Bonfire Night and Diwali
Communication and Language
Talk about what we can hear and see when fireworks are let off; the colours, sounds, smells. Discuss what Diwali means to the people that celebrate it, what religion it comes from. Provide picture cards with Diwali related pictures to provoke conversations.
Physical
Can you move like a firework? Jump in the air and make the noises of fireworks. Talk about suitable clothes to wear when outside viewing fireworks at this time of year eg warm coat, hat and gloves. Provide clay to mould and make into Diya lamps to help develop fine motor skills.
Personal, Social and Emotional
Create a firework experience, turn the lights off and watch a video of a firework display all together. Display sparklers to the children outside with an adult only holding the sparkler, make sure children are far away. Talk about what they can see and the safety aspect. Share a hot chocolate together afterwards. Talk about safety around fireworks and sparklers.
Maths
Make fireworks using shapes. Repeat patterns using different pictures of fireworks. Provide numbered Diya lamps around the setting to encourage familiarity with numbers for children to look and to create a number hunt.
Literacy
Mark making activities: imitating fireworks on black paper using chalk. Read a story about Diwali – “Dipal’s Diwali
Understanding the world
Discuss whether the children have watched a firework display before. Talk about what was there, who they saw, what they needed to wear. Discuss how Hindu people celebrate Diwali at home; decorating the house, preparing food – encourage the children to relate it to their own experiences.
Expressive art and design
Use bricks or other materials to ‘build’ a bonfire. Use instruments to make firework like sounds. Fill a tuff tray with coloured rice and draw rangoli patterns on the tray for the children to fill with the rice.
Focused Vocabulary
Firework, bang, crash, glitter, sparkle, rocket, bonfire, safety, gloves, lights, Diya lamp, rangoli, Hindu,