If your children are learning about Native Americans in school and you would like to help them experience what it is like to live like one, host a pow wow in your backyard. Invite some of their friends to experience dancing, singing, and eating together while gaining useful knowledge at the same time.

Set The Scene

Read some books about Native Americans in order to learn how their homes are set up and the decorations that are used to adorn them. Create a makeshift teepee in your yard by inserting metal poles into the ground and draping a large textile over them. You can purchase fabric like this at a craft store or specialty shop.

If you would the children to envision some of the weather conditions that Native Americans had to endure while surviving in their environment and foraging for food, rent large fans and place them at various angles. Make paper leaves or collect some that have fallen from real trees and place them in buckets. While the children explore the exterior of the teepee, turn on the fans and dump the leaves so that they blow around, mimicking how it would seem on an autumn, windy day. Contact companies like Fan Guy for more information.

Prepare Props And Music

Create headbands out of strips of construction paper or card stock. Fasten each one with a couple staples. Glue colorful feathers across the top of each one. Prepare capes that have designs on them by cutting out large pieces of plain fabric and tracing designs on them with fabric paint. Record musical selections that include the beating of drums and cries of real Native Americans.

When the pow wow is about to begin, give a headband and cape to each child. The top edges of each cape need to be draped over the children's shoulders and can be secured with safety pins. Play the musical selections on a portable stereo. Encourage the children to line up and dance and sing around the teepee while practicing dance moves that you show them.

Serve Native American Dishes

Lay large Native American blankets across your lawn for the children to sit on while eating. Prepare ethnic dishes before the celebration begins, such as chickpeas, rice, lentils, and cheese. If you are not a good cook or do not have much time to prepare the food that you will be serving at the event, purchase cultural food items from your local grocery store. Encourage the children to try out each dish so that they can experience a wide variety of items that are enjoyed by Native Americans on a regular basis.

All of the preparations that you make will help make the pow wow a success. Your children and their guests will enjoy themselves while gaining a wealth of knowledge.