Dusshera is a festival of the triumph of good over bad. I still remember the time when we used to go to see Ravan Dehan with our parents. The whole atmosphere used to be festive and fun. Watching 10 days of ramleela with our parents and the excitement of watching Ravan effigies being made by people all around the city was too much fun.
I always tell all these stories about my childhood to my kids and make sure to include them in all the festivities going around. I believe festivals and celebrations related to them are the best way to teach them about our culture.
Read about 5 ways to teach kids about festivals.
During Dusshera holidays, I run a holiday camp for kids and we include mostly fun crafts, non-heat cooking, dance, drama related to the festival. Today I am sharing a list of some crafts which we made in the camp. These are a creative way to keep kids busy and occupied too.
- Paint the pots– You can get clay pots or diyas of any shape and kids can paint and decorate them. We used different household and craft materials to decorate the pots and kids enjoyed decorating their own pots.
- Dandiya Sticks– Normally the dandiya sticks are made up of wood or metal. You can make soft dandiya sticks which small kids can easily use.To make dandiya sticks, use old newspapers and some broomsticks. Roll thick broomsticks inside the newspaper and give it a shape of a dandiya stick. Make sure to properly stick newspaper with glue and let it dry for some time. Later on, kids can decorate this with coloured and shiny papers or other decorative stuff.
- Rangoli- Its festive season and a perfect time to teach kids about making rangolis. You can take them out at an open place and teach them some easy designs. We used flower petals to decorate them. Kids loved this activity.
- Decorative Diya stands- This is one more craft which uses recycled and unused materials. We used old CD’s and kids decorated the opposite shiny side of a CD. They can then stick a T-light in the center. You can see how pretty it looks.
- Diya painting– This is my daughter’s favourite activity which we do around this time. The diyas which they paint every year is used at Diwali time at our house. Make sure to make them sit at a place where they can’t make a mess and are also free to use their creativity.
The kids are going to be very excited when you use the crafts made by them this festive season.These are some of the creative ways to keep your kids busy this festive season. Along with all this, you can also do some non-heat cooking with kids. I will be sharing some non-heat cooking ideas soon with kids.
Do let me know if you have any creative ideas too. Happy Navratri and festival time. 🙂
September 23, 2017 at 11:58 am
The soft dandiya sticks are my favorites! Great way to teach kids and keep them occupied this festive season, Deepa!
September 23, 2017 at 10:44 pm
Thanks Mayuri
September 23, 2017 at 7:08 pm
Wow those are some great activities and easy to do as well.. Thanks for sharing
September 23, 2017 at 11:37 pm
Can’t wait to try all of these with my little one as he grows older. I liked the dandiya idea it’s very unique ?
September 24, 2017 at 12:03 am
Great diy ideas for kids! Thanks for sharing
September 24, 2017 at 6:32 am
These are some amazing ideas to keep ToT busy & make them learn at the same time.
September 24, 2017 at 7:46 am
These are so creative ? Also a good activity to spend quality time with the kids.
September 24, 2017 at 8:21 am
That’s superb, these are complete fun activities and which kid doesn’t like glitters and colors. Loved these…
September 24, 2017 at 10:36 am
Great ideas.I was already about to make paper saniya but the broom inserts in a good addition!
September 24, 2017 at 10:35 pm
Very creative ideas. I’m sure kids will enjoy these and stay engaged for long.
September 24, 2017 at 11:26 pm
Wow .. Those are some fab ideas .. Will definitely save it for future !!
September 27, 2017 at 7:06 am
I have to admit I’m not very creative, but I’m going to try painting diya and matka with my daughter.
September 29, 2017 at 12:14 am
It’s really timely post. Very useful for me. My daughter wants to do something in these dusshera break. These activities are best to keep her bzee and also she got to learn something
September 30, 2017 at 12:26 am
Thanks Minakshi
October 1, 2017 at 7:10 pm
Perfect post with perfect timings…I am going to have these when I do a story session for kids next time…
October 2, 2017 at 10:50 am
Thanks Anubhuti.
October 10, 2017 at 2:14 am
some great ideas here. I may even borrow these for Diwali activities.
October 10, 2017 at 11:22 am
Thanks