Kids and I are studying Ancient India for History and also modern India for geography. In addition I am taking this time to do a mini study on religions of the regions. I found some fun crafts that they could do for our studies. We have been reading this book, as well as a few others
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| It includes stories of the Hindu gods and I found it in the library |
After reading about some of the traditions for this festival we decided to make a Dipa bowl which is an clay oil lamp bowl (today, the children of India put tea lights in the bowls). I had run out of clay so we tried using a Foam craft that I found at a local hobby store. It is the first time we have used this material.
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| The kids thought this stuff was funny feeling and it was harder to work with then clay. |
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| We tried making pinch pots but the material wouldn't keep its shape so I found some small bowls and we molded the foam onto the bowls and let it dry overnight. But first the kids decorated the bowls. In India the children would paint or put fake jewels in the clay to make it pretty. |
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| The finish work:) |
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| The Kids and I weren't thrilled with this product so I will need to find some more clay:) for any future projects |
Next the children made bracelets which is custom during the Raksha Bandhan celebration. Raksha Bandhan means "tying for protection" in Hindi. The bracelets are called rakhi and is considered lucky charms that will protect the wearers from harm. In India the children to do this for each other to signifying support and love of each other. I found this great tutorial on the
Pioneer women blog for making bracelets. I had Princess do the more advanced style of bracelets and Little Man doing the easier version.
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| It didn't take long for Princess to master the technique |
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the bracelet style for Princess--I think if we had used cord it would have looked better but I only had yarn on hand for this activity.
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Little man really struggled with this...I need to do more fine motor tasks with him I think
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Lastly as a fun activity I bought some Henna dye to have the kids decorate their hands.
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| I am not the best henna decorator but Princess loved the pattern I created. Little Man being sensitive to things chose not to participate in this activity. |
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| After 3 hours we washed off the henna paste and had a very nice coloring. It has been nearly 3 weeks and the pattern is just starting to wear off. |
We have finished up studying the Hindu religion and are now moving on to learn about Buddhism as well as learning about other aspects of India both past and present.
