Celebrating Culture and Community at Footsteps: Exploring Diwali and Halloween Through Play and Discovery

At Footsteps, we believe every child should be part of a setting that celebrates curiosity, creativity and cultural understanding. One of the most exciting ways we do this is by exploring festivals and celebrations from around the world. This helps our children build respect, awareness and a sense of belonging in a diverse world. Recently, our settings enjoyed a magical combination of Diwali – the Festival of Lights, and Halloween – a seasonal celebration full of creativity and wonder. Through hands-on activities, sensory exploration and imaginative play, we brought learning to life!

Halloween Fun – A Spooktacular Adventure
Halloween at Footsteps is not only about ghosts, witches, spiders and vampires – it’s about sensory learning, teamwork, fine motor skills and imagination. Our children explored lots of autumn treasures. Who knew how much fun you could have with a simple pumpkin!

They loved hammering to see what’s inside a pumpkin. Using child-safe hammers and golf tees, children tapped into pumpkins, building strength and coordination. The excitement as the insides were revealed was a delight. With adult support, children used safety tools to scoop seeds, feel textures and learn new language such as smooth, slimy, bumpy and round. As well as carving, many children enjoyed paint, glitter and collage materials to turn pumpkins into colourful masterpieces, supporting their creativity and self-expression.

In our ghastly kitchens we made Pumpkin soup where children chopped soft vegetables, helped stir and tasted the results. Cooking together builds maths skills (measuring and counting), language development and encourages healthy eating. We also Witches’ hat treats! Using ice cream cones, melted chocolate and colourful sprinkles, children created edible witches’ hats, learning through step-by-step instructions and imaginative role play.

Of course there was a whole host of terrifying crafts and themed play too with dressing up, spooky stories, and outside adventures. To extend imaginative learning, children enjoyed potion making with leaves, sticks, mud and water – mixing, pouring and stirring to build motor skills, teamwork and creativity. We followed children’s interests by going on a spider web hunt, spotting delicate webs glistening in the trees and learning how spiders spin their homes.

Diwali – Sharing Light, Culture and Community
We also celebrated Diwali, a festival observed by millions around the world, especially within Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities. The theme of light over darkness and good triumphing over evil sparked meaningful discussions and lots of creative learning. Children looked at simple stories from Hindu traditions, such as Rama and Sita, to understand the story behind Diwali. We discussed the importance of family and kindness and welcoming light, hope and happiness into our lives.

Of course Diwali provides lots of opportunity for an array of colour in our craft corners. We saw Rangoli patterns with coloured sand and rice. Children used our tuff trays to design beautiful patterns, encouraging fine motor control, symmetry and early maths. Mandalas and shape exploration gave us the opportunity to use natural materials, chalk and stencils as the children created repeating patterns while learning new cultural vocabulary. They loved decorating hands with mehndi designs.

Children moulded clay and playdough into small diya lamps, and decorated them with sequins and jewels. They learnt how these lamps are used to welcome good fortune. There was lots of fun and laughter as our children listened to traditional Indian music, explored rhythmic movement and enjoyed cultural dress-up.

At Footsteps, we love helping children grow into confident learners. Exploring festivals like Diwali and Halloween helps our children understand both their local community and the wider world. Every sensory experience, every question asked, and every shared moment builds curiosity and connection.

We can’t wait for our next celebration. Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day are coming up next!