Ramadan Activities
Note: Please Read
These activities are suggestions that use Ramadan as a point of learning, but the tasks themselves are intended to honour the individual student's life experiences. The topics are Literacy, Kindness, Numeracy, Art, Health and Well-being. Hopefully you are able to use these to support learning goals through CRRP, equity and inclusion. - T. Saloojee
Activity 1 - Literacy
Ramadan begins in accordance with lunar calendar. Watch the video. Why was the moon so important? What does fasting mean? What other questions do you have about Ramadan?
Activity 2 - Acts of Kindness
In Ramadan, Muslims try to do simple acts of charity for people. Send someone you know a positive message to make their day a bit brighter. You could give them a call, send them a text, or use sidewalk chalk to send a happy message to people passing by. What else could you do?
Activity 3 - Numeracy
Have you ever eaten a date before? Dates are a sweet fruit that Muslims often use to break their fasts at sunset. How many dates do you think are in this bowl? How did you come up with your answer?
Activity 4 - Art
To create this mobile, you will need the template (a tab to the template can be found on the header of this page) coloured tissue paper, glue, scissors, string and tape. Have an adult help you. Thank you to Umm Yusuf at Ramadan DIY for Kids for this activity.
Activity 5 - Health
Keeping fit and healthy are important to Muslims. In order to fast, a person has to be healthy and strong. Create an exercise routine you can do daily with your family. What did you include?
Activity 6 - Well-being
Muslims pray 5 times a day. Meditation and stillness help with focus and self-regulation. What are some things you do to calm yourself down?
Activity 7 - Literacy
An acrostic is poem uses each letter of the topic to being a new line in the poem. Above is a poem about Ramadan. Write an acrostic poem using your name or a holiday you enjoy.
Activity 8 - Kindness
Ramadan is a month where charity is given to those in need. Some people donate money, clothes and food. What is a charity you would like to donate to? Why is that important to you? What can you do to help?
Activity 9 - Patterning and Geometry
This tile shows patterns and shapes often seen in Islamic art. What are the shapes and patterns you see in this image?
Activity 10 - Art
Tessellations are patterns that are created when a shape repeatedly covers an area without leaving any empty space. This tiling pattern is used in a lot of Islamic art. Create your own tessellation by watching the video.
Activity 11 - Health
Washing before prayer is important for Muslims. It cleans the body and prepares the mind before prayer.
Fold a piece of paper into 6 sections and in each section list one way you keep yourself clean. Draw a picture for each way in each section.
Activity 12 - Well-being
Music can help people relax, feel joy and make them feel like dancing! Listen to the sample of music above from Islamic tradition. What instruments do you hear? What kind of music makes you feel happy?
Activity 13 - Literacy
Muslims greet each other by saying "As-salam-alaikum". This means "May peace be with you". The word "Salaam" means peace. Do some research with an adult about how to say "Peace" in other languages.
Activity 14 - Acts of Kindness
Ramadan is a time when doing good deeds is very important for Muslims. Helping out around the house (cleaning your room, setting the table or putting away the dishes) is a great way to do something good at home. What will you do to help out today?
Activity 15 - Math Word Problem
If Naila fasted from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm, how many hours did she fast? How many hours was she not fasting that day?
Activity 16 - Art
Muslims often use henna to decorate their hands for large celebrations such as weddings and Eid. Take a look a the website. You will trace your hand on a piece of paper and use markers to decorate your hand prints making your own henna pattern.
Day 17 - Health
Iftar is the meal that Muslims enjoy at the end of the fast (at sunset). Iftar needs to be healthy, with lots of nutrients. Find a healthy recipe from another culture that looks appealing to you. Prepare it with an adult. Consider doing a video review of the dish you made and think about sharing the recipe with your friends.
Day 18 - Well-being
Ramadan is a month where Muslims like to take some quiet time to self-reflect and think about how to make themselves better people. Take a moment by yourself and do a quiet activity that you enjoy. It could be reading, colouring or playing with a toy. It's important for kids to have some quiet time too! What are some things you think about?
Day 19 - Literacy
This book is free to read for a limited time on Epic books when you sign up. Eid-al-Fitr is the celebration at the end of Ramadan. The Eid greeting is "Eid Mubarak!". How do you celebrate important events? Create a greeting card for your celebration and include a well-wishing statement to go with it. Share it with your classmates.
Day 20 - Kindness
It's important to show kindness to others especially in Ramadan, but it's also important to show kindness towards our earth and animals. Take an extra walk with your dog, play with your pets or do some planting outside. Recycling is another way of looking after the earth. What are some other ways we can look after and appreciate our environment?