Celebrating Holidays

• May 1st ushers in May Day and the traditional dance around the Maypole. Make May Day poles with cardboard paper towel holders and paper streamers. Host a parade through the school, with each kindergarten carrying their handmade pole. At the end of the parade, form a circle and dance simple steps around the poles. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Mexico's Independence Day. Dress in colorful clothes and create a piñata, along with paper Mexican flags. Teach the importance of remembering veterans on Memorial Day. Pick various days throughout the month to teach about a different branch of the armed forces. Let kindergartners pick their favorite branch and make a simple story about a serviceman or woman.
  
  

Spring Projects

• Implement spring activities both inside and outside as weather permits. Study about local spring flowers in your area, including daisies, daffodils and irises. Plant easy-to-grow flower seeds in milk carton containers. Send the cartons home with students at the end of the month. Study the stages of growth from caterpillar to butterfly. Make butterfly masks out of construction paper and Popsicle sticks. Pick a favorite baby animal born in the spring and create puppets from paper lunch bags. Make a spring theme alphabet book, combining flowers, insects, birds and animals.
  
  

Field Trips

• May is a wonderful time of year to gather students and take a field trip. Combine the classroom study of animals with a field trip to the local zoo, rural farm or park. A visit to a fire station or senior center enhances a kindergartner's understanding of community. Touring the local high school and pairing with students from early education classes provides a sense of what the young child has to look forward to in high school.
  
  

Graduation

• It is important to host a kindergarten graduation ceremony at the end of the school year. Invite family members and friends for the big event. Showcase school work done throughout the year on bulletin boards and around the classroom. Make construction paper graduation hats to wear on the eventful day. Encourage students to parade through each classroom and end in the school gymnasium. Sing a favorite song or recite a poem or story. Present each kindergartner with a certificate for their achievements. Serve cake and punch once the ceremony is complete.