Celebrate Diwali with Read-Alouds!

When children see their culture represented in books, it can promote inclusivity and self-worth. Being able to share parts of their lives at home and have others interested in the holidays they celebrate may make students feel more accepted and comfortable in the group. 

When children learn about many cultures and different holidays, it helps them to appreciate the world and the people around them. Introducing your children to a variety of cultures, via the gift of reading, is one step to raising culturally sensitive humans. 

Diwali is a major holiday celebrated by people of Hindu and other faiths, and is a major holiday in India, similar to Thanksgiving or Christmas in the US, according to National Geographic magazine. It is typically in late October or early November, November 12th in 2023. Here are a few titles to get started with at an early elementary, even preschool, level.

The Diwali Gift by Shweta Chopra and Shuchi Mehta (2015)

The characters get a gift from one character’s grandmother, Dadima, to celebrate the Hindu Festival of Lights, Diwali. This story explains some of the traditions of a Diwali celebration - it may help some students make connections to their holiday, which may not be a holiday we all know about. There is a wonderful glossary at the back that would be worth scanning first for key definitions. Children light up when they feel connections with a story - this would be a great story to help them shine and promote inclusivity . 

Diwali (board book) by Hannah Eliot, illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan (2018)

This is a great little book that shows the ways that Diwali is celebrated - gathering with friends and family, lighting the brightest lanterns, and praying for a bountiful season. The illustrations show the family cleaning, decorating, and making rangoli, which are beautiful sand paintings. Lighting diyas (candle vessels) and feasting are also integral parts of the holiday. Even though is looks like a simple board book, this book is packed with info and will explain the holiday, and help children make connections. 

Although not about Diwali, my Diwali-celebrating friends really enjoyed this book, which highlights some vocabulary and customs, while setting it all to a “Wheels on the Bus” rhyme. 

The Wheels on the TukTuk by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal (2015)

The book has a great glossary to get up to speed on words that might be unfamiliar. Students can join in - it won’t matter what their cultural background is - and learn about each other in the process. Even the smallest students might want to sing along and in our case, lots of giggles and trying out pronunciations ensued! 

The wala will drive you around in the tuktuk and you might get inspired to make your own tuktuk afterwards. My friends lined up some chairs and played tuktuk, checking their pronunciations with each other - adorable! 

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There are several others books now available - these are just a small selection, as publishers have begun to respond to the need for more diversity in children’s books. 

The family members who were consulted about book choice regarding Diwali and related culture were very animated and excited to see the books, which I love and appreciate! I wanted to make sure that the books I chose were accurate and acceptable - but what I learned was that being consulted was unexpected and very welcome. So, feel free to try this strategy with your village! 

And - have fun! 

Painting Some Pumpkins :)

 

When there’s (finally!) a bite of fall in the air, pumpkins start popping up everywhere!  There are so many cool lessons to enjoy involving pumpkins, such as those linked here: https://makeearlylearningfun.blogspot.com/2020/10/we-are-scientists-pumpkin-exploration.html and https://makeearlylearningfun.blogspot.com/2012/10/pumpkin-fun.html

For some Art interest, there is nothing like simple process painting for the little ones. Before their hand-eye coordination is fully developed, it’s still fun to work with paints to get that squishy feeling - either with hands, brushes or even sponges or other objects. 

Let them cover a paper with paint however you choose and after the page of orange painting dries, you can use thick cardboard stencils (cereal boxes?) cut in large pumpkin shapes to help them make lines and start to cut out their pumpkins! 

Make sure they’re on board with cutting into their artwork - modeling the process first will help them understand. Decide how to display - hanging by some yarn, taped on the wall or window, stuck on the fridge? 

Of course, kitchen sponges cut in the shape of pumpkins would be fun - your kiddos can print a whole field of pumpkins and fill in with drawn vines and leaves. 

Apples, cut in half, give a nice pumpkin shape, when dipped in paint and printed. Try using apples that are not super edible to avoid food waste.

Not looking to get out the paints - or need a quicker craft? Try large orange ink pads and spongy pumpkins to get a similar effect. 

Sometimes, though, you just want to paint on an actual pumpkin! We got the markers out for this one - fun was had by all! 

Choose your own craft, or do them all! 

Have fun! 

Pumpkin Day Feelings!

There are LOTS of great Halloween and Fall Read-Alouds! I’ve written about a few of them before (see https://makeearlylearningfun.blogspot.com/2013/10/great-halloween-reads.html?m=0 ) and there are so many more, but I wanted to show off a little board book that is a current favorite with the preschoolers over here :) 

IT’S PUMPKIN DAY, MOUSE! by Laura Numeroff is at first glance a cute, simple little book with great illustrations by Felicia Bond. 

But, as you turn the pages, you’ll see so many different emotions being shown through the pumpkins’ carved faces. Ask your kiddos how the pumpkin is feeling as you do a picture walk through this book. Talk about when they’ve ever felt this way. How about if a friend looked sad or mad … what could you do?

Big emotions like mad, sad, scared, surprised are represented here …. Even silly! You can use this book to make your own little flip books with some blank pumpkin shapes and have your littles fill in some emotional faces - simple lines that will help them show feelings, like the emoticons they are so used to seeing everywhere.   

 Use some small mirrors to have them try to see their own faces showing these emotions. The more they become familiar with naming how they are feeling, the more insight you might get during a difficult time when they are having trouble regulating their own emotions. 

Sometimes kiddos who are easily overwhelmed by noises and emotions, find Halloween a little scarier than the rest of us. This may help them sort out their feelings, as well. 

Of course, it’s also just FUN to read this book - it’s a simple and quick read with a cute ending and sometimes we just like to read for pleasure, too :) 

Have fun! 

 

Printmaking with Nature

 As the weather warms up here, everyone wants to be outdoors, especially the kiddos. Looking for lessons that can be done outdoors is one way to satisfy that longing for fresh air! 

Printing with the colors of spring is a delicate process but has so many benefits for your littles. Teach them to retrieve the flower parts that have fallen already, or those that are in abundance or wilting, so as not to take away what animals and insects need :) Talk about food chains in the simplest terms and about how important all of the pieces of the chain are. 

It is also a great time to talk about having respect for growing things, and to give the plants a chance to survive and thrive. Children are capable of being very gentle and should understand their impact on gardens and wildflowers - respect for all nature! :) 

Bring paper and rolling or pounding tools (maybe from playdoh or kitchen sets) outside.  Demonstrate how to place the plant material gently between the folds of the paper and press, or pound, the color onto the paper - and then check out what you have made! The color and shape may transfer or become another shade when pressed on the paper. Very wet flowers and leaves won’t work for you, and dried leaves or plants are too brittle to transfer well. 

Trial and error (or success!) is a great practice for children, as they need to learn stamina in experimenting. Watch for students who are willing to share information and partner them with those who may need some encouragement. 

This can be a great team building experience, as you hopefully see empathy and excitement build for all the group to be successful. As children learn to work together, they can experience great self-image and feel good about cooperating. Encouraging these traits through play and creating is THE BEST! 

And, as always, have fun!