Every day, adults and children alike are learning how to be more inclusive and celebrate the beautiful diversity in our world. Here are a few activities to help you and your family listen, learn, and grow in this pursuit.
Read
- Reading books that have racially and culturally diverse characters help children see, learn about, and empathize with people who are different from themselves.
- Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora is great for babies and toddlers.
- Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman is a beautiful story of self-confidence.
- Whoever You Are by Mem Fox shows how children all over the world share joy and love despite living, speaking, and looking different from each other.
Crafts
- Craft projects will allow children to see and think about physical characteristics that make us all different. By creating these works of art themselves, they can take pride in them and appreciate the beauty in diversity.
- Use construction paper, foam sheets, or regular paper with crayons and markers to create paper dolls with varying skin tones. Give them hair, clothes, and personalities, and start playing pretend!
- Cut out hand prints in a rainbow of colors and/or skin tones and create a wreath. Hang it on your front door or in a window to share the love with your neighbors!
Play
Playing pretend and imagining that they are someone else can allow children to explore the hearts and minds of others, which helps them see things from their perspectives.
- Learn about people like Katherine Johnson, Duke Ellington, or Jesse Owens and play pretend!
- Play “Guess Who?” Give clues to help your child guess the person you are thinking of. Start with simple clues such as their favorite food or the color of their hair. This can help your child start to think about and appreciate what makes us all different, but also what we have in common!
Check out our Diversity Pinterest page for more activities and ideas!
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This post written for you by Natalie Day, M.S., CCC-SLP of Columbus Speech & Hearing