The children in School-age 2 celebrated Diwali, also known as the festival of lights. First, we started by having a group discussion about Diwali by asking the children if they have any knowledge about this festival. Then, Nivaan said, “I know about Diwali because my family celebrates Diwali.” Then, Thomas asked Nivaan, “Can you tell us about Diwali celebration?” Nivaan then explained, “Diwali is celebrated by people in India and my family is from India.” Then Olivia commented, “Well my family is from India and we don’t celebrate Diwali.” Nivaan then added, “Well my family is from North India and your family is from South India.” Then, we clarified that Diwali is celebrated by Hindus all around the world. The children started by making the diyas which is also called little oil lamps. They mixed and moulded Plaster of Paris into coffee jar lids and then inserted a cup for the indentation to put the representation of the wick and oil. As they were making the diyas Makenna commented, “The Plaster of Paris mixture feels smooth and nice.” But then beside her was Caia who said, “Mine is very lumpy and hard I can’t stir it.” Then Thomas reminded her by saying, “Oh you need to add some more water.” So, Caia added more water to her mixture and successfully made her diya. As they children were making their diyas Mya’s dad walked in and asked, “What are you making?” Then Mya answered, “We are making diyas to celebrate Diwali.” Mya then reminded her dad, “We will get to see the fireworks and all the dogs in the neighbourhood will be barking.” A few days later the diyas were dried and were ready to be painted and decorated. The children painted the diyas with gold acrylic paint and then hot glued some gems and added a paper flame as a representation of the wick on the real diyas.
Diwali day came and we were ready for our celebration. First, we used some battery- operated candles and put them in the diyas. Then, we turned the lights off and watched the diyas glowed. We then had a discussion about Diwali celebration when Sriya said, “I know the story about Diwali.” So, she volunteered to tell the children all about Diwali. She said, “Diwali is a celebration about good over evil and also the festival of lights.” She continued by talking about the legend of Diwali. We then listened to a video about the story of Diwali. The children then listened to some Diwali music and eat some treats called ‘Mithai” While they children were enjoying their treats Nivaan commented, “I know what mithai is, it is Indian treats. My family eat mithai sometimes.” The treats were enjoyed and then the children took their diyas home and some of them said they will put a candle in their diyas.This activity exposed the children to different festivals that are celebrated by friends in their group as well as members of their community. It also helped to built stronger relationships among the children in the group by being aware of each other cultural and celebrations.
