MONTESSORI INSPIRED HINDU RAM NAVAMI ACTIVITY – age 2
At age 2, Toddler S spent a lot of time playing outdoors and exploring nature. This became harder as I got busy with the twins but we still made a great effort to get outside, even if it was just in our backyard. Given the Hindu celebration of Ram Navami generally falls in the early spring it’s always a great transition from winter into the outdoors!
At age two Toddler S had heard the story of Ram many times, so I thought it was a great time to introduce some hands-on concepts to help remember Ram Bhagvan and make some associations to his qualities. There is no better way to learn than to get hands-on!
MONTESSORI INSPIRED RAM NAVAMI TODDLER ACTIVITY at age 2: EXPLORING NATURE TO MAKE A BOW & ARROW
Things you need:
- An outdoor space to explore (go on a walk, step into your backyard, driveway, local park)
- A picture of a bow and arrow for your toddler to reference
- For the bow: Find a long, thin, tree branch/stick
- For the bow: Some type of string (I think we had to resort to yarn because I didn’t have anything handy)
- For the bow: a small knife or scissors to make a little slit on the tree branch/stick to tie the string
- For the arrow: I used craft pipe cleaners and some pom poms but you can get creative with this (I had to keep it super safe because I knew he’d want to use it with the twins around). You can also use wooden skewers, an unsharpened pencil, another small stick etc.
How to prepare your activity:
- Cut out the right length of string for your bow
- Cut small slits into the tops of your tree branch/stick so you can tie the string to it, you may be able to skip this if you aren’t going to really use the bow/arrow
Toddler Activity:
- Show your toddler a picture of a bow and arrow to help guide the making of it
- Have or help your toddler tie the string to one side of the bow, and attach it to the other side. You can also have your toddler hold the stick for you while you do it.
- Make different sized arrows with your choice of material
- Once the bow is assembled and secured, show your toddler how to safely use the bow and “arrows”
Don’t forget to review the story of Ram bhagvan again and share how he mastered the skill of using a bow and arrow to do good over evil.
Flash forward: Check out his toddler appropriate activity at age 3 for Ram Navami!