Skip to main content

3 & 4 Year Old Classes - Multiculturalism in our Preschool

Although we are a nondenominational Preschool, we are appreciative of the many cultures and traditions in our diverse community.

We explain to the children that there are numerous holidays and traditions. Some we know and some we may not know. When there is a holiday that is being celebrated by a family at our preschool, or a number of families, we see it as an opportunity for all to share that experience. It allows us to learn and grow, and encourages inclusion.

It's wonderful when parents come into class and share a little of their culture with the Preschool. It benefits all the children in a very positive way.

Recently we brought a little of the Chinese New Year into our Preschool.




During Circle Time we shared the many ways Chinese New Year is celebrated: parades, fireworks, festive colours, traditional foods and more. A Chinese folk tale called “Little Mouse's Big Trick” was told using the 12 animals from the Chinese calendar.
 
 
Sophia and Taylor admired each other's dresses, with Sophia wearing a traditional Chinese dress.

  “Careful not to tear it Sophia!” says Taylor.   

 
 
The children practised writing Chinese calligraphy on a “Buddah” board. They spent much time and focus on this activity, taking note of the directions of the lines.


 
More Chinese letters and words were incorporated into the art.

 
 
 

We made chicken chow-mein during class time, with all hands on deck helping.


















“Is it ready now?” says Sophie. 

“I love it!” says Samuel.


Kung Hey Fat Choy! Happy New Year!

~Barbi

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Social Responsibility: Down to the Core

Social responsibility- a term that has now become quite common in the field of education and has the potential to lose its meaning if we are not careful. As an early childhood educator, I have always placed great importance on the need to develop this way of thinking in young children. It is for this reason that we engage in activities that benefit others, such as volunteering at our local food bank, adopting an owl, or raising money for Variety Club. With the recent catastrophe in the Philippines, my mind was suddenly thrown into its own typhoon. I found myself asking questions around social responsibility and what it really means. What does it mean to me? What does it mean to my preschoolers? How far does it extend into the world around us? Can four year old children grasp these deep and complex concepts? What can they understand about their world? How can we teach them about being socially responsible to: ones self; ones family; ones community; ones province; ones country; ones worl...
On Monday, we became adopted parents of a dwarf frog. It was given to us by an alumni parent whose daughter no longer wanted it and I suppose she thought I was a vulnerable victim (clearly she was right!) and I said "Yes, we would love it,". Well, there is truth in that because the children already love this little creature. The Junior OSC children made Do Not Touch signs posted near the mini aquarium and our preschoolers made the frog pictures today and wanted to shower him/her with gifts. On Monday I asked them to go home and think about a name for the frog and bring their suggestion back to class on Wednesday. So, this morning we compiled our potential name list, with the understanding that we would be voting on the name. The name suggestions were as follows: Cynna: Badgie Colin: Jack Brooke: Flower Kayla: Froggie Luca: Penguin ( NOT Penguino) Alexa: Flower Bryn: Froggie Cole: Froggie Emily: Ella Zev: Spot Chloe: Eric Cash: Benji Wayne: Jackie The big vote ...