American Girl Nanea was a super simple program but so fun to do!

I did my typical opening. I talked about where Nanea lived (Hawaii) and two popular items in Hawaiian culture. The first one was Mochiko. I talked about the cake’s origins and bit about how it is made. I then had everyone split into two groups, as we were going to make our own Mochiko.

I had everything laid out on the tables.

Then every child helped with making the cake.

 

This was the most time-consuming portion. This ate up almost the entire first hour. After I had everyone’s pans, I was able to put them in the oven.

While we waited for the mochiko to bake, we made leis. I talked about the history and etiquette of the lei. I then guided the kids into making their own lei. This were the instructions I used.

 

 

By the time everyone was done with their leis, our cake was ready!