An Indian paper quilt is a decorative way to display the national symbols of India, such as the flag, tiger, peacock, lotus flower, banyan tree, mango and the Taj Mahal. Give every child nine paper quilt blocks and ask them to draw or paste one Indian symbol on each block. Cut a piece of poster board or poster paper large enough to hold all nine blocks in a quilt pattern for each child. Instruct children to paste the quilt blocks in equal rows to create a visual representation of Indian facts. For a more ambitious option, try making the quilt out of cloth as a class project, with each child creating one quilt block using iron-on images or fabric paint.
Elephants were used as beasts of burden in ancient India, pulling up trees for lumber, carrying heavy cargoes for traveling merchants and fighting in battles.
Children pay tribute to the contributions of these majestic, lumbering beasts by making simple elephant masks. Paint the bottom of a paper plate black or gray. When it dries, cut out diamond-shape eyes. Take a piece of black or gray construction paper and cut out large ears and a long trunk. Staple the ears to either side of the plate and the nose to its center. Glue a red triangle point down between the eyes and decorate it with faux jewels to mark it clearly as an Indian elephant dressed up in his finest show regalia. Attach a string or ribbon behind each ear and parade proudly.
Indian brides traditionally paint their hands with elaborate, temporary henna designs. Have each student trace her hand on the closest matching color in a pad of multicultural skin tone construction paper. Cut out the hand prints and have each student create her own unique henna pattern using a brown or black marker. If you are particularly adventurous, try letting students pair up and paint one another's hands with puffy paints instead.
Another Indian wedding tradition is for the bride to wear large numbers of glass bangles. According to Everything Glass Bangles, the tradition holds that "the honeymoon lasts until the last glass bangle breaks." Indian wives also wear them as a charm of protection and luck for their husbands, believing that a broken bangle means that he is in danger. Have children fashion an Indian bangle craft using a wide strip of plastic or cardboard as the ring. Decorate the base with faux jewels, sparkly paper shapes, glitter, ribbon or buttons.
During the Indian festival of Diwali, the Indian New Year which falls sometime in October or November on the Western calendar, colorful rangoli mats at the home's entrance welcome guests and invite the Hindu goddess Lakshmi to enter and bless the home. Let children design a rangoli mat for their homes using colored chalks or cut-out paper shapes on black construction paper to create an Indian design. Alternately, bead enthusiasts can create their mats with fuse beads.
Indians light clay oil lamps, called diyas, during Diwali to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Show your students how to roll long ropes of clay and wrap them in a circular pattern to create a cylinder. Flatten another piece of clay to fashion a round base and set the cylinder on the base. Let the clay air dry or bake it using package directions. Paint the diyas, if so desired, and set a tea light inside to celebrate Diwali in true Indian fashion.