Montessori Holi Planning Supplies, Setup, and Fun

The school my toddler attends provides opportunities for families to come teach about their cultural heritage. Holi is not my favorite Indian holiday by a long shot, but understandable why the school thought it would be a perfect way for young kids to learn a little bit about the culture. There is surprisingly little guidance online for tailoring self-guided (tenet of Montessori), age-appropriate (2-3 year olds) activities to learn about Indian culture. As I plan things for my kids' schools, I will share from experience what works and doesn't.

Jump to activities:

Part I: Color mixing demonstration

Part II: Powder throwing!

Audience: What are kids this age like?

For those who haven't been around this age group of kids for a while, some common baselines to understand their general capabilities:

• Can sit still and want to tune into what is happening, especially if it is different from their regular schedule or what they are used to seeing
• Can understand sentences paired with actions – for example: asking them to hold something and in the process handing the item to them
• Can understand differences in concepts when the speaker's intonation changes – saying "BIIIIIG" in a loud deep voice can help them distinguish from "ˢᵐᵃˡˡ" even if they don't know the precise definitions of the words
• Most can say single words and identify things around them, some say longer sentences. Both are most often when prompted
• Can compare visual things in terms of "same" and "different"

Part I: Color mixing demonstration

Prep time: 20 mins (10 mins to test colors at home, 10 mins to make the bags the day of)

Number of participants: 12 kids

Duration: 30 mins

Materials:

• Non-toxic, washable paint
  • Non-toxic is crucial in case the paint leaks out of the bag
  • The 3 primary colors + white and black
• 15 Ziploc sandwich bags

Activity Details:

• The classroom had a structure where the kids and teacher would gather for "circle time". This time consisted of discussing the educational theme for the month (e.g. weather, how apples grow) or watching demonstrations for new Works (unit of activity in Montessori curriculum)
• Create 3 bags for each combination of primary colors, and one for grey. Gently flatten the colors in each bag so the kids can see the difference in quantity, but the colors are not mixing.
  • Bag 1 - source colors in equal quantity
  • Bag 2 - source color 1 in a large quantity, source color 2 in a smaller quantity
  • Bag 3 - source color 1 in a small quantity, source color 2 in a larger quantity

• Do one color combination at a time
  • One by one, hold up the bags and show the difference between them with quantities of each color
• Ask 3 kids to take one bag, each rub their bag. Have them do it at the same time, so they are seeing the color mix simultaneously. Put the 3 bags in the middle of the circle to compare the different shades within a hue. Have the kids name things out loud in the world with those colors, which is good for interaction

Another idea:

• Make a large poster on the wall with 3 columns – one for each color
• Pair the kids up. In the pair, each kid gets a source color. They put their handprint on the poster in their column
• Have the pair touch their hands together like a high-five for a long time. Then they put their hand prints in the third column to show the result color

Notes:

• The mixed paint bags become very nice art pieces in themselves – the classroom can display a grid of them and then each kid can take one home and hang it on the wall
• We didn't focus on the religious aspect of Holi because I felt I would be lecturing the kids with little impact. Instead I wanted to show the beauty and power of color, in the spirit of celebrating them

Part II: Powder throwing!

Prep time: 15 mins (putting the powders into all the different cups)

Number of participants: 12 kids, 5 adults

Duration: 30 mins

Materials:

• Non-toxic, natural colored powders (10 colors, 100 grams each)
• Aluminum foil gold baking cups, with a stiff rim
  • The stiff rim is important for the kids to easily grip the cup while throwing
  • The kids really love the shiny look of the gold and reflects all the colors well, and more color is the whole point of Holi
  • Large tray to carry and hold all the cups
• Everyone should wear white colors that get very dirty

Activity Details:

• We brought all the kids outside to a large basketball court blacktop where they could roam and run freely for the actual color throwing
• Let the kids throw powder in the air, on themselves, and as they got more comfortable, on each other

Notes:

• Kids will start slow because they are exploring what is "allowed" in this activity. They love to see the color on fresh white clothing or thrown up in the air like a cloud. The cause and effect gets them amped up

• Keep filling cups up constantly because the kids enjoy helping themselves to more powder to feel in control. In addition, once they are excited, they dump out the powders faster
• Some kids will like to be alone to throw their powder – demonstrate throwing powder in the air or on yourself. You can also create mixtures of 2 powders in one cup – we called these "color blast" cups and showed they could dump it out on the ground and use their hands to play with the two colors.