The educators at the RisingOaks worked and focused on bringing diversity and inclusion into school-age 2. We have always tried to celebrate and highlight the brilliance of other cultures and communities in our program through various learning activities. This month we focused on celebrating Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day in order to make everyone feel included and valued.
We discussed the Chinese culture and Maria, a Chinese child in our program, supported our discussion with some interesting and fun facts about her tradition. The children loved listening to her as they all sat down as she explained all about her traditions. She mentioned that the Chinese New Year is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese Calendar, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season. The educators were Amazed to see how well the children were involved in the discussion.
During the discussion Elliott stood up and said, “oh! We too have a tradition. We celebrate Groundhog Day in Canada on February 2nd.” This was a great way for the students to relate traditions with one another. Since Elliott brought it up, the educators asked the children to share their experience with watching a groundhog emerge from its burrow, and how that can determine the weather forecast for the coming weeks. It was a great blend of two cultures in the class environment. Everybody loved listening and being a part of it, fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging among the group.
Educator Mehnoor introduced another cultural festival to the children that was celebrated in a similar context to the Chinese New Year and Groundhog traditions. She talked to the class about Nowruz, which marks the beginning of spring in many Asian countries, especially Iran, celebrating it as their New Year. Traditional customs of Nowruz include fire and water, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, symbolic objects, and more. The discussions relating to celebrations brought forth a creative activity and the children engaged in painting a Chinese lantern. Everybody painted it in their own beautiful color and design; Charlie even used several colors on his Lantern.
We then shifted our Focus to Valentine's Day and celebrated the spirit of love, kindness, and friendship. Children were encouraged to make cards for their parents. They were provided with various supplies and the children made pop-up cards for their parents, siblings and friends. As a group, the children were engaged in a team-building game where they got to pick a random friend’s name and were asked to write one good thought about them. They loved writing their feelings and thoughts about their friends on Valentine's day, spreading the love and further enhancing the sense of inclusion and belonging in the classroom.
Inclusion and diversity allows everybody to feel welcomed, valued, and respected. Students feel safe without any fear of judgement or discrimination, while also feeling a sense of belonging within the classroom community. Moreover, taking care of the needs and interests of everyone to ensure no one feels left behind allows us to stay connected to one another. Thus, being successful in bringing diversity and celebrating inclusion in class.
