How can we celebrate Rakshabandhan together ?
Schools in India organize various interesting activities for children as a part of Indian Festivals and National Festivals celebrations in play schools as well as in high schools.
Even Parents actively want to teach their children about the Indian Culture through events ,which they conduct at home on various festivals or the celebrations which is arranged within the society.
With Rakshabandhan coming up this week, we have drawn up a list of interesting, fun activities that will help teachers as well as parents teach their children about the significance of a festival and also answer the barrage of their ‘whys’, ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ in the best manner possible.
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| Rakhis : thread which increases bonding between sibblings |
Right from mythological storytelling to enacting the festival and tying Rakhis to trees to crafting handmade chocolates, here are 11 exciting ideas for your children to reonnect with the festival of sibling love.
To know more about Raksha Bandhan : History and Significance, click here.
Given below is a list of Activities that children can perform and enjoy together on Raksha Bandhan. These activities can be conducted in School Premises as well as in the Society where we live.
1) Class / Society Decoration for Raksha Bandhan
You can have the kids get busy with decorating their classroom/ Society for Raksha Bandhan Celebrations.
Provide them a few decorative items and help them use their innovative approach to completely transform their classroom/society into an eventful place for Raksha Bandhan celebrations.
Children will not only learn basics of decorations but will also develop group skills, interaction skills and have better confidence levels.
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| Society Board Decoration Ideas |
2) School Board Decoration for Raksha Bandhan
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| School Board Decoration ideas |
Another interesting Raksha Bandhan activity for kindergarten or Primary kids is board decoration.
They can use their art and craft skills to fill the board creatively around Raksha Bandhan theme.
It is again going to be a group task which will keep the little artists engaged in using their creative skills come up with fantastic, festive centric board decorations.
3) School / Society Notice Board Decoration
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| Notice Board Decoration Ideas |
Yet another constructive way to use the imagination and innovation of little children is by giving them the task to decorate the school notice board for Raksha Bandhan.
Every school as well as may societies designs and decorates the notice board specific to the upcoming events.
These kinds of Raksha Bandhan activities are truly rewarding as they not only get the job done but also help kids explore their creative side and learn new ideas to do that.
4) " Decorate a Rakhi Thali " Competition in School/Society
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| Rakshabandhan Thali Decoration Ideas |
Sisters, this one is for you! We can hold a mini-competition in our building or society or in Schools, asking girls to decorate a puja thali for their brothers. The most beautiful or innovative creations take away the prize.
You can also play memory games around the composition of a puja thali: fresh flowers, kum kum, diya, haldi, rice, roli, dry fruits, sweets etc.
ildren learn about the Indian culture and various festivals celebrated accross the country . They also learn the way how that festival is celebrated along with their historical significance .
Because it is a competition, each and every kid works hard in order to make the best thali which can win him a prize.
5) Bond with Trees and Nature
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| Planting Trees for Greener Planet |
Rakshbandhan means protection and bonding. With this symbolic significance, why should the celebration be only about brother-sister love? Let’s extend it further and protect everything that matters to us.
Teachers and Parents can make it a meaningful Raksha Bandhan Celebration for children by establishing a bond of love between them and the nature.
Teach them the importance of trees and nature in our lives and establish a similarity between the brother and the sister bond and that between man and nature to make them responsible humans who take care of their environment and save Mother Nature by being more sensitive and sensible towards it.
Today, several individuals and
organizations have taken up a mission to save trees and environment and
tie rakhis to trees every year. Your child can follow suit too and
pledge to protect trees.
This can be a most intresting way to explain and teach kids about the importance of establishing greenery around us.
6) Do a Charitable Act
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| Be Kind and helpful: Give gifts to needy |
Sharing is Caring.
Take children to an orphanage or old age home and make them distribute essential goodies as a part of Raksha Bandhan activity.
Make them understand the importance of sharing and giving so that they can grow up into sensible and caring individuals.
