Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood

Children exist in an increasingly diverse world. Culture is the foundation of our identity and impacts on our thoughts, values, and behaviours. Embracing a variety of cultures and languages in early child care will support children to understand themselves, their family, and all those around them.

Encouraging cultural awareness will empower children to develop respect and empathy. When children learn about and experience other cultures, they learn to value the differences in people Through an appreciation of these difference, children are more likely to develop positive relationships with others into their adult years. 

At Sage early learning centre, we value all children, families and educators and we love to learn about and celebrate all cultures. Here is how we embrace cultural diversity in our child care centre:

-          Celebrating cultural events: Our yearly events calendar acknowledges a variety of cultural celebrations throughout the year, and we always explore ways to celebrate authentically.

-          Cultural resources: We have included a variety of play materials throughout the rooms that represent cultures in our day care centre. The children love to explore materials such as cultural puppets, books in other languages, multicultural play foods, and cultural dress ups.

-          Invitation to share: Our team of early learning educators and families are invited to share their culture and traditions throughout the year. Sharing culture can be as simple as sharing songs or key words in home languages, or cultural recipes for cooking experiences.

-          Acknowledgement of Country: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture is embraced through daily acknowledgement of country and ongoing learning programs about activities

-          ELLA – Early Learning Languages Australia program is incorporated into our weekly curriculum. Our children have opportunities to learn new languages and, in that process, learn about other cultures at our Chippendale centre.

-          Group discussions: We regularly seek opportunities to talk to children about differences and allow them to ask questions to build on their knowledge and understanding of other cultures.  

By continuing to celebrate cultural diversity in early child care we are teaching children about the importance of acceptance and inclusion. Everyone’s culture is unique and we believe in making every child feel valued and proud of their culture and connected to others through their differences.