During early development children are learning about the world around them and broadening their understanding of their own community. By teaching young children about different ways of life and beliefs, they are more likely to be tolerant and respectful to all irrespective of their cultural or religious connotations. Eid activities for early years encourages exploration of this special time in the Islamic calendar. For the cream-filled qatayef: take your fresh (un-fried) qatayef, and fill with about a tablespoon of cream. Fold over to enclose the filling, and pinch the edges to seal. Place on a serving plate and garnish with pistachios or nuts of your choice.

For the traditional cheese and walnut: immediately after cooking dip the qatayef into the ater for a couple of seconds. Place on a serving plate and garnish with pistachios or nuts of your choice. Embedding teaching and learning about various cultures, beliefs and traditions will help children to develop a greater understanding of the world and our diverse society. For the cheese and walnut or cream-filled qatayef: combine the sugar, a half-cup water, orange blossom water and lemon juice in a small, heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil and boil until the syrup is clear. Set aside.Educating children about the story of Ramadan in an age appropriate way will help them to support other communities, and take an interest in beliefs which differ to their own. You might want to encourage children celebrating the event to share their experiences with their peers, giving them a platform to discuss their home-lives and religious beliefs. To fill your qatayef, line a number of small trays with baking paper – the trays should fit your freezer. Although being a shop keeper isn't related to this trays theme a child's interpretation of activities in front of them will often veer off from what is planned. This is where the learning takes place and it is so important to work with the children, allow them to lead their play and encourage their imagination as much as possible. Now that we’re settling into the month of March, it’s officially time to prepare for Ramadan! The monthlong holiday lasts from March 22 to April 21 this year, so you have plenty of time to secure some gorgeous decorations and display them while celebrating the Islamic holiday. And we love the sound of that! For those who want to flex their home decor muscles or just generally get festive, we’d like to present to you 15 Ramadan decoration ideas to get your space ready this holiday. If you are making the pancakes from scratch, do this first. Stir together the yeast, warm water and sugar and leave the mixture to stand for a few minutes until it becomes foamy. Whisk together the flour, semolina, powdered milk, baking powder, salt and egg to make a thin batter. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for one to two hours in a warm place until the mixture becomes bubbly.

Being Iraqi, I didn’t grow up eating qatayef. It’s a dessert I discovered after I married my Palestinian-Jordanian husband. For him, Ramadan is simply not Ramadan without qatayef. The measurements for the fillings are approximate. Usually you buy (or make) a big batch of qatayef, prepare enough for at least the first half of the month, then freeze them. You can obviously eat as many or as few as you like but, for the larger stuffed ones, about three a person is a generous portion to work on. It’s hard to stop at one! I really do love sharing with children different religions, festivals and celebrations. They really find them fascinating. So far this year some of the cultural trays we have enjoyed are Shrove Tuesday, St Davids Day, Handas Suprizeand Easter. These Eid activities for early years go together with our resources for Ramadan. Try our EYFS Ramadan Information PowerPoint . This will help explain the tradition to younger children. You could then go on to discuss what happens after Ramadan with our PowerPoint explaining Eid . This will help children bring together the celebrations and you could even re-create your own celebration in your learning environment! Teaching Your Class About Different Cultures and BeliefsFor the cheese and walnut filling, drain the akkawi of any excess moisture in a colander. Combine the walnuts, sugar and orange blossom water in a bowl. While they were busy playing shops I observed them talking about prayer mats (which they didn't know about before this activity), I also heard a child mention they were 'off to the mosque'. During Ramadan, Muslims will not eat between dawn and sunset. They can eat in between these times. At the end of Ramadan there is a festival called Eid. Here Muslims gather and celebrate with friends and family. We used blue tac and added them to the windows and even used our homemade light box to enhance the colours. The children really loved the vibrancy of colours that appeared as the light shone through their pictures. When tiny bubbles form on the surface of the pancake, the surface is no longer shiny, and the bottoms are a light golden colour, the pancake is ready (it only needs to be cooked on one side).

These fab Ramadan and Eid resources will enable you to embed the learning theme within your setting whilst taking a holistic approach to children's development. Leave to cool, then cover with plastic wrap to prevent pancakes from drying out – this is the key to perfect qatayef. When it’s time to fill the pancakes, the edges need to be pinched together. If the pancake is dry, the edges won’t seal. Arrange the filled qatayef in one layer on the lined freezer tray place in a freezer bag, securely closed, then freeze for at least two hours. (For ease, each freezer tray should only hold one type of filling.) It’s important to freeze the qatayef so they hold their shape and don’t break open when fried.From teacher-led learning aids which will ensure your class stay focused during adult-led sessions, to appealing continuous provision enhancements; you are certain to find the perfect activities for your class. All of our resources use this lovely learning theme to support children across all areas of learning. Each activity can be adapted to suit children's individual attainment and encourage their next steps in learning.

Not sure where to start? Well, you could always go for some classic Ramadan-themed decor—which usually consists of displaying glowing lanterns, festive wreaths, and items that are adorned with or in the shape of the moon and stars. Or you could go for something a little more obvious, like a sign that says “Ramadan Kareem” (which essentially translates to “Generous Ramadan”).

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These engaging activities and resources will be great to use when supporting your classes understanding of the Story of Ramadan. All of our resources are teacher-made and offer top quality, age appropriate learning. To fill your qatayef, take each pancake and place bubble-side up. Place about a teaspoon of your chosen filling in a line in the middle of your pancake. Fold the pancake in half to enclose the filling and, starting from one corner, pinch the edges to seal. Be careful not to overstuff or the pancakes will break open. It’s best to add a conservative amount of filling; at the middle point when sealing the edges you can add a little more filling if necessary. It should look like a pillow. Repeat with the remaining pancakes and your chosen fillings.