Rangoli crafts art lesson for children

Learn about rangoli, the traditional decorations of the Indian festival of Diwali and try your own rangoli art project.

Rangoli crafts and art lessons for children

Teach your children about the traditional Indian art of rangoli and use our ideas for easy rangoli crafts for Diwali,

This article is one of our Diwali activities and crafts for children resources.

In this lesson you can:

:: learn about rangoli, the traditional decoration made for the Indian festival of Diwali

:: watch a rangoli being made

:: make your own rangoli craft, inspired by the traditional designs

Ready-made Diwali Unit

If you’re a member of our Play Academy you can download a ready-made five day Diwali Unit and you’ll be ready to lead a week of fun and educational Diwali activities with your children.

This Unit is part of our Festivals specialist curriculum pathway, and is a part of a set of ready-made units you can use to teach your children about the festivals of the world all through the year. Based on the teaching philosophy of hands-on learning, the Play Academy festivals curriculum is engaging, effective and loved by children.

See more details of this Diwali Unit, and all the other specialist curriculum pathways and ready-made units you can choose from, in the Play Academy here.

What are rangoli?

Rangoli are associated with the Indian festival of Diwali. See all our Diwali crafts and activities here, including a guide to how the festival is celebrated.

During Diwali, the entrances of houses are decorated with rangoli patterns made from coloured sand, to welcome guests.

You can see a selection of rangoli designs here.

:: What do you notice about them?

:: What colours are they?

:: What shapes do you see?

:: What patterns do you see?

:: How do you think they are made?

How are traditional rangoli made?

Watch the video below From Rangoli Art by Kalai to see how a traditional rangoli is made.

:: How does the artist make the rangoli?

:: In what order do they build the patterns?

:: What tools do they use, and what do they use them for?

Rangoli designs

Rangoli are made using bright colours including blue, pink, yellow, orange and green.

They usually use a pattern of concentric circles, with rings getting bigger and bigger from the centre of the rangoli out to the outer edge.

They use repeating patterns of shapes and marks.

Rangoli designs often make use of symmetry: both radial and linear symmetry.

Rangoli can be made from coloured sand, cooking flour, rice, and flower petals.

Sometimes stencils are used to make rangoli and sometimes they are made freely, by hand. Metal rings might be used as a guide to place the sand in the right locations around the rangoli, and then removed once the rangoli is completed.

Tools such as wooden styluses might be used to add marks and patterns onto the sand.

Easy rangoli crafts for children

Make your own rangoli craft, inspired by this beautiful Indian art. You can decide which materials you would like to use to make your rangoli, and which colours and shapes you want to include. Try one of these ideas:

Rangoli craft with coloured sand or salt
Use this recipe to make coloured sand or salt and use it to create a rangoli design.

Easy rangoli craft with stickers
This rangoli is great for younger children who are learning about shapes and colours.

Simple rangoli craft using collage art
Explore collage art as you make the easy and colourful rangoli

Paper plate rangoli using dried lentils and beans
Use a paper plate and dried lentils and beans to make a rangoli in earthy colours

Printable rangoli design templates for children
Use these printable rangoli design templates as colouring in pages or as stencils to make rangoli

Forest school mandala activities
Take inspiration for your rangoli from our nature mandalas.

More Diwali crafts and activities

For more great ideas to learn about and celebrate Diwali with your children, including Rama and Sita puppets and diya crafts, see our full index of Diwali crafts and activities for children.