Festivals are a time to live, love, celebrate and enjoy with family and friends. It is a time of endless joy and excitement. In India, we have many different festivals and each state has its own way of celebrating these festivals.
6 Steps to make the most of our festivals
1. Explain: Tell your child the story behind these festivals and encourage them to read about it if possible. Kids actually learn better if they are narrated things in the form of a story.
Giving is an important part of many celebrations. By giving gifts to your loved ones and people in need, you can make them feel special.
Remember: Keep clicking pictures that can be used as a reference in festivals or events to come
2. Get creative: Make things related to a festival together as a family like if it’s Diwali, ask them to paint and decorate Diya’s, make rangoli, help in making other decorations. If it’s Christmas, set up a Christmas tree together, help in wrapping gifts for family and friends.
3. Making cards – Involve your child in making cards, wishes and to write to you what they want this special festival
4. Cooking – It is a good idea to get them involved while cooking for the festivals. They can help you out with sweets, cakes, cookies or any other special dishes which you make for a particular festival.
5. Encourage– Let them participate in various cultural activities going around as there is no better way to learn than this.
6. Shopping– Take them festival shopping with you and let them get in the spirit of the festival. Let them help you in buying new dresses, sweets, decorative items and anything related to the festival.
Remember
Use every opportunity to teach your child - relations, and why making friends is important. Values like helping each other and teamwork.
We did some of the following this festival time, you try it too:
Learned why we celebrate Christmas
Went to the store nearby to buy decoration items
Decorated our Christmas tree
Wrote a letter to Santa for gifts
Learned how to order things from amazon
Bought chocolates for mumma and friends
Make use of every opportunity to teach things like -
How many types of decorative items are used?
Same and different
Top, middle & bottom while decorating the Christmas tree
Use of scissors
Concepts (I used from KG Syllabus)
Even Distribution
Addition, Subtraction
Simple word problems
Outings
Went to the mall for celebration
Did some Christmas and New year shopping
Cardmaking and Calendar
Expressing – what the child wishes to have and made a card.
Counted days in the calendar for the gift
Learned to play 4 lines of Jingle bells on piano – from youtube