Fun and Creative Dussehra Activities for Preschool
Introduction to Dussehra for Preschool Kids
One of the major Hindu festivals celebrated in India, Dussehra commemorates the triumph of Lord Rama, who represents all the goodness there is, over the demon king Ravana, who represents all the evil there is. This prominent festival, also known as Vijayadashami, holds numerous moral values and lessons for preschool kids. Dussehra thus provides you with a perfect opportunity to promote children’s strength of character and all-round development through fun activities. Let’s discuss some of those fun Dussehra activities in this blog.
Fun and Engaging Dussehra Activities for Preschool Kids
The significance of moral values and lessons, such as truth, courage, and standing out against unfairness and injustice, cannot be undermined while striving for the holistic development of preschool kids. In this regard, here is a compilation for you of the best Dussehra activities for preschool kids.
Creative Crafts Activities for Dussehra
1. Making Craft Stick Puppets of Rama, Sita, and Ravana
One of the best educational activities for preschool kids during Dussehra is making craft stick puppets of Lord Rama, his wife Sita, and Ravana from colourful craft sticks, fabric, and markers. This hands-on Dussehra activity will help you encourage the creativity of children, indulge them in designing beautiful costumes for their puppets, and impart moral values through puppet shows and storytelling sessions.
2. Designing Dussehra Greeting Cards
Organising a creative craft session for preschoolers in which they design beautiful Dussehra greeting cards is a good way to enhance their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and most importantly, cultural awareness and understanding. Provide every child with a blank card and some art supplies and guide them in using their imagination to personalise those greeting cards with various festival-related drawings and messages.
(Also Read, Best Six Dussehra Celebration Ideas for Preschool )
Fun Games and Activities for the Dussehra Celebration
1. Puppet Show for the Kids
To introduce the Ramayana and its timeless principles of good always emerging victorious over evil, a puppet show for preschoolers is a wonderful idea. However, you just need to ensure that the epic is presented to kids in an age-appropriate manner, making its principles easier to grasp through puppets representing the main characters clearly (like Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Ravana, and Hanuman). A successful puppet show will help you inculcate moral values and lessons in preschool kids in a fun, relatable, and impactful way.
2. Ramayana Storytelling Sessions
During Dussehra, Ramayana storytelling sessions can help you make a long-lasting impact on children if you break the storytelling sessions into short and engaging parts, deploy dramatic expressions and props to bring every character of the epic to life and incorporate rhymes, songs, and engaging questions to evoke children’s interest in what happens next. These Ramayana storytelling sessions will also help you foster preschoolers’ personal development, particularly when it comes to their strength of character and mind.
3. Ravana Dahan
What’s better than making preschool kids experience the symbolic triumph of good over evil first-hand? One of the perfect ways to accomplish this activity is by creating the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkaran, and Meghnada through recycled paper and cardboard and conducting the “mock” burning of those non-flammable effigies by simply “popping” the balloons attached to them or safely toppling them over. This meticulous activity will not only make the kids more enthusiastic but also offer them an engaging experience related to Indian culture.
4. Ethnic Dressing
Ethnic dressing is also a fun method to make preschool kids enjoy all the festivities and learning that mark the auspicious occasion of Dussehra. You should ensure that every child understands the costume and the attire they wear, whether relating to Rama, Sita, or any other character from the Ramayana. Here is now the fun part—You can also host a small mini-show for children, where they walk on the stage and speak a few lines about the characters they dress up as.
(Also Read, Interesting Preschool Navratri Celebration Ideas )
Theatrical Plays and Skits for Dussehra Celebration
1. Organising a Dussehra Play
The festival of Dussehra is a perfect occasion to organise a themed play for preschool kids. For this purpose, you could select and simplify some crucial scenes from the Ramayana, mould them to suit children’s interest and understanding, and even guide them to design their costumes from paper and different kinds of fabric. Such a Dussehra-themed play will help you stimulate their self-confidence and also eliminate any stage fear they might have, all while enriching their awareness of their traditions.
2. Role-Playing Famous Scenes from the Ramayana
If a Dussehra-themed play is not possible, for one reason or the other, you can try indulging preschoolers in role-playing some famous scenes from the Ramayana, such as Lord Rama breaking the bow and Ravana abducting Sita. All of this is sure to turn out to be an engaging preschool activity for children, especially if props such as crowns and paper swords are used. Also, you should make children express different kinds of emotions such as courage and kindness to make the activity more impactful.
(Also Read, Best Diwali Art & Crafts for Preschool Kids )
Conclusion
Dussehra is one of the most prominent festivals celebrated in India, and it is suffused with all the moral values and teachings that every educator and every parent wishes to instil in children. At Bachpan Play School, we celebrate such festivals with immense joy, vigour, and enthusiasm, paying due consideration to the religious sentiments of parents, students, and communities, and always enriching children’s understanding and acceptance of people from different backgrounds to create an inclusive society.