Diwali Activities for Kids with Free Printables

 Diwali provides a fabulous opportunity to teach children about Hinduism and the country of India. Activities for kids about the "festival of lights" are sure to attract little hands in the best ways.

We are very excited to kick off our "Holidays Around the World" series with these Diwali Activities for Kids with a Free Printable. 

Sunshine has seen these activities on the shelves this weekend and can't wait to dig in on Monday. She has an extended home pass this weekend, so she will do learning with us on Monday.

We hope your children enjoy them as much as she is!

The majority of the activities in this post come from our Montessori-inspired Diwali Printable Pack. If you don't have this resource yet, we highly recommend it!

This printable pack was put together after much research about the holiday and has been approved by friends who practice Hinduism and celebrate Diwali.

Now, to see how we're using the beautiful resources in this printable pack and more!

Diwali Activities for Kids with FREE Printable

 Diwali Picture and Description Cards Match Up

Sunshine will learn a ton of new vocabulary through this activity. I will introduce it as a memory game as she prefers this approach over nomenclature cards or a match up activity. 

Since Sunshine is unable to read yet, I will read aloud the description cards. Her job is to see if the vocabulary words on the bottom match.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Diwali Printable Pack.

The Story of Diwali Book Activity

Sunshine enjoys making books, especially if the experience provides opportunities to write, glue, and use as stapler. 

Sunshine will use the cards provided to share the story of Diwali. 

Inside her book she will write the name of each god or goddess, etc. and then glue the corresponding illustration to the page.

When the book is finished, she will staple it together.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Diwali Printable Pack.

Diwali Festival of Lights Addition

It has been reported that Sunshine knows her math facts without counters. In this activity she will demonstrate that skill, only using glass beads for markers.

If she is struggling, she will then use the glass beads as counters, representing lights.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Diwali Printable Pack.

Diwali Festival of Lights Skip Counting by 5s

Sunshine's residential teacher is reporting that Sunshine can skip count by 5s. This isn't a new skill, but one she had before she went to residential. However, it's been a long time since we've practiced it.

It's on thing to count to five with only words, but yet another to sequence cards to reflect skip counting by 5s. 

In this activity Sunshine will put the cards provided in order, skip counting by 5s. If she struggles, I've provided five diya lamps to help her count the way to the next number.

I placed candles in the lamps, as the wicks and oil are just a little too complicated and messy for the classroom.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Diwali Printable Pack.

Painting India

It's been a while since we did any painting in the classroom. I thought it might be fun to see where Sunshine's skill level is at.

Sunshine will use the yellow paint provided to paint the country of India. I have chosen the color yellow because it corresponds with the Montessori map of Asia puzzle.

The challenge comes when she selects which brush to use for each section of the map.

It's my hope that she will choose the smallest one for tiny spaces, etc.

I have provided a cup of water and washcloth for Sunshine to rinse and dry brushes after use.

Source: The map for this activity was a free printable from Super Coloring.

Days of Diwali Sort & Sequence Basket

While completing this activity, Sunshine will sort and sequence picture and description cards. Once she has done that, she is to match the object to the picture and description.

Source: The printable for this activity is from our Montessori-inspired Diwali Printable Pack.

Diwali Rangoli Coloring Activity

Sunshine absolutely loves to color. It's one of her coping strategies. I chose to put this on the shelf in case she needed an easy activity to self-regulate, before moving on to something more challenging. 

She picked out the rangoli she wanted to color. I've provided erasable colored pencils along with a pencil sharpener so she can work as independently as possible.

Source: The map for this activity was a free printable from Super Coloring.

Diwali Rangoli Sand Art Project

Sunshine loves art projects so I thought it might be fun if she actually designs her own rangoli for Diwali.

I have included multiple bottles of colored sand for her to use, on the tray provided, to create her own rangoli.

There is also a small funnel provided to help her with the design process.

I'm super excited to see where this project goes. I really hope she has fun with it!

Lighting a Diya Candle

Sunshine will not be doing this last activity, but I wanted to include it. When my older kids learned about Diwali, they were responsible and mature enough to learn how to light the candles.

When supervised by an adult, learning how to safety light a candle is a practical life skill that all children can enjoy when they're ready.

I hope you've enjoyed our Diwali Activities for kids. We have one more surprise!

The FREE Montessori-inspired Diwali Rangoli Matching Activity is such a beautiful addition to any study of Diwali.

All images are true-to-life, showing the vibrant colors and intricate designs.

The cads can be used in simple matching work or they can be used in a memory game.

The FREE Montessori-inspired Diwali Rangoli Matching Activity is a free printable. Be sure to grab your copy by clicking the link at the bottom of this post!

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Montessori-inspired Diwali Rangoli Matching Activity

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