Hawaii Unit Study

We lived in Hawaii for three years. We loved it.

But we realized we were temporary, other, haoles in Paradise, and it wasn’t our land. Looking back, I realize there was so much more I could have learned, done, thought.

My girls were very young and I can make amends now as we learn about the history and culture of Hawaii. The kids don’t even remember it.

Our Travels Around Hawaii

• Big Island Hawaii with Kids
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• Maui with Kids
• Oahu with Kids
• Honolulu with Kids
• North Shore with Kids
• Kaneohe with Kids
• Our Kaua’i Weekend
• Our Ni’ihau Day Trip
• Makahiki – Thanksgiving in Hawaii
• Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

My son chose the place of his birth for our homeschool geography fair.

We still had a lot of Hawaiian items from when we lived there.

He was so happy to talk to people about his birth place!

Hawaiian history and culture is complicated. We watched the news and social media with trepidation as the National Guard moved in on protestors at Mauna Kea for the site location of the Thirty Meter Telescope. We agree with Native Hawaiians and feel love and aloha in our hearts for them and their land. Some books may seem offensive to people unfamiliar with Hawaii and colonialism that has affected these beautiful islands and people.

Book List:

• Spell of Hawaii by A. Grove Day
• A Hawaiian Reader by A. Grove Day and Carl Stroven
• Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson  
• Hawaiian Antiquities: Moolelo Hawaii by David Malo
• Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory by Anwei Skinsnes Law  
• Light in the Crevice Never Seen by Haunani-Kay Trask
• Kue: Thirty Years of Land Struggle in Hawaii by Haunani-Kay Trask
• From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii by Haunani-Kay Trask  
• Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen by Liliuokalani
• Princess Ka’iulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People by Sharon Linnea
• Waikiki: A History of Forgetting and Remembering by Gaye Chan and Andrea Feeser  
• Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands by Gavan Daws 
• And the View from the Shore: Literary Traditions of Hawai’i by Stephen H. Sumida
• Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Venture by Julia Flynn Siler
• Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism by Noenoe K. Silva
• Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii by James L. Haley  
• The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai by John Tayman  
• Blu’s Hanging by Lois-Ann Yamanaka 
• Moloka’i series by Alan Brennert 
• Honolulu by Alan Brennert  
• Hawai’i One Summer by Maxine Hong Kingston  
• Waimea Summer by John Dominis Holt 
• Hawaii by James A. Michener
• Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell  
• Blue Skin of the Sea by Graham Salisbury  
• Ancient History of the Hawaiian People by Abraham Fornander
• Hawaiian Mythology by Martha Warren Beckwith
• The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by David Kalakaua 

Keiki (Kids) Books:

• How the B-52 cockroach learned to fly by Lisa Matsumoto
• Too Many Mangos by Tammy Paikai
• Moon Mangoes by Lindy Shapiro
• The Goodnight Gecko by Gill McBarnet
• Beyond ‘Ohi’a Valley: Adventures in a Hawaiian Rainforest by Lisa Matsumoto
• Aloha is… by Tammy Paikai
• Good Night Hawaii by Adam Gamble
• Hawaiian Ocean Lullaby by Beth Greenway
• Hush Little Keiki by Kim Vukovich 
• Where Are My Slippers? A Book of Colors, The Magic Ukulele, This Is My Piko, and others by Dr. Carolan
• A is for Aloha by Stephanie Feeney and Eva Moravcik 
• Hawai‘i is a Rainbow by Stephanie Feeney
• Limu the Blue Turtle and His Hawaiian Garden by Kimo Armitage
• The Musubi Man: Hawaiʻi’s Gingerbread Man by Sandi Takayama
• Animals Sing Aloha by Vera Arita
• Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe
• Island Toes by Christin Lozano
• Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis
• Ordinary Ohana by Lee Cataluna
• Grandpa’s Mixed Up Lū‘au by Tammy Paikai
• Honey Girl: The Hawaiian Monk Seal by Jeanne Walker Harvey
• Peekaboo the Poi Dog by Wendy Kunimitsu Haraguchi
• Girl’s Day in Hawai’i with Yuki-chan by Tokie Ikeda Ching
• Boy’s Day in Hawai’i With Yuki-chan and Grant 
• Shave Ice in Hawaii, 1-2-3 Saimin in Hawaii, Slippers in Hawaii and others by BeachHouse Publishing
• Tūtū Nēnē: The Hawaiian Mother Goose Rhymes by Debra Ryll
• Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawaiʻi by Gerald McDermott
• Pono, The Garden Guardian by Dani Hickman
• Pele and the Rivers of Fire by Michael Nordenstrom
• Naupaka, Hina, Maui Hooks the Islands, and Pele Finds a Home by Gabrielle Ahuliʻi
• Tammy Yee books

Activities:

• watch Moana
• watch Lilo and Stitch
• watch Elvis in Hawaii movies: Blue Hawaii; Girls! Girls! Girls!; Paradise, Hawaiian Style
• Attend a Hawaii Luau or make Hawaiian foods
• Listen to Israel Kamakawiwoʻole music
• Learn to play ukulele
• Learn to surf
• Make a lei with real or silk flowers, paper flowers, kukui nuts, or candy

Resources:

• Craft Knife
• Time 4 Learning
• Ben and Me
• Homeschool Helper Online
• The Homeschool Mom
• Adventures in Mommydom
• Compass Rose Homeschool
• The Island Below the Star by Homeschoolshare
• Starlight Treasures
• Hawaii for Kids video
• Lilo and Stitch Movie Study Guide $
• Moana Educational Resources
• Moana Party
• Volcano Resources

Hawaii is magic. It is paradise. We left a piece of our hearts in the Islands.