Year 2 - Indian dancing and diya’s

And so it started, a large box marked Top Secret was delivered to our classroom! Fortunately the children in Year 2 are naturally curious and interested in their surroundings and they were quick to spot the new addition. What was in the box? Who was it for? And why had it been delivered? All was finally revealed ( after much peering and guessing!) that the box contained the resources for the Indian dance and Diya workshop.

As our topic this term is to discover what India is like, we thought the children needed some first hand experience of Indian culture. Our first lesson was to collate what they already knew and to decide on areas they would like to explore and learn about. Questions ranged from what food is grown in India, is it hot, sparsely populated or very crowded, what language is spoken and what religion is practised.

One of the highlights of this week has been the Indian dancing and Diya lamp painting workshop. The children discussed the colours of the metallic paints they had chosen and each painted a Diya lamp. They used their fingers to decorate their lamp and added gemstones. You could have heard a pin drop while they concentrated on their design. The children then strived to follow instructions and learn Indian dance moves. We were extremely impressed with their determination and perseverance and I think they were equally surprised that everyone managed to remain in line and coordinate their movements. We have had fun watching the video and critiquing the dancing. It was definitely worth a 10! Watch out Strictly Come Dancing…we have the future dancers!