Ganesh Chathurthi- Celebrating Montessori way

Ganesh Chaturthi comes in the Tamil month of Avani. So thought to celebrate the Ganesh chathurthi (in a meaningful) Montessori way. Planned some hands-on activities related to Vinayagar Chaturthi in a Montessori style. I kept a tray of sensorial, math, language, and practical life skills. Storytelling related to Ganesha.

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Significance of Ganesh Chathurthi:

Ganesha or vinayagar chathurthi is a Hindu festival that signifies the birth of vinayagar. Narrated stories related to Ganesha. Storytelling improves their vocabulary. We read storybooks about Ganesh. Get detailed knowledge of Ganesh chathurthi by clicking here. Some of the storybooks about Lord Ganesha are listed below.

Practical life skill:

Ask the kids to Offer flowers to Lord Ganesha and sing one song of Ganesha.

Sensorial activity:

I made a drawing and asked the kid to make nearly similar Ganesha with DIY play dough. Made Mooshik vahana also.

DIY playdough: 2 cups of all-purpose flour 1/2 cup of salt 1.5 tbsp of cream of tartar 1 tbsp of oil 2 cups of water Food color Preparation: Mix all the ingredients and stir well without lumps. Pour it in the pan and heat around 2 to 3 minutes, till the mixture solidifies. Let it cool. In bearable heat divide the solidified mixture and food colors. Knead well. It will be soft after kneading. Store it in the refrigerator.

Ask the kid to knead the mixture. This gives practical life skills, which is also an exercise for their small hands.

Math activity:

Written the numerals in the card and make ladoos according to the number. This will improve counting skills.

Geometry:

We did geometric shapes. In a card, I wrote and read that set of wordings related to shapes. He should do the activity.

• Make a square shape with playdough and Place the Ganesha inside the square
• Create a circle shape tray to keep flowers and offerings.
• Make a sphere shape Ladoo
• Build a temple 2 parallelogram and rectangle

Made kolam (rangoli) with pattern blocks where I have a template of the design.

Spatial Activity:

Anything like clay or cow dung that can be made into Ganesha. So made a simple structure of Lord Ganesha and did the copy pattern activity with a 4*4 grid. This improves spatial awareness.

Directional activity:

Make some ladoo with clay and ask to keep in the left and right of the tray. Make a game and tell orally left, right, right, left, left and children should place listening by your order. This improves listening skills and directional skills.

Language activity:

Asked him to recognize Initial and final sounds in English regarding vinayagar chathurthi. For example, sounds of various names of Ganesha, flower names, and prasad offerings. This will improve their language skills.

We sing one song of Ganesha in Tamil. Later I taught the meaning of that song. This improves language vocabulary. The song is

பாலும் தெளி தேனும் பாகும் பருப்பும்
இவை நான்கும் கலந்து உனக்கு நான்
தருவேன் கோலம் செய் துங்க கரிமுகத்து
தூமணியே நீ எனக்கு சங்க தமிழ் மூன்றும் தா!

Fine Motor skills:

Had some beads, so I kept thread and beads in a tray. Asked the kid to Lace the beads and made a chain for Lord Ganesha. Made a card with some bead pattern and the chain was made based on that card.

Thus we celebrated Mindfully the Ganesh chathurthi in a Montessori way.