Celebrating Ramadan for Kids

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and is a time when adults fast during the day and celebrate the end of the month with a holiday called Eid.

Kids aren’t required to fast but they might be tasked to do a good deed each day of the month, or they may collect money or clothing donations to go to a good cause. They can help set up the iftar (evening meal that breaks the fast), help prepare traditional foods, make crafts and take time to be good to other people. Modest Munchies has a great list of ways to include kids in your Ramadan observance.

Hana’s Happy Home has an adorable printable Ramadan “advent” calendar you can add activities or little treats to for your kids.

NutureStore has a collection of printable Ramadan matching cards that can be used to educate kids of any background about the month. They can also serve as a visual reminder to Muslim kids of what activities are going on such as reading, praying or visiting the mosque. (These are free when you sign up for emails.)

Paper Trail Design has a Ramadan I-spy that can be used in the classroom or at home if kids need something to do while waiting for iftar.

Check out this post from Red Ted Art for lots of ideas of how to craft and decorate for Ramadan and Eid. You can also buy a unit study on Ramadan from Teach Me Islam if you want to dig deeper with STEM, arts and crafts and creative play activities around the month.

If you want to learn more about Ramadan with your kids, the picture book Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr by Sara Khan is a good place to start. It follows a girl talking about the preparations her family does for Ramadan and how they celebrate Eid with their community. It also includes information about the lunar calendar used in Islam, which is why Ramadan happens at different times of year. There’s also a tutorial for making a Ramadan pop up card, information about why Muslims do good deeds during the month, and a recipe for Ramadan cookies (butter sugar cookies).

Ramadan Lantern Crafts

DIY Lantern Favor Boxes for Eid

Eid Coloring Page

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Advent Calendar Ideas for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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