We have not celebrated this holiday until this year when one of the family's offered to bring some food for Diwali. Here is what we did to honor this holiday.
Circle time was by candle light. We turned down the lights and the candle seemed to harmonize the group. They were very focused. We started by talking about the lights of Diwali, and while we didn't have a row of lights (we had no tealights), we could still use our candle to symbolize the return of loved ones. We went around the circle and asked each child to share about who they would like to welcome into our circle and into their hearts with the light. We heard a lot about families and pets. When it was Em's turn, she opted out of sharing. The next one around the circle was Za, and she said she would like to welcome Em to circle, which made a lot of sense on some level, considering Em was opting out of a turn to do yoga poses off to the side. I asked Em if she would like to come back to circle and share, and she said "Yes" (from downward dog). She said she wanted to welcome her mom and dad. I said, "Zadie, it worked...she came back to circle!" It's the power of love.
The children decorated the porch, but the traditional rangoli gave way to a more age appropriate design.
But it sure was nice that everyone wanted to participate!
We made garland-like streamers to decorate the room. There was way more participation from everyone than I expected in this project, considering there was a basket full of new hot wheels in the room.
Our Diwali-themed lunch...Puris to go with our soup. The kids loved the Puri's...thank you, Sa!
Happy Diwali, everyone!
Myth has it that on the second day of Diwali, we find the goddess of wealth ,Laksmi, in a very benevelent mood (thank go(o)d(n)ess). I've always said that it takes an upward cat to bring back a downward dog. That's a sweet story. Hey, We also just got a new basket of hot wheels and plan to paint them with a home depot glow in the dark concoction which should exude 'a row of lamps' and a streaks of lights.
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