To make a Native American rattle you'll need to give students Y-shaped twigs, yarn, tape, feathers and beads. Show the class how to cover the entire twig with yarn by winding it around the twig. Knot the start and end points and tape them down. Once the twig is completely covered with yarn, tie some decorative items such as beads or feathers to the twig with additional yarn.
With this craft, kindergartners will have a game to play with once they've finished. Give students basket-type paper-plate holders and pieces of woodgrain contact paper cut to fit the paper-plate holders. Instruct the class to remove the backing and carefully place the contact paper on the surface of the holder. Then have the children use black markers to divide the plate into four sections by drawing a vertical line and a horizontal line through the middle of the woodgrain contact surface. Each of the four sections will feature a clan symbol. These are the wolf, deer, turtle and bear. Either provide felt cutouts or paper representations of the animals for children to glue onto the plate. Give each child six flat nuts and have them color one side black with the marker. To play the game, place the nuts in the plate and then turn it upside down on the ground. If five out of the six nuts show the same side, either colored or plain, then the player scores and gets another turn. The first player to reach 10 wins.
Give each pupil an empty cardboard salt container, felt in two shades cut to cover the container, yarn and feathers. One larger section of felt will be cut to go around the container, while two smaller, circular pieces of felt should be cut to cover the ends and extend about an inch onto the sides of the container. Then have the children attach the top and bottom sections of felt with glue. Once that's set in place, give the children yarn pieces and have them glue yarn from top to bottom in a zigzag pattern. Glue on some feathers and let the class play the drums together.
Let your kindergarten class re-create pendants inspired by the Wampanoag Indians. Trace two 4-inch diameter circles on felt and have children cut these out. Use a hole punch and put circles around both pieces of felt, leaving a 1/4-inch margin and a space of 2 inches for the pouch opening. Sew the two pieces together using an 18-inch length of yarn. Knot the end of the yarn on the back of the medallion. Make a braided chain for the medallion by braiding one-yard-long pieces of red, yellow and brown yarn. Every few inches you can knot and place a bead on the chain then knot and continue braiding more. Once finished braiding, take each end of the chain and place through the top holes on either side of the medallion opening. Tie the ends together on the backside of the medallion. Have students decorate the medallion with a symbol that means something to them, using a permanent marker. Students can also write a special message on a paper and fold up and place in the medallion pouch.