May Day festivities, held on May 1, celebrate the triumph of spring over winter and have taken place in Europe for centuries. The celebrations may have evolved from ceremonies performed in honour of the Roman goddess of flowers, Flora, and garlands of flowers are still worn and used to decorate floats during May Day parades. Probably the best-known tradition is that of maypole dancing and, with a little ingenuity, it is not difficult to for settings to organise their own.
Nursery maypole
To make a permanent maypole for your setting, secure a 2m piece of wood in a wide and firm base and fit eight to ten kitchen hooks around the top.
Cut lengths of broad satin ribbon or webbing (available from haberdashers) in various colours. Sew rings to both ends of each. One ring can then be attached to the hook while the other will provide a handle for the maypole dancers.
Alternatively, make a temporary maypole with a cardboard or plastic tube and secure it in the ground or with tyres. Children can then decorate the tube using ribbon, crepe paper, tissue paper and flowers. Attach ribbons or streamers to the top to complete.
Maypole dancing
* Introduce the idea of dancing around the pole before attaching the ribbons.
* Ask the children to join hands in a circle around the pole and to sing familiar songs such as Ring o' Roses as they walk around.
* Then attach one ribbon and ask a child to skip round the pole holding the handle.
* Point out the pattern being created by the ribbon as it wraps around the pole.
* Add more ribbons (in different colours) and ask the children to walk slowly around the pole until the ribbons are wound round the pole.
* Then ask them to turn around and walk the other way to unwind the ribbons.
* Keep dances simple, adding and taking away ribbons as necessary and allow children the freedom to experiment and make up their own dances.
* Some children may prefer to dance around the outdoor area waving detached ribbons. Others may be ready to create more intricate patterns by weaving their ribbons under and over other children's ribbons - at this stage it is a good idea to limit the number of children moving around the maypole at any one time!
* Provide taped music or encourage some of the children to accompany the dancers with musical instruments.
Extension activities
* Enable children to further explore weaving patterns by planning activities, such as paper or wool weaving.
