Hawaii is a fantastic place with a unique culture and traditions. Explore these wonderful islands with these beautiful crafts that will help children understand more about the Hawaiian way of life.
Check out these ten fun and easy crafts children will love making and playing with. These will help promote diversity and awareness of other people’s cultures.
Leis are traditionally given as a gesture of goodwill. It is a string of flowers resembling a necklace worn around the neck. Make this handmade lei perfect for a Hawaiian-themed event.
Children will build their fine motor skills as they trace, cut, and thread the flowers. It will also help improve their hand-eye coordination skills. Use different colors of foam sheets in making flowers to teach color recognition skills and patterns.
Have the children cut the three plastic straws into an inch long. For younger children, measure and mark the areas that need to be cut. Next, have them cut a long piece of blue twine, about thirty inches long.
Next, have children trace and cut out a flower shape on the foam sheets. Have them string the straw and flowers alternately using the blue twine. Repeat this step until the desired length of lei is achieved. Tie the ends of the twine to secure.
For this activity, you will need:
- Blue twine
- White plastic drinking straws
- Scissors
- Foam sheets
- Pen
For more information on this activity, go to FunLearningLife.com.
Hawaiians carve rocks and wood that resemble the Tiki gods. They worship and believe that these gods will guide them. Learn more about the Tiki gods with these colorful Tiki masks.
This craft is a fantastic way to teach children about recycling while improving their creativity. Drawing on the toilet roll will help develop their fine motor skills. Use these crafts to teach facial parts and different emotions.
Look for pictures of tiki masks online and have the children use them to make their own. Ask them to use the black marker to outline the different facial features. Have them use chalk pens or pastels to add colors.
Once finished, the site suggests different ways of playing with these, such as stacking and lining them up or using them as bowling pins. Make several Tiki masks and string them together to make a bunting perfect as Hawaiian-themed decorations, or turn them into mini gift bags.
For this activity, you will need:
- Toilet paper roll
- Chalk pens or pastels
- Black marker
- Printed Tiki masks
For more information on this activity, go to RedTedArt.com.
Pineapples and watermelons are tropical fruits that thrive well on the Hawaii Islands. These are great as decorations for a summer party.
Use these crafts to explore the other types of tropical fruits found in Hawaii, such as papaya, mango, dragon fruit, and others. These can also help children learn the differences and sort fruits from vegetables.
With a lesson in science, teach children how fruits can come from different types of plants, such as trees, shrubs, and vines. Use pictures and videos for this step.
Download and print the free fruit templates from the site. Have children cut these out and trace them onto the corresponding color of construction paper. Use yellow and green for pineapple. For the watermelon, use pink, green, and black.
Cut the toilet paper roll in half and have the children wrap the colored paper around each piece. Add the details such as black seeds for the watermelon and leaves for the pineapple.
For this activity, you will need:
- Toilet paper roll
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Markers
- Printed fruit template
- Pencil
- Ruler
For more information on this activity, go to HawaiiTravelWithKids.com.
The grass is a plant that is abundant in Hawaii. Inspired by the island and summertime, this crown is perfect to use in pretend play areas or as props for storytelling.
This craft is perfect for young children to practice their scissors skills and provides a beautiful sensory experience. A Science lesson will help explain the insects and different wildflowers that can be found where there is grass.
Have the children fold the paper lengthwise and let them cut this in half. Have the children draw a long line, lengthwise, in the middle. This will become the guide for cutting.
Ask the children to cut strips on the paper without going over the line. Have them snip the tips of the strips to make them look more like grass blades. Let them use a green crayon to add depth to the grass.
Attach both ends using a stapler and have children add bug stickers.
For this activity, you will need:
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Bug stickers
- Green crayon
- Stapler
For more information on this activity, go to CreativeConnectionsForKids.com.
Palm trees are found in places with tropical climates like Hawaii. Make this craft to help children improve their fine motor skills. Use this with the book “Chika Chika Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault.
Children can retell the story and help improve their oral language skills. With a Science lesson, discuss how palm trees are considered woody herbs and different from other trees.
Cut four toilet paper rolls in half. Snip one end to make slits. Have the children insert each roll into another by slightly pinching the slits to make it snugly fit inside the next roll.
