Easy Diwali Crafts for Kids

There are lots of great crafts associated withDiwali the festival of lights, and making something related to a holiday or celebration that you don’t celebrate yourself is a great entry point (of course these are great for kids and families who do celebrate Diwali as well).

One of the most common crafts associated with Diwali is the diya, a small oil lamp. My daughter’s class once harvested clay from their playground and made little bowls filled with battery powered candles for this purpose.

Rangoli, which are geometric designs similar to mandalas, are also a popular feature of Diwali celebrations, and you can find lots of options to print out and color.

The Educator’s Spin on it has collected a bunch of different options for making diya, rangoli and other Diwali crafts, as well as some books you can read while you make your crafts to learn more about the celebration. Head to her blog for all the details.

[Photo: The Educator’s Spin on it.]

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

Have you read?

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