Next week, we are having a “Beach Day” at our school.  To help our children get in the spirit of summer, we made leis with our kindergarten students.

To begin the lesson, we all met on the carpet as a large group.  We showed them a few pictures of leis, and discussed what they are.  We then told the students we were going to make our own for our “Beach Day”.  Next, we reviewed different types of patterns by using our bodies as well as by drawing shapes in patterns on our whiteboard.  We used yarn, plastic needles, tissue paper flowers (easy to thread through), and straws (all white) to create the leis.  We did a quick demonstration to the large group so they could watch how to create the lei.   Then, we had them create patterns by threading the flowers and straws.  Some children did their patterns as a simple AB pattern (flower, straw).  Some children chose 2 flowers and straws to create an AAB pattern, and others chose 2 colours of flowers and straws to make an ABC pattern. 

It was a fun activity for everyone, and we had the opportunity to review and assess the students’ knowledge of patterns and we can wear them next week to celebrate the beach!