Section 6

Think About It—Student’s Exploring Celebrations

The following activity is designed to encourage students to explore the history of celebrations in their own family and cultural group.

Homework:Ask students to interview adults at home and in their community about the celebrations and special events they remember from their school days.

  • What celebrations are we still celebrating today that the adults remember celebrating when they were young?
  • What celebrations are new?
  • Why do we have new celebrations?
  • What are celebrations really for?
  • Why do adults and children like to celebrate together?

When the students come in with their recorded answers, begin a discussion in class on students’ findings.Ask questions that help children understand that there is a shared culture of celebrations that has existed for a long time.Explore the similarities and differences in student’s findings.Did any of the students find out something new about celebrations they didn’t know before this exercise?Did they enjoy learning about the past celebrations from the adults in their family and community?

Would this activity be appropriate for the group of children you are currently working with?Why or why not?How would you change this activity so it would be more appropriate for the group of children you are working with?Would you enjoy this type of activity?Why or why not?Where would this type of activity fit into the curriculum?Give an example of where and how you would use it in the curriculum.

Think About It—Learningabout Cultural Diversity at the Preschool Level

Interest in cultural diversity usually focuses on ethnic differences. Cultural diversity is much more than ethnicity, however. People have different views about and experiences with living, working, and playing together in a community. With young children, an awareness of cultural diversity needs to be thought of in broader terms to include differences in gender, language, religion, social class, and presence or absence of disability.

Differences make the classroom—the whole community—a vibrant and interesting place to live. The curriculum, which begins with children’s own experiences, can gradually help children understand, accept, and celebrate the diversity of people through play on a daily basis. By age three, children have an awareness of differences in language, skin color, or customs. By age four, children become aware of differences associated with handicaps. This awareness depends somewhat on how obvious the difference is. Even in the early childhood years, however, children are developing attitudes toward other racial groups.

With an understanding of the developmental sequence through which children become aware of differences, adults can better teach children about diversity. For preschoolers, the initial focus should be on increasing their knowledge about similarities and differences among children. This knowledge can be revealed through awareness of different foods, family structures, celebrations, and cultural traditions. All adults need to model support and understanding of cultural diversity.

A preschooler’s primary means of learning is through play. Play across cultures often involves the use of toys. Toys and other things that children play with reflect culture and provide insight into the norms and values of a society—hence, the importance of “Show and Tell.” Because toys and playthings have an important influence on the play of young children, adults need to make sure that the toys available are appropriate and reflect cultural diversity. Adults should evaluate the toys and make sure that they are varied and span different developmental areas. Toys also should be examined to be sure that they are accessible and do not reflect a cultural bias (Rettig, 2002).

Explore your classroom for diversity. Use story tapes made by adults to create a multiple-language library. Create a class “Book About Us.” Invite children to create drawings and paintings to illustrate their class books. Have children create a classroom mural depicting their family members. Display posters and photographs in the art center and around the room. Take snapshots of objects around the room. Ask families to share music from their countries of origin. Play recorded music from a variety of countries and cultures. Introduce children to the different breads we enjoy from other countries. Talk with children about their family members and the traditions they enjoy together at home.

Play is a most natural way of promoting cultural awareness among young children. Throughout history and across cultures, play is a means by which societies communicate cultural values to children, both directly and indirectly. Helping young children gain an understanding of themselves and others should be an integral part of school programs and should involve all school personnel.

TAI section 6a-1