Fold the slits on the last one and attach this to a plastic lid using sticky tape. Refer to the pictures on the site for this step.
Next, download and print the free palm leaf template from the site. Let the children cut these out and trace them on green construction paper. Attach these to the tree.
For this activity, you will need:
- Toilet paper rolls
- Sticky tape
- Scissors
- Green construction paper
- Printed leaf template
For more information on this activity, go to AllKidsNetwork.com.
Hula is a native Hawaiian dance performed to honor their gods, to tell stories, and for entertainment. Explore Hawaii’s art and culture by letting children learn more about the dance. Use pictures and videos for children to appreciate the Hula fully.
Teach them basic stepping movements to help them master directionality, learn to follow directions, and improve their body imitation skills. This craft is perfect for the book “Hula Lullaby” by Erin Eitter Kono.
Download and print the monkey template from the link provided on the site. Have the children trace and cut out the different pieces on colored cardstock.
Glue the head on the flap of the paper bag. Attach the beige inner ears on the head. Glue the bottom part of the head under the flap. Add the white and red muzzle on the head and glue the googly eyes.
Cut strips on the tissue paper and glue on the paper bag. Add the flower stickers to complete.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed monkey template
- Foam flower stickers
- Tissue wrapping paper
- Paper bag
- Googly eyes
- Cardstock
- Scissors
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to CoffeeCupsAndCrayons.com.
Surfing is a popular sport, and the beaches in Hawaii are the perfect places to find those colossal waves that will allow surfers to glide on water. Make a surfboard to help children understand the sport using a paper plate.
This activity will help improve children’s fine motor skills. Teach basic surfing stance by allowing children to copy different body positions. Doing this will help improve their gross motor skills, balance, and coordination.
Explain why surfing is an integral part of Hawaiian culture with a lesson on history.
Outline a surfboard on the paper plate and a wave on a blue cardstock. Have the children cut these out. Next, have the children cut and glue small pieces of wrapping tissue paper on the surfboard.
Once the glue dries, let them decorate their surfboards with washi tape and flower stickers. Finally, staple the wave on the surfboard to complete this craft.
For this activity, you will need:
- Paper plate
- Wrapping tissue paper
- Cardstock
- Washi tape
- Flower stickers
- Glue
- Scissors
- Stapler
For more information on this activity, go to GluedToMyCraftsBlog.com.
Perfect for nature-themed and tropical-themed lessons, this craft will help expose children to Hawaii’s flora and fauna. A lesson in History will enable children to learn more about the state’s national flower- the yellow hibiscus.
Explore other flowers native to the area with a science lesson, such as plumerias and anthuriums.
Use pictures to show the colorful flowers that grow in the region. This will also help with their color recognition skills.
Find images of tropical leaves and flowers online and print them on colored craft paper. Use different shades of green and different sizes of images for the leaves to create an eye-catching collage.
Have the children cut these out and assemble them on colored cardstock with the leaves on the back and the flowers in front. Let them arrange the pieces to create a layered effect.
Have the children glue the pieces one at a time until the collage is complete.
For this activity, you will need:
- Craft paper
- Cardstock
- Scissors
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to MessyLittleMonster.com.
This doll craft is perfect for the fans of Moana. Use this craft in retelling a popular movie or as a puppet during free play. Her character represents the people and culture of Hawaii.
Doing this will help improve children’s oral language skills. Putting this craft together will help strengthen their fine motor skills.
Use this craft to discuss childhood issues, like sharing toys or making a choice. Play a “What Would Moana Do?” game to help children process different emotions and gain a better perspective on resolving conflicts.
This is a lovely social-emotional learning for young children and will also help build critical thinking skills.
Download and print the doll template from the site. Have the children cut and trace the pieces on colored craft paper. Cut a slit on the head and insert the head and body.
Glue the assembled top on Moana’s body. Fold the skirt into an accordion style and attach it with glue.
For this activity, you will need:
- Doll template
- Craft paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Pencil
- Markers
- Craft knife
For more information on this activity, go to FunMoneyMom.com.
Conclusion
Learn more about the 50th state with these fantastic crafts that reflect the culture and traditions of Hawaiians. These crafts will make perfect decorations for the following luau parties and help promote diversity by understanding different cultures.
Thank you for reading. Come back and check out our other craft articles soon.
