Hula Lullaby
This post is part of the Book and a Craft series sponsored by Daria Music – – – a series created to help children experience different cultures through stories, crafts, and music.
Daria, the real person behind Daria Music, has a Teachers Pay Teachers site filled with lyrics, craft instructions, coloring pages, and more, all designed to introduce children to cultures and music from around the world. Her TPT site, World Music with Daria, has received a Parent and Teachers Choice award, and she generously offers more than 100 free downloads alongside her regularly-priced products.
The Book
We read Hula Lullaby, by Erin Eitter Kono, a sweet picture book that follows along as a mother speaks to her child, or keiki, about the sights and sounds around them on a night in Hawaii.
The rhymes are beautifully done and incorporate several Hawaiian words, including the names of three different instruments. There is a page at the beginning of the book that gives a brief introduction to the various instruments that are traditionally used in the hula and used in the story.
This is a lovely, gentle picture book that my little ones enjoy hearing over and over again. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print, but we found our copy used through AbeBooks. Of course, you can always check your library as well.
The Project
To go along with our story we made pu’ili from paper towel tubes. Pu’ili are Hawaiian instruments made of bamboo that’s been split on one end. We used cardboard paper towel rolls in place of bamboo and cut the ends with a pair of scissors. Then we covered the ends in duct tape to make them a little sturdier.
We don’t personally use paper towels so we were relying on a neighbor for the paper towel rolls. They didn’t have quite enough for everyone to make their own this time, but my kids all loved our DIY pu’ili and we’ll definitely be making more! Although real pu’ili are made of unadorned bamboo, these cardboard versions can be painted or decorated with stickers. I think blue painter’s tape is next on our list for taping up the bottoms, or we might splurge on some pretty duct tape.
This craft idea and suggestions for how to play the pu’ili came from Daria’s TPT site. In addition to the instructions for making and playing these, the bundle also includes a printable for making a version of pu’ili that kids can color and tape onto toilet paper tubes, and a ukelele coloring sheet and poster. You can enter below to win your own Hawaiian rhythm stick craft bundle.
Everyone loved our DIY pu’ili, from the toddler on up to the grown-ups, and now I want an entire collection so we can play some of the rhythm games Daria suggests in her packet. (And so the toddler can have his own set, since I know they’ll be going in his mouth!)
The Series
You can read more of the posts in the series here:
China – Bringing in the New Year & Pellet Drum Craft
The Giveaway
