Ramadan Kids Activities for Home and the Masjid
Ten Ramadan activities for children, no printables and little money needed: a good-deed jar, iftar jobs, the first night's moon and kids' nights at the masjid.
Ten things to do with children this Ramadan
The best ramadan kids activities are the ones that make the month feel different from every other month, without a trip to the craft store or a stack of printables. Children remember what they did with their hands and who they did it with. Here are ten ideas families actually use, five at home and five at the masjid, for roughly ages four to twelve.
Pick two or three, not all ten. What makes Ramadan special to a child is a few things that happen every day, not a packed schedule.
At home: five that cost nothing
Each of these fits around school and work and can start on any night of the month.
- A good-deed jar. Write thirty small deeds on slips of paper (call a grandparent, share a toy, make dua for someone) and draw one a day.
- Iftar jobs. Give each child one task at Maghrib: dates on the table, water poured, the adhan on. Being needed is the point.
- A short surah a week. Four short surahs learned in the car and recited at Friday's iftar table is more than most adults manage.
- The first night's moon. Take the children out to look for the crescent on the 29th of Sha'ban. Whether you see it or not, they will ask about it every year.
- Half-day fasts. Younger children can fast from Fajr to lunch, or lunch to Maghrib, and break with the family. Make a fuss over it.
At the masjid: five that need other children
Most masajid run children's programs in Ramadan. Ask at the office or check the masjid's events page; these are the usual ones.
- Community iftars. The night the masjid serves iftar is the easiest first visit. Children eat, run around and start recognizing faces.
- Story night or Qur'an competition. Many masajid hold a short children's program between Maghrib and Isha, with prizes for recitation.
- A few rak'ahs of taraweeh. Take them for the first two or four, then home. Short and happy beats long and tearful.
- Iftar-box packing. Masajid that feed families in Ramadan need hands. Children from about six can pack boxes.
- Eid prep. Setting up the prayer area or the kids' Eid fair the night before gives them a stake in the morning.
For masajid and weekend schools: list the kids' programs
Parents search for these programs every Ramadan and find a two-year-old Instagram post. Put yours where they look.
- List each kids' iftar, story night and competition as a free event on your Ummah Community Page. It shows in the app, on your page and on the Muslim events page for your city.
- Add an RSVP so you know how many children are coming and can plan food and volunteers. Free events carry no platform fee.
- Announce changes to the people who follow your page instead of a group chat half the parents have muted.
- Keep the same page for the Eid fair and summer camp. Families who found you in Ramadan stay with you.
What about printables and activity books?
There are plenty online and some are good, but we do not host a library of them. A printable works best as a prop for a real activity: a chart for the good-deed jar, a tracker for half-day fasts, a page to color before Maghrib.
If you print one thing, make it a calendar of the month with a box per day. Children fill it in themselves and it becomes the record of their Ramadan.
Finding children's Ramadan events in your city
The Ummah app and web directory list 3,000+ masajid and Muslim organizations by metro, each with its events on its Community Page. The Find events tool at theummah.io/tools/find-events/ opens the events page for your city, where iftars, kids' nights and Eid events sit together.
Check the description for the age range and RSVP early. Children's programs at popular masajid fill quickly in the last ten nights.