishes first. If they drop the orange while "walking", they have to stop, pick it up, put it back between their knees and keep going. This is a fun game and the kids love to cheer on their teammates! Quick Crafts: -the girls can make their own hula skirts. Take a piece of masking tape approx. 24-36" long and place sticky side up on table or working surface. Cut many strips of green crepe paper about 24" long. One at a time stick the end of a strip of crepe paper to the masking tape until filled up. Wrap around the child's waist and secure with a small piece of masking tape. -the boys can make spears. Take a wooden dowel and cut a 1/2" slit down the center. Cut an arrowhead out of red fun foam leaving a 1/2" section at the bottom to slide into the slit in the dowel. Wrap black electrical tape around the joint of the arrowhead and dowel. Have them color with markers and finish off with by tying some raffia around the top.

~ Luau Decorating: Decorate your table(s) with green table cloths then add a grass "skirt" around the edges of the table(s). Place shells and netting around on table tops. Hang some tiki masks, palm trees, toucans, and pineapples around the house. You can find these at local party stores. Place an "Aloha" sign on the doors. Line the walkways with tiki torches (lit or unlit depending on the age). Cover a piece of foam core board with raffia and place over the entry door as if you were entering a hut. Purchase plastic leis for all the guests, and greet them with an "Aloha" as they enter and exit. Be sure to put the final touch of some luau or Hawaiian music to set the mood and have fun!

~Make school of fish to display around the room.  Fold a rectangular piece of bubblewrap in half and staple down two sides to create a mitt.  Place some different colors of tempera paint in a meat tray and have the children dip their mitt in and then pat their papers gently.  This creates a scale effect.  I usually add three colors to the same meat tray so they get a multi-colored fish.  You can draw a fish shape on the paper ahead of time or wait until the paint has dried.  Cut out and enjoy!

~Sand Trays: Put a layer of sand in the bottom of meat trays and show the children how to write their initials or draw a picture in the sand.

~Make a ukulele.   Insert a paper towel roll into the end of a shoebox.  Secure with tape.  Wrap varying widths of rubber bands around the box and strum to heart's content.

Snacks
~This doesn't meet USDA requirements but they love it!Add yellow food coloring to a tub of cream cheese.  Spread this onto a round cookie. Place the cookie on a small plate and allow the children to arrange candy corn rays all around it.

~Tropical Treats
Here are some great ideas for food for a luau! Put a pineapple, coconuts and shells in the center of the table for a centerpiece. Place several colorful bowls around on the table. Fill the bowls with strawberries, green grapes, red grapes, watermelon chunks, cantaloupe chunks, pineapple pieces, cherry tomatoes, celery, cheese chunks, and any other fruits or veggies that you can think of! Get some frilly toothpicks and bamboo skewers and place so that it will be easy to "pick" some fruit or make your own kabobs. Add some fruit dip and veggie dip, chips and popcorn and you are all set for the
Luau!!

~Palm Tree Cake (feeds 60)
Need:
3 cake mixes (any flavor)
Green frosting (white frosting with green food coloring)
Dark chocolate frosting
Milk chocolate frosting
Baked coconut
Cupcake liners
Bake one cake mix in a greased 13X9 baking pan according to directions. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Make 55-60 cupcakes. Cook all cakes according to times on box. Cut the rectangle cake down the center and place end to end for the palm tree trunk. Frost with the dark chocolate frosting. Use the tip of a knife to make "X"'s all down the trunk with the milk chocolate frosting. Next, put 6 cupcakes aside and frost the rest with the green frosting. Use the remaining milk chocolate frosting to frost the 6 cupcakes "coconuts". Top the 6 with the baked coconut. Now, arrange the cupcakes into palm leaves at the top of the trunk. You should be able to make 5 palm trees with approx. 12 cupcakes each. Add in the "coconuts", and you have a palm tree.

Hawaii Plants Easy for Classroom Planting
Submitted by Susi
These are two fun and easy planting ideas to do with your children this spring. I have done them at home, and they work really well, and are relatively fast to see results...
PINEAPPLE PLANT
Buy a fresh pineapple at the grocery store. As an intro activity you can put it in a pillow case to hide it from the children's view, and let them feel it from the outside and try to guess what it is. Before you cut it to have a taste treat, grasp the leaves at the base and twist them off of the pineapple. Then fill a mayonaise jar with water, and set the nub of the bottom of the pineapple leaves in it. You do not need to use tooth picks or anything to hold it in place because the leaves themselves will do that. After a week or two, sometimes sooner, you will see little roots developing from the nub! Once they begin to grow, they grow fast! A nice way to display this is to put the mayo jar in an empty pineapple juice can with the label still on it. I did this at home, and the leaves grew nice and bushy, and it turned to be a beautiful house plant! Remember to keep the mayo jar filled with water so the roots don't dry out.
GINGER ROOT PLANT
Buy a small piece of ginger root at the grocery store. Plant it in potting soil in a medium sized planter. Don't cover the root with the soil, only plant it halfway, lying flat. Soon a shoot will appear, maybe two. This will grow into a tall stem, and it also grows fast once it begins. Just keep the soil moist but not too wet.

