Dussehra is one of the most significant days in India. It is considered to be auspicious because it signifies good triumphing over evil and has been celebrated to honor the day Lord Ram slayed the demon king Ravana.

Because of the importance of this day, it’s important for the kids to celebrate this festival with age-appropriate activities to help them understand more about the festival and enjoy it to the fullest. 

Here are some of the fun Dussehra related activities that can help kids celebrate Dussehra at preschool or kindergarten: 

1- Shoot the Ravana 

One of the highlights of Dussehra is watching people shoot life-size versions of  Ravana while the crowd cheers on.

Doing this signifies destroying all your bad qualities and leaving them behind. 

Creating a life-size version of Ravana is not necessary but kids can make a  small cut-out version from paper with all his 10 heads and shoot it one by one with an arrow. 

2- Puppet show 

Kids love a good puppet show and with the intriguing story of Ramayana, it’s easier to explain the plot by using hand puppets. 

You can also use other props and music to make it more interesting for them.

3- Paint and Assemble 

You can ask each kid to draw or paint one face of Ravana in any way they want and at the end, you can stick it all together and give the finishing details together. 

This will help them learn about teamwork and they will feel excited to see their work next to their classmates. 

4- Gift packing 

Dussehra is also the time of the year where people exchange gifts with each other. Guests or relatives visit your house with different types of sweets or  depart with a small gift. 

If you are organizing a small class party for the preschoolers on Dussehra then you can teach the kids to help you gift pack before the party starts. 

This gift can be anything from a pen to a small diya. This will help the kids to feel more involved with the class activities and will also improve their motor  skills. 

5- Make paper flowers 

While people everywhere decorate their houses with fresh flowers like marigold or hibiscus to signify this auspicious festival, kids can instead practice making different paper flowers at their preschool or kindergarten that they can later join together with a string and hang it on the entrances of their class in school. 

6- Storytelling

There can be a storytelling session where each child writes down a story from home, related to Ramayana or Dussehra festival and recites it for their other classmates to listen to. 

7- Perform a Ramleela 

Ramleela is a skit depicting the story of Ramayana and the teachers can organize this skit in preschool or kindergarten where they explain the story and each of the character’s roles and children can pick what character they want to play and perform this skit on the day of Dussehra. 

The kids can dress accordingly as their character and say a few dialogues during the skit. 

8- Making rangoli 

You might have already noticed your mothers or your sisters decorating the entrance of your house with a rangoli. 

Children can help out here by making smaller rangoli of a flower using different colors that they will definitely enjoy! 

This will also help a child to develop better motor skills and recognize different colors more easily. 

9- Visiting fair 

You will find various fairs organized all around the city during the Dussehra festival. 

The kids can have a fun time sitting on various rides, eat different food, and have a fun time with all their friends. 

You can also organize your very own fair at school if going to the fair in your city is not possible, with simple rides and fun food so that the children have a  good time. 

10- Dressing up in traditional outfits 

Who doesn’t love dressing up in traditional outfits on festival days? 

You can organize a small class party where the kids can dress up in traditional outfits associated with which state they are from.