Making the Indian Independence Day Celebration Meaningful for Kids

Making the Indian Independence Day Celebration Meaningful for Kids


Independence Day is a special day for everyone. It marks the freedom of our country from colonialism, oppression and many things. That’s why we all celebrate it and we ask our kids to do so. But here’s a question. Do kids understand the real meaning of the Independence Day celebration?

It’s important to ask because understanding the meaning of being free is not as easy as it sounds. The feeling of freedom can be understood if only the condition of being oppressed have been felt. But of course, we don’t want our kids to experience that. So how can we make them understand? Here are steps of making the celebration meaningful:


1. Take kids to museum or historical site



Doing it will make our kids get a glimpse of what happened in the past. Ask the museum curator about the museum program for kids. That way kids will get the explanation about our country history which is suited for their age.

2. Tell story about the fore fathers who had fought for our country



Telling the story will make kids get the message that it takes bravery, the spirit of keep fighting and never giving up to be free from colonialism or oppression. Find that kind of story book theme for kids. That way, the story will be in kids’ language level.

3. Do role play



Doing role play is a way to make a simulation for kids, so they can feel the situation of being oppressed without really being in the situation. Used stuffed dolls or action figure to do it. We act as the oppressor and kids act as the oppressed one. Create a situation where kids have to fight to be free from the oppressed. Then, by the end of the role play, ask kids’ feeling of being the oppressed one, relate their feeling with the feeling of the people in the past and tell that’s why people in the past had fought for freedom. This way, kids will grasp the meaning of fighting for independence.

4. Create craft and practice singing national anthem.



Doing both will make kids have to do effort to celebrate Independence Day. Explain to them that the situation now has been different with the past, but it doesn’t mean the spirit to keep fighting and never giving up must be stopped. It actually must be continued and way to express it is by doing the best they can in everything they do. And tell them that by making the flag for the celebration and practising singing the national anthem as best as they could, they actually have been following the example given by the forefathers. Praise them for doing so. That way they will be excited and felt that they have done something right for the Independence Day.

5. Enjoy the Independence Day heart fully.



Make it as a special day. Bring the flag kids have made to the parade. Sing national anthem loudly and honourably. Enjoy all the activities which are usually done during the day. Then by the end of the day, make a scrapbook or hang the picture of the activities done that day with the note being written next to it like ‘The 2018 Independence Day Celebration. We’ve followed the path our forefathers given. We’ll continue the spirit by never giving up doing the best we can do for our country’.

Doing those steps will make kids have memories of celebrating Independence Day and understand the meaning of it. Happy Independence Day!

Sinchita

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