Diwali Diya Lamps Art Project
Diwali is a Hindu holiday that changes dates based on the moon, so be sure to check which days it falls on this year. It falls somewhere in either October or November and lasts five days.
Introducing my students to various holidays around the world is important to me, whether or not I actually have any students who celebrate each one. I don’t go into the religious aspect of any holiday, but I acknowledge that for the people who celebrate, there can be a religious component and that we should be respectful of it. I tell my students that just because they may not celebrate certain holidays does not mean that we can’t learn about other cultures.
Diya (dee-uh) lamps are used in ceremony, prayer and other rituals. Light is key in Diwali so the bright glow of the flame is an important symbol.
There are tons of fiction and non-fiction books about Diwali. Here are a few picture book options. I’m not sure about all, but some of these are also available in French.
Time required: 45-60 minutes split into two art blocks. These can be on same day, as long as there is plenty of dry time. Alternatively, split them up over multiple days.
First block is very short, only ~10 minutes needed. We need to do one quick and simple painting task.
Second block will be longer ~ 30-40+ minutes.
Note: If you use glitter glue, this project will require additional dry time, especially if it’s thick, so plan accordingly if you need to get it up on display at a certain time.
Materials:
Paper plates (half per student)
Construction paper (red, orange, yellow)
Paint (tempera is fine)
Pastels or markers
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Paint brush
Optional
Glitter glue
Glitter
Sequins
Sticky gems (I recommend these more than sequins!)
*These particular paper plates were found at Dollar Tree. They’re a bit slimmer and easy to cut through. If you can’t find any of this type, any paper plate will work.
Teacher prep:
Cut paper plates in half
Cut up your construction paper so that each student has one piece. Since the yellow is the smallest part of the flame, you could actually make that even smaller of a piece than I did in the photo.
Steps:
Block 1 (~10 minutes)
Choose one colour and paint the plate. Try to use as little water as possible, as the plate isn’t that thick and it will drip on the sides. Leave to dry completely.
Block 2 (~30-40+ minutes)
*The length of time needed will depend on how much detail your students are adding
Make a flame using one piece each of red, orange and yellow construction paper. Red is largest, orange is in the middle and yellow is smallest. Cut each flame out and arrange from smallest to largest. Glue them together.
Glue your flame onto the paper plate.
Using markers or pastels, add details to your diya with squiggles, lines, zigzags etc. Get creative!
If you opt to have some special elements like glitter, glitter glue, sequins or gems, maybe choose to do this part in small groups to save your sanity!
I often pipe the glitter glue for them. They tell me where they want it and then I pipe it. The bottles can be tricky and they don’t want their work ruined with an accidental glitter glue squeeze!
