Festivals

Diwali

Activity

Help the children become familiar with the story by reading it regularly and retelling it a few times. Possibly even acting out parts of the story at the end of the day or during a Religious Education lesson will help understanding.

Then, ask the students to design their own Diva lamp using bright colours and sequins. Once they have decided on the design they make it out of clay.

Follow the instructions below.

1.	Roll clay between your hands to make a ball. Ensure there are no air bubbles.
2.		Press your thumb into the centre of the clay and make a dip that is big enough to hold a night light.
3.	Leave to dry for about 24 hours. When it is dry, paint it using one bright colour.
4.		Now glue sequins and ribbon onto the lamp holder to decorate it or add more colours.
5.	Place the night light into the lamp holder.

Once the students have made their lamps, put them all in sand and light the night candles. Place the Diva lamps in the middle of a circle and retell the Diwali story again but with all the lights off so that the children reproduce some of the mystical ambience contained in the story.

At the end of the story ask the students to think about the message of the Diwali festival. Encourage them to think about how they can continue to show positive attributes and get rid of negative ones. Try and encourage them to think of the good aspects as a shining light destroying the negative aspects. Allow them to reflect on this by focusing on the light and sitting in silence for a while.