Google+

Exploring Diwali with Books, Game & Craft -- Free Templates


This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Diwali for Kids Series. Be sure to check out the other great posts and link up an Diwali posts you have.

As Christians we do not know much about Hinduism or Diwali. We of course turned to books to learn a bit more. We found some books that we found informative and on the right level for Hazel at the library.



When we read Lighting the Lamp by Jonny Zucker and Jan Barger, Hazel wished they had included the story of Prince Rama and his wife, Sita. I reminded her we had read the story before and pulled out Indian Children's Favorite Stories and read the story.  However Diwali--Hindu Festival of Lights by Dianne M. MacMillan and Diwali by Kate Torpie include the story in them. These two books did a lovely job of explaining a bit about Hinduism as well as about Diwali and shared a bit of history and culture. They were great together.  Divali by Dilip Kadodwala has many stories including stories told on each day. Hindus believe in multiple gods and honor a god and a different story each day. It also has wonderful crafts and ideas to expand.  Diwali in India lasts five days. In the United States and Canada it is usually only celebrated for a day. 
http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2015/10/crafty-weekends-paper-pom-poms-other.html

While thinking about what to do some past projects came to mind. Our water lily lights was one I thought about using. Or our lotus light that we made when we were exploring India this summer. It was a Diwali craft in the book from which we got the instructions.

http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2015/06/indian-crafts.html

 Then I came across Diwali by Michelle Parker-Rock and found a fun game to make.
 The game is light the flame of the diya. It is made with felt, glue, scissors, and a piece of cardboard. The game itself is a Diwali version of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. 


To start you need to cut out the diya from brown felt and glue it onto a piece of black (or white) felt. The easiest way to cut a shape in felt is to trace the template onto the felt. 

 Then glue the black felt onto a piece of cardboard. You can also glue a piece of yarn onto the cardboard to make it easy to hang. Cut flames out of yellow or orange felt. Cut one for each player. It is optional to decorate the flames with glitter glue.



Once all the parts are set and the glue (and glitter glue) are dry, hang the picture of the diya up. Then blindfold the first player and give him/her a flame. The book has the player spun three times with a rhyme about Diwali and lighting the diya. Have each player take a turn and see where the flames end up.



 For my templates click the template picture below. It will download the jpg of it. The picture is sized for a piece of 8.5 by 11 inch full page.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8PVW7zBWFxsQkd0ZDJBenNwa3c/view?usp=sharing

 Another fun Diwali craft we did was to make autumn lanterns. I hope you have fun making your Diwali lights and playing Light the Flame of the Diya! Make sure to check out the other posts in this blog series!