I love a good reason to come up with another version of Little Mouse, and Diwali is as good a reason as any!
This Diwali set has lots of songs and games that go along with it, which you can read about here. I even briefly mentioned this game in one of those posts, but now I've got a video for it, so wanted to share it again :)
Click the image below to see this simple game in action. It's a great way to introduce Diwali concepts and vocabulary to even your littlest story time friends!
You can find that post right here. But I just this minute added a video of this song! I love making up new words to familiar tunes, because it's simple for adults and kids to learn them and join in :)
Here are the lyrics:
Diwali is Here
to the tune of Farmer in the Dell
As you sing about each felt piece, place it on the board.
I thought it would be fun to create some holiday sets for holidays that I don't personally celebrate. (I was right--it WAS fun, and wow, I learned a lot while doing research for these sets.) I'm so happy to be able to share these, as I think it's so important to expose kids to various cultures, and to share in celebrations with the kids who DO celebrate holidays outside of my own experience :)
I focus holiday sets on the parts of holidays that kids understand, so the concepts are about simple traditions vs. religious themes.
I also want them to be usable both as storytime sets-- where the adult is using the set pieces as props to support a rhyme, song or story--and as play sets for the kids--where the kids are re-enacting traditions, songs, and stories that they've learned about.
So up first is Diwali. I made up some super simple songs to go with the set--Diwali vocabulary and concepts are sprinkled within, and the tunes are familiar so everyone will have an easy time joining in.
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