Term Two – Week 7 – 13th June 2020
Cultural Diversity & Change
This week in Pre-Primary we invited two guest speakers to talk to our children about their cultures, countries of birth and their experiences of change when they migrated from their country of birth to Australia. Each class wrote a letter to Mrs Gomes and Mrs Norris, inviting them to participate in this experience with us. We are very happy that they both happily accepted!
The Pre-Primary children have been learning about changes in our world this term as part of our MAPPEN inquiry unit. We viewed a clip about “Moving Countries” then brainstormed questions that we wanted to ask our guest speakers about their experiences of change when they moved to Australia.
Mrs Gomes spoke to us about SINGAPORE – the delicious food, the special festivals, the clothing and her special place. She also brought in some items from her childhood to show us! Mrs Gomes showed us on the globe where Singapore is and do you know what a Tiffin Carrier is? A tiffin carrier is also used in India as well as Singapore to store and carry food and usually has three compartments. Mrs Gomes explained how she migrated to Australia because she was coming here to get married. She came all by herself, without her family and she said that she cried when she arrived here because the changes, at first were very hard. As we asked her our questions it became clear that she loves Australia and that decisions she made to move here were good, although it was hard at the start. Mrs Gomes told us that she still cooks all the yummy food that she grew up with and still talks to all of her friends in Singapore via Skype, phone, email or letters and… she has more friends now, here in Australia.
Mrs Norris wore her beautiful red shalwar kameez and talked to us about INDIA. Mrs Norris showed and explained about how a couple get married in India and how a traditional wedding lasts for up to one week! She also brought along some special items to show us, including some gorgeous, sparkly, jingly bangles, a kurta or churidar which males wear, and a silk sari, which females wear. Mrs Norris explained how Indian people love to wear beautiful bright colours and sparkly jewellery. She told us about a famous landmark in India, the Taj Mahal and left a book with us to read and explore further about this landmark.
It is important to explore, learn and appreciate different cultures! This teaches children to value, respect and celebrate differences, then differences become a normal part of everyday life.
A BIG thank you to Mrs Norris and Mrs Gomes for all their preparation and time spent with us!
As a culmination of our learning this week, we read a story called. “Same, Same, but Different,” by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw. This story is about two little boys who live in two completely different countries. They are pen pals who describe their life experiences to each another and actually do the same things, but in different environments with different mediums, so they are the same, but different!
The children drew pictures of three to four items that they would pack with them in their suitcases, if they had to leave Australia and move to a new country! We wanted them to imagine what it might be like to move to a new land and think about what they would want to take with them. Here are a few of their ideas:
Please take the time to check out the link below. There are some wonderful books in this website to share with your child at home about cultural diversity and it’s great to start teaching and discussing this at an early age!
Anti-Racism For Kids 101: Starting To Talk About Race
Our Changing World
