May Day Maypole Activity

Celebrate May Day with your class with this fun Maypole Activity – Create a Maypole by attaching colorful streamers to a pole such as the basketball pole on the playground or make your own pole by placing a broomstick or large stick in a bucket and securing it with rocks or sand. To perform the May Day dance allow each child to hold a streamer and then walk/dance around the maypole until the pole is wrapped with the streamers and then they may change direction and unwrap the pole. If you have a large class you may separate the children into 2 groups, 1 group holds hands encircling the inner group who holds the streamers. As the children are dancing around the Maypole sing the following song:

Round the Maypole Song:
(Tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”)
Here we go ’round the maypole, the maypole, the maypole.
Here we go ’round the maypole, to celebrate May Day.

You may add variations to the dance by using different movements around the Maypole such as skipping, tiptoeing, hopping, etc.