A friend of mine recently did a post for Babble titled: Cinco De Mayo, Beyond Donkeys and Sombreros. It was a wonderful article offering 16 great ways to get beyond stereotypes about Mexico and Mexican culture and have fun while learning with kids.
The post includes easy outdoor games the require no special supplies such as “Mar y Tierra” (Sea and Earth) as well as simple instructions for making an easy piñata, a woven “God’s Eye” or discovering the works of Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, among others. All great ways of moving beyond stereotypes to real projects and activities that provide more authentic ways to celebrate culture and discover diversity.
Included in Mari’s post is one of my crafts that shows how to make a homemade guiro. A guiro can be used to accompany almost any type of music from Mexico or to learn a new song or two from this region such as De Colores or Cielito Lindo. Along with using 
recycled materials to create a colorful homemade guiro, you can also collect small water bottles and create an easy, child-safe version of maracas, another instrument heard throughout Mexican, Central America and Latin American music.
Here’s how to find Mari’s activity-filled post as well as detailed instructions on how to make your own maracas and guiros, plus other related links.
Wishing you all a happy 5 de Mayo!
Cinco De Mayo Links
16 Crafts And Activities To Help You Celebrate Cinco De Mayo Beyond Donkeys and Sombreros By Mari Hernandez-Tuten
http://www.babble.com/latina/celebrating-cinco-de-mayo-beyond-sombreros-and-donkeys/
Make Your Own Guiro
http://www.dariamusic.com/make_Guiro.php
Make Your Own Maracas
https://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/make-some-marvelous-maracas/
A Silly Video to the Mexican Song – La Cucaracha!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfka9m6NhzE
A Video of the Mexican Song – La Bamba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGICzWLJ5Qg&list=UUImOHUJ3bk2yKXh4iaieKVQ&index=7
All About The Song – La Bamba
Making Multicultural Music 