To celebrate Diwali, the festival of light, there are some very beautiful activities you can do within a Forest School environment.

The photos demonstrate a Rangoli pattern using natural materials. Rangoli is an art form from India, whereby patterns are created on the floor using powdered materials such as limestone, dry flour and coloured sand.

This activity can be completed by the whole family and allow that connection with nature.

You can do it with or without drawing on a piece of paper, however if you draw the pattern on a piece of paper, you could use all-purpose glue to stick it on so that the beautiful art can be taken home and shared with family and friends. The idea of this activity is to allow children or adults to find shapes and colour items within a natural environment to complete the pattern. If you are doing this without the paper, make sure that the pattern has representations of petals within as it is part of the Rangoli patterns.

This activity will support a number of areas of development for the children such as their Mathematics skills by finding shapes and colours to match the pattern while also exploring their imaginative and creative side by selecting natural elements that are quirky and different, it is another way to make art instead of the generic painting or drawing, however you can use a stick and tip it in wet mud so the children can sign their name and practice their writing skills.