One trait that makes Canada so special is our multiculturalism and diversity. To foster a genuine sense of belonging in the classroom, we believe that it is essential to celebrate our differences and integrate inclusivity into our curriculum. As September rolls around again, we are met with some new faces, new children, and new families. The educators in the Preschool room at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Luke sought a way to learn more about these families in a way that also engages them with our program in an effort to connect home and school.
Educator Natassia had a spare world map at home, so she brought it in and laminated it. We then put it on the wall outside our classroom, and invited families to pinpoint where their family is originally from. In an effort to get families involved and participate with their child, we invited them to take a printout called ‘About Me’ that we created. On it, we asked families to include a photo of their child, where their family is originally from, and their favourite things to do. As we get these returned, we have begun to display them on the board outside our classroom with a string that attaches their ‘About Me’ sheet to their country on the map to add a visual.
To expand on this learning, we will bring the map and the ‘About Me’ sheets into the classroom for the children to explore. We plan to discuss where we are on the map, pinpoint where different students and educators are from, and discuss different countries. If the children are interested in a specific country, we plan to dive deeper into countries and learn more about their culture. We can’t wait to learn more about the families, their cultures, and everything else we get to know about them!