HAWAII LESSON PLANS
Submitted by Mel
Theme "All about Hawaii"
Letter: Hh, (Hawaii)
Shape: review all
Numbers counting backwards from 20
Color: review all
Monday: Island/ Sand picture
Tuesday: Culture/ Hula Hand puppets
Wednesday: flowers / Necklace and skirts
Thursday: Fruit / Fruit kabobs
Friday: Big Hawaiian party / Limbo contest
"We talk all week about the island Hawaii, the culture the people, different
food."
SNACK ideas:
Make your own Hawaiian Sundae-Vanilla Yogurt, topped with choice of mandarin oranges, pineapple, banana slices, coconut flakes... complete
with whipped crème and a cherry on top.
Hawaiian Punch
equal parts of cranberry and orange juice or use your favorite punch recipe.
HAWAIIAN SNACK
Materials: pineapple
macadamia nuts (check allergies)
Procedure:
Serve Hawaiian foods at snack time. Show the children the pineapple before cutting it. Let the children feel and smell it. Have them guess what it looks like inside. Compare their predictions to what they see when it is cut open. While eating discuss where pineapples come from. Do the same with macadamia nuts.
Fruit Kabobs
Fresh pineapple, melon, and berries stacked on skewers offer a refreshing departure from the typical cake and ice cream routine. You can have the skewers topped with tiny shells, as it will become an unexpected but much appreciated party favor. You can buy ready-made shell skewers or make a set of your own by hot-gluing shells onto the ends of 8-inch bamboo skewers.
Banana Boat Salad
Need: Bananas, jam or jelly, cottage cheese, lettuce, and cherries. Peel a banana and use a plastic knife to cut the banana in half lengthwise. Place the banana on the lettuce leaves in a bowl. Top it with cottage cheese, jam, and a cherry.
Sailboat Sandwiches
These clever snacks, filled with tuna and topped with a Cheddar cheese sail,carry on the seaside theme.
Crescent dinner rolls
Tuna salad
Cheddar cheese
Toothpicks
Slice the tops off the rolls and hollow them out. Fill the rolls with the tuna salad or any other filling. Slice the cheese into rectangles about 1/2 inch thick and cut the rectangles on the diagonal to make triangles. Insert a toothpick into each triangle to make little sails
ART ideas:
Leis-the day before you plan on doing this project you will need to color ziti (pasta). Put uncooked ziti (pasta), a few drops of food coloring and a splash of rubbing alcohol into a gallon ziploc bag-shake to spread color (the longer you leave it in the mixture the darker the color)-place onto newspaper to dry. Repeat for more colors.
Cut or have the kids cut simple flower shapes (about 2 inches in size) out of colorful construction paper, punch a small hole in the middle of flower. Onto yarn or  string a ziti/flower pattern. Tie when it is long enough and "voile" a beautiful lei!
*Paint seashells
*Fashion a hula skirt made out of rope and raffia
Make tissue paper flowers
*Design sand paintings
*Build model sailboats or origami boats
*Decorate sunglasses with Runts--shiny, hard, miniature fruit     candies
*Decorate picture frames with seashells
Make little animals with seashells and goggle eyes
*Cut surfboard shapes out of cardboard and decorated them with markers.
*For a hula skirt, layer 3-4 sheets of green tissue paper and cut it into strips up to about 1.5 in. from the top. Fold that "margin" over a piece of yarn and staple it all around the skirt. The skirt is then tied around the child's waist.
Activities:
* Buy a coconut and bring to classroom. Have the children feel how heavy it is, how rough the outside is and let your child shake it to hear the milk inside.
* We always have a Hawaiian Dancer in to teach the Hula but you can do that yourself. There a tape out for kids that is real good. We also make head bands of flowers, learn to play the bango, limbo, make grass skirts, and etc.
* Play Tropical Island Memory: "If I were stranded on a tropical island, I would take along...a guitar, food, my best friend, a hammer for coconuts..."
Each kid adds one item in turn and has to remember all the other things on the list.
*Room decoration:
 Decorate with pineapples and flowers that the children have made.   Even add a mural of the sea!
*Play Hawaiian music--dance the hula, Tahitian dance, or any other island dance. Do the limbo. Limbo Contest: Use one of your brooms or mops and play some upbeat music to start a limbo contest. To play the contest, have the children get in one single-file line and limbo under the pole. Lower the pole after each child has had a turn and repeat until there is one limbo champion.