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by Hannah Boyd
Topics: Preschool, Kindergarten, Arts and Crafts
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Get into the spirit of summer with this activity that brings a little aloha your way. Hawaiian leis are a well-known symbol of affection and hospitality. They're traditionally made out of fresh flowers, nuts, or seashells. Here's a kid-friendly version you can do at home using tissue paper and pasta. Help your child practice her pattern making and small motor skills! Pair the lei with a "grass" skirt and get a look that's fresh from the islands.

What You Need:

  • String
  • Colored tissue paper
  • Scissors
  • Skewer or other sharp, pointy object
  • Dried pasta tubes, such as ziti, penne, or ruote.
  • Green crepe paper
  • Stapler


What to Do:

To make the lei:

  1. Measure and cut a piece of string long enough to make a necklace. Be sure that it will be able to easily fit over your child's head.
  2. Help your child cut simple flower shapes, about 2" to 3" wide, out of the tissue paper. You'll need a lot, but this should go quickly because the shapes don't have to be exact or intricate.
  3. Ask your child to make piles of the tissue flowers. Encourage her to do it as she pleases, and let her mix colors if she wants.
  4. Take the piles and sqeeze the bottom in the center to create the illusion of flower petals. You also might want to slightly crumple the paper.
  5. Then take a skewer and poke a hole in the bottom of each flower.
  6. Have your child string the flowers on with a pasta tube between each one.
  7. When the string is full, tie the ends together in a knot and place it around her neck to show off!


To make the grass skirt:

  1. Cut a piece of string that's long enough to tie around your child's waist.
  2. Cut out pieces of green crepe paper that are about the length of your child's waist to the floor, and no more than 3" wide. Cut enough to go around her entire waist.
  3. Fold the top of each strip over the string and staple it closed. Do this until the string is full of green strips all the way around.
  4. Then tie the string around your child's waist to complete her Hawaiian costume. Put some pineapple juice in a colorful cup, and have yourself a mini-Luau!