Day 1: Dhanteras

Dhanteras marks the beginning of Diwali and is associated with wealth, prosperity, and good health. People clean their homes and purchase new items, especially metal (like kitchenware or jewellery), as it’s believed to bring good luck.

Fun Activities:

• Make mini paper diyas or make and decorate tealight holders with air dry clay.

• Craft your own “good luck coins” with foil, air dry clay, gold card.

• Create social media posts educating people on Dhanteras

• Sustainable Shopping Bags Pupils decorate reusable paper bags with festive patterns and messages promoting thoughtful spending, local businesses and sustainable choices. Include the message: “True wealth is what we value, not just what we buy.”

• Dhanteras Digital Awareness Campaign Pupils create posters, short videos, digital quizzes or carousel posts explaining the meaning of Dhanteras, its traditions and its association with prosperity, health and wellbeing.

• The Tree of True Wealth Create a whole-school gratitude tree. Every pupil adds a leaf describing something they value that money cannot buy, such as family, friendship, good health, education or happiness.

• Wealth Around the World – Cultural Display Create an interactive display exploring how different cultures represent prosperity, good fortune, health and abundance. Invite pupils to contribute family traditions, symbols, artwork and explanations.

Whole-School Ideas:

• Run a “Clean and Green” classroom challenge to tidy and refresh learning spaces.

• Share facts about Dhanteras in form time.

• Display board on symbols of wealth and health in different cultures.

• The Dhanteras Giving Challenge Each class chooses one achievable act of service, such as collecting suitable donations for a local charity, writing thank-you notes to school staff or supporting a community garden. Celebrate the collective impact at the end of the week.