Tag: australia day

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Exploring Australia Day with Children

Australia Day with children

Australia Day is well known across the country and will be explored throughout centres around this time in January.

It’s a great opportunity to touch on some Australian history and culture, to enable the children of today to get a well-rounded understanding of the country they call home.

The meaning behind Australia Day is different for many Australians, so we believe it’s important to treat it with sensitivity and understanding. This doesn’t mean avoiding marking the occasion, but using it constructively with a sense of purpose.

To help you bring Australia Day discussions into your centre (or your home), try exploring these aspects of this wonderful country and Australia Day with children:

Flora and fauna

At Bonkers Beat, we love nature. Incorporate some of Australia’s native plants and animals. These paper plate koalas and wombats are fun to make!

The states and territories each have their own unique flowers. Find printable colouring sheets for these and many Aussie animals here.

Art

As part of celebrating Australia Day through creativity and art we suggest using natural materials and resources, such as gum nuts, tree bark and a variety of flowers and leaves. This is a wonderful opportunity to explore nature and learn more about our natural surroundings. For more ideas follow this link.

Music

We like to use music to celebrate and learn whenever possible, and Australia Day is no exception. Learn about Australia and have fun singing along to classics. Try Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree or The Possum.

Geography

A great group activity is to either draw or print a big map of Australia then work together to talk about the different areas across our vast country. Get creative with different colours and textures.

As always, we love to see everyone’s creative ways of incorporating the cultural calendar into your services! Share your best Australian children’s song or craft activity with us on Facebook.

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Top 4 Ways To Mark Australia Day

Barbecues, beach, kangaroos, koalas… there are many things that people think of when they think of Australia. Why not incorporate some Aussie celebration into your centre around Australia Day 2016!

There are four fantastic elements to consider exploring with children to mark the occasion as Australia Day nears. We’ve even included some ideas for activities for educators and/or parents to try.

Four Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Australia Day with Children

Diversity

Australia Day is a great day to talk about diversity and multiculturalism – ask children what they know about Australia and all its unique people. Use this opportunity to discuss the fact that despite us all being so different in so many ways, we are all Australian and there is respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.


Geography

Break out the map of Australia and talk about the different areas across this huge country. Open children’s minds to the big, wide world – or in this case, the big, wide island that is Australia! Maps can be great fun to turn into an art project as children cover the country in different colours and textures – this further represents the diversity and uniqueness of the country and all its people.


Art

Speaking of art, what better way to go about celebrating Australia Day and its people than doing some beautiful cave drawings, inspired by Indigenous Australia. Handprints, finger-painting or dot art depicting kangaroos, boomerangs and the desert landscape can be insightful activities.


Music

The national anthem isn’t the only Aussie song we can break out to mark Australia Day… Kids might prefer the fun of singing classics like Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree or Home Among the Gum Trees (maybe just the chorus as it’s a long one!).

 

As always, we love to see everyone’s creative ways of incorporating the cultural calendar into your services – please do share your ideas and photos with us on Facebook.

These links are packed with resources to help you plan your Australia Day celebrations:

http://www.kidspot.com.au/kids-activities-and-games/australia-day+54.htm

http://www.fleetcare.com.au/news-info/news/fun-facts-about-australia-day.aspx

http://www.australiaday.org.au/events/

 

P.S.
Don’t forget to incorporate some Aussie food – lamingtons are always a winner!

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Celebrating Cultural Diversity

With many of us excited about Christmas coming next month and celebrating with family, there are people of many cultures looking forward to different events and celebrations this time of year.  This really got us thinking about the diversity of cultures and how we can celebrate these as well.

Here are just a few big events coming up soon:

Diwali Light Festival–  One of the most significant festivals in Indian culture, Diwali, the festival of lights, sees millions attend firework displays, prayers and celebratory events across the world every autumn.  The festival is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains for a variety of reasons; although the main theme which runs throughout is the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil.

Christmas Day -Christmas Day is celebrated through many countries and regions – more than 2 billion people (over a third of the world’s population) will celebrate the birth of Christ.  The most popular customs of the holiday include gift giving, singing carols, exchanging Christmas cards, church services, a special meal and a display of various Christmas decorations.  The biggest being Santa, Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season. For many it is a day to reflect at the end of a long year, celebrate with family and to start the New Year in good spirits.

Australia Day – Celebrated annually on 26 January, it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. In present-day Australia, celebrations reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation, and are marked by community and family events, official community awards, and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new immigrants into the Australian community

Chinese New Year – This is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. It is also known as the Spring Festival, the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar.  In 2016 it will be celebrated on Monday, 8 February, and it is the year of the Monkey.

To help children to become involved in these celebrations, have a world map on hand, print out a list of the cultural dates and discuss the various festivities with them.  The internet has, as always, plenty of resources, craft ideas, explanations, traditional dress ideas and information about all of these special days. Children enjoy seeing colour and movement, and expanding their mind about other cultures is a fantastic way to teach them.  In addition, it is so important for children to be culturally aware and to enjoy other cultures and traditions.

Cultural and religious dates – https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlement-and-multicultural-affairs/programs-policy/a-multicultural-australia/government-building-social-cohesion/calendar-of-cultural-and-religious-dates

Christmas Day around the world – http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/global/christmas_day_world.php

Kids craft ideas and how to celebrate diversity   – http://www.thecraftycrow.net/cultural/

A handy list on how to Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Services  – http://www.resourcingparents.nsw.gov.au/ContentFiles/Files/diversity-in-practice-tipsheet-2.pdf

http://www.resourcingparents.nsw.gov.au/ContentFiles/Files/diversity-in-practice-tipsheet-2.pdf

 

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Celebrating Australia Day Four Ways

Australia Day is often associated with the public holiday, fireworks and the beach, but when it comes to our early childhood educational services, Australia Day can be a special opportunity to celebrate this great country.

To mark the occasion this year, we’ve come up with four avenues for you to explore and offered some ideas and activities for your service to include or for parents to utilise at home.

Diversity

Australia Day is a great day to talk about diversity and multiculturalism – ask children what they know about Australia and all its unique people. Use this opportunity to discuss the fact that despite us all being so different in so many ways, we are all Australia and there is respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Geography

Break out the map of Australia and talk about the different areas across this huge country. Open children’s minds to the big, wide world – or in this case, the big, wide island that is Australia! Maps can be great fun to turn into an art project as children cover the country in different colours and textures – this further represents the diversity and uniqueness of the country and all its people.

Art

Speaking of art, what better way to go about celebrating Australia Day and its people than doing some beautiful cave drawings, inspired by Indigenous Australia. Handprints, fingerpainting or dot art depicting kangaroos, boomerangs and the desert landscape can be insightful activities.

Music

The national anthem isn’t the only Aussie song we can break out to mark Australia Day… Kids might prefer the fun of singing classics like Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree or Home Among the Gum Trees (maybe just the chorus as it’s a long one!).

As always, we love to see everyone’s creative ways of incorporating the cultural calendar into your services – please do share with us on Facebook or by commenting here on the blog.

Try these resource-packed links that may be useful to you in planning your Australia Day celebrations:

http://australiaday2015messages.com/australia-day-2015-artwork-crafts-activities-project-with-pics/

http://www.fleetcare.com.au/news-info/news/fun-facts-about-australia-day.aspx

http://www.australiaday.org.au/events/

P.S.
Don’t forget to incorporate some Aussie food – lamingtons are always a winner!

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