Teach them the importance of doing charity and bringing smiles of the faces of those who are less privileged.
If that is not possible, then another alternative is to ask your child
to contribute his or her old clothes, shoes and toys from the closet to these under priviledged children via some NGOs.
7) " Story Telling " Competition
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| Why do we celebrate Rakshabandhan? |
Raksha Bandhan Celebration can also include story telling to kids to introduce them with the mythological background of Raksha Bandhan Celebration in India.
Festivals are the best times to rekindle old traditions and values among children.
Story telling from history and mythology !! Who doesn’t love a good story? Our Indian mythology and history are replete with captivating tales and legends on the origin of the Rakhi festival, which children would surely love to hear.
Lord Krishna – Draupadi, Yama and Yamuna, Emperor Humayun and Rani Karnavati, King Bali and Goddess Lakshmi, Roxana and King Porus - these are a few stories where Rakshabandhan plays a significant role.
After you have explained to your children how this festival came into existence, you can further elevate their interest by reading books on brother – sister bonding
This activity will enhance the reading skills of children as well as improve their concentration power at the same time.
8) " Best Greeting Card / Rakhi Making DIY " Competition
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| Rakhi Making Competition |
How about convincing your little ones to add a personal and eco-friendly touch to rakhi celebrations by making a rakhi or greeting card on their own?
All they need to is to recycle old stuff like last year’s rakhis, chart papers, colours, foam, beads, threads, feathers, paper cut outs from magazines etc and put their imagination to use.
You can even order Rakhis Kit online or the market ,which gives various different options to make both traditional and contemporary rakhis.
You can also have them make greeting cards for their brothers and sisters with simple DIY techniques.
9) Use an Activity Book
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| Activity Book Sample |
These days, you will find many activity books that not only explain the significance of festivals in an easy and intresting language, but also run the same theme around fun exercises like joining the dots, cross word puzzle, colouring, art & craft, matching etc to keep the little ones creatively engaged
10) Organize and Play Games
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| PLay Games |
Bring siblings together to play these fun games and take the celebration up many notches on the enjoyment meter.
- Write down the best qualities of each other.
- Make a picture collage of their best moments.
- Draw a funny picture of each other.
- Write a poem or a story for each other.
- Tell favourites (movies, books etc) of each other.
- Pen down the most famous siblings from mythology/history/movies/cartoons.
- Make a scrapbook or journal for keepsake.
11) Play and Watch Animation Videos together
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| Videos and Plays related to Rakshabandhan |
For pre-schoolers or your child’s friends who don’t know much about Rakshabandhan, play and watch animated video which will be quite useful in giving a wonderful background to the festival.
12) Enact the festival or Organise Puppet Show
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| Puppet show |
Since this festival falls on the full moon day of Shravana month of Hindu calendar, it is celebrated in various other forms across the country. For example, the festival is celebrated as Kajari Purnima by farmers in Central India, Avani Avittam by Brahmins in South India, Jhulan Purnima in West Bengal and so on.
You could dress up your kids in regional attires and organize a role play session, where they can speak about the representing state, its specialities and culture. This would be a wonderful way to introduce your child to different states and their traditions.
You can also organise a puppet show based on the different Festivals Theme, and traditions followed around the country.
13) Conduct Cooking Competitions for Junior Master Chefs
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| Cooking talent |
Give the junior master chefs at your home / in school an opportunity to showcase their culinary skills. You can involve them in binding coconut laddoos or garnishing a papri chat plate. Or if your kids want to gift handmade chocolates to their siblings, then you can form a group of minimum 5-6 children and organize a Rakshabandhan special chocolate making workshop.
These were the few methods by which Parents and Teachers can keep kids engaged in activities which help them to learn more about out amazing Indian Culture in an easy and intresting manner.
if you have any other ideas /activities apart from these mentioned here for Raksha Bandhan Celebrations, mention it in the comment section.
Till the, have a wonderful time with kids !! Keep Learning and Keep Enjoying !!