At nursery this week we have been learning about Diwali, the Festival of Light that is celebrated by people who are of Sikh or Hindu faith.

We watched a short film about how children prepare for and celebrate Diwali and we made some fantastic links noticing that lots of the things that they do to celebrate are the same or similar to our celebrations for example giving gifts, wearing special clothes, eating special food, decorating the house and spending time with family and friends.

We have did lots of exciting activities in nursery to help us with our learning.

We made listened to some Bhangra music and practiced a special dance, we made out dough red and gold which are the special celebratory colours for Diwali and we also had a very special visitor…

Siobhan one of our governors come to nursery to talk about Diwali celebrations and to show us some of the beautiful celebration clothes that people wear during the Diwali celebrations. We looked at a Salwar Kameez, a Lenga and also a sari which were made of beautiful silk fabric and decorated with sparkling beads and Siobhan even showed us how to put the sari on.

Our day’s activities and the visit from Siobhan was very important and it helps the children to gain an awareness of other cultures and beliefs and helps them to understand the similarities and differences between themselves and others and understand their place in the wider community.

When learning about other cultures and beliefs we are supporting the children to enjoy their right to find things out about the world and other people (UNCRC Article 13) and we are also able to reinforce about every child right to choose their own religion and belief (UNCRC Article 14)

Our learning was fantastic fun and we extend many thanks to Siobhan for giving up her time, and sharing her special clothes, to support our children’s learning.