Whether you are teaching in the state of Hawaii or want to educate your students on the incredible state that is Hawaii, you are going to need some awesome activities.
Making Hawaii fun and interesting is a rather simple task with its breathtaking views, delicious food, and wonderful traditions, your students will be engaged from the get-go.
However, we have 10 of the best activities to help make it easier to remember and even more fun to learn.
So, check them out below and discover new ways to keep your students learning and smiling!
History Of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Islands experienced population growth and the construction of a plantation system for farming sugar cane, coffee, and pineapples in the 19th century.
In order to use Hawaii as a military base during the Spanish-American War against the Spanish in Guam and the Philippines, Hawaii was formally annexed into the United States in 1898.
Hawaii was admitted to the Union as the 50th state in 1959, more than 50 years after it began the arduous process of becoming a state.
Today, the state of Hawaii is known for its crystal clear waters, incredible mountains, and relaxed way of life. It has a rich history and is an incredible place to study, live, and vacation.
1. Design Your Own Surfboard
One of the main things that Hawaii is known for, is surfing! It is common for people to go for a surf in the morning, afternoon, and night, and to even participate in surfboard competitions.
By downloading and printing out an outline of a surfboard, you can let your students go wild.
Give them colored markers, pencils, or crayons and various other decorating items and have them design their own surfboard.
This is a great activity for younger kids that need to expend some energy. It is also fun and simple, meaning there are no complicated rules to explain.
Simply grab some paper, pens, and get started!
2. Shell Art
With endless stretches of glorious white sand beaches, Hawaii has no shortage of shells. Making Shell Art an excellent activity to keep your students entertained.
Collect shells from the closest beach, larger ones work perfectly. Or have the kids bring in their own shells. Place out paints, pencils for sketching, and paint brushes and let them get to work.
The kids can paint anything they want on the shells or you can make it Hawaiian-themed. Then find space on the wall to display them once dry!
This is a great way to spend the afternoon and to keep your students quieter than usual. Although, you may have to spend some time cleaning up in the afternoon.
3. Lei Toss
We have all played the classic Ring Toss game as a child. Well, swap the rings for lei and you have Lei Toss.
When the weather is on the warmer side, take the kids outside for fresh air and a game of Lei Toss. This can spark some healthy competition while they have fun and learn to work as a team.
Have your student divide into 2 teams, standing in a line. Place either a pole or hula hoop a good distance away from each team.
The teams then have to toss their Lei over the pole or into the hula hop to gain points. The first team to have all of their leis in position wins!
4. Hula Hoop Contest
Hula Hoops are fun and a great form of exercise. Both younger and older students are not going to be able to resist the temptation of a Hula Hoop competition.
Make sure to move the tables and chairs to the edges of the classroom, have the kids spread out, and begin hula hooping. Whoever lasts the longest wins!
This is an awesome way to give your students a break from textbooks and spelling without having them become loud and disruptive!
Everyone can take part and you can even provide an incentive by offering a prize for the last one left standing.
5. Hawaiian Popcorn
Hawaiian Popcorn is a classic. It is often referred to as Hurricane Popcorn. This is not because people eat it during hurricane season, it is simply a mash-up of different flavors giving it a chaotic feel like a hurricane.
Traditionally, Hurricane Popcorn is made of buttery popcorn, Japanese rice crackers, Japanese seaweed seasoning, and coconut flakes. However, you can adapt the recipe to a combination of sweet and salty flavors.
Have your students bring their favorite popcorn toppings to class (taking into account any allergies and dietary restrictions) and make their very own Hawaiian Popcorn.
And you can’t have popcorn without a movie! Turn down the lights and get on an age appropriate movie. A Hawaiian one would be even better.
6. Mocktails
Hawaii is known for its incredible cocktail-making skills. With so many tropical fruits on hand, it is only right that they make some incredible cocktails.
Now, of course, alcoholic cocktails are not appropriate for school children but you can make some tasty mocktails.
Pina Coladas and daiquiris are staples in Hawaii and can be made with a few simple ingredients.
Serve them in coconut shells, topped with a wedge of pineapple and a paper umbrella for a truly tropical feel.
7. Make Your Own Lei
Lei’s in Hawaii are symbols of Aloha. They are used to show love, friendship, celebration, honor greeting at parties. They are extremely important within Hawaiian culture and are extremely simple to make.
Leis are made from flowers, leaves, sea shells, nuts, seeds, and anything else you may find in nature.
Kids can bring in their own supplies or you can purchase flowers from the craft store and have them make their own symbol of Aloha.
They can then take them home, display them in the classroom, or wear them to their very own Luau! Make sure they are bright, colorful, and long enough to go around their necks comfortably.
8. Hot Coconut
Place the kids in a circle and have them sit on the ground. Offer them coconuts to share while Hawaiian music is playing.
The kid who was caught with the coconut is out of the game when the music stops. Up until there is just one person left, play continues.
You can award each participant with a trinket prize after they are counted out of the game because this game is most frequently played with young children.
This is a great game to play on a Friday afternoon. Not to mention it helps build strategy skills. No one wants to be the one holding the coconut when the music stops.
9. Kabob Relay
Divide the class into two teams. Provide a bowl, a spoon, and three skewers to each team.
Kids should line up for a relay race while you set the skewers and bowl aside on a table. Place two bowls of fruit that have been chopped into cubes a few feet from the starting point.
One cube at a time, each team member will race to load it onto the spoon and carry it back to the bowl. The following players are given the spoons, and they must race to collect more fruit as well.
After bringing back all the fruit, the youngsters must use it to put three kabobs on their skewers (leave the skewering part to the older kids or have an adult assigned to do the skewering). Whoever has three full kabobs first wins.
Once all of the games are finished, be sure to pass out the fruit Kabobs for a delicious sweet treat!
10. Hawaii Word Search
Word searches are a great way to support spelling and vocabulary skills. They are extremely easy to customize and can be adapted to fit a range of themes and topics.
Creating a Hawaiian Word Search is simple. Hide a bunch of themed words such as locations, drinks, foods, and traditions that are important to Hawaii into your word search and have the kids find them.
Make sure to print out plenty of copies in case students make mistakes. You can make your word search as easy or as difficult as you like, keeping in mind the grade of the kids you are teaching.
Make it fun by offering a prize and giving a time limit. You may end up spending the entire afternoon completing word searches. Or do it as a team with the word search on the board and the students taking turns to find the words.
Final Thoughts
Hawaii is an incredible state with rich history and culture to be explored. While you may not be able to organize a field trip to Hawaii, you can certainly educate your student on the ways of Hawaii.
Above are 10 awesome Hawaiian activities that you can do in the classroom to make learning fun and exciting.
From designing your own surfboard to making fun tropical mocktails, you can teach your students everything they need to know about Hawaii with a fun activity.
Hi, my name is Helena Waters and I was a teacher for 40 years before retiring last year.
During my time as a teacher I dedicated the majority of it to making classrooms as fun as possible, with educational parties, fun activities, and low cost entertainment that made the children excited about learning.
I taught children of all ages, from preschoolers to high school students. Now, with the pandemic having uprooted everything that children once knew about school and learning, I think that the need for my ideas is bigger than ever.
That is why I created School Sparks, a place in which I can write down and share all of my ideas on how to get students excited about going to school again. I hope that you’ll find some useful within a school setting, even at home too!
