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Learning Together Joyfully: Celebrate Cultural Diversity

Amongst our fondest memories are the experiences and traditions that we share with our family and friends. Families that share traditions with established rituals, traditions, and routines report a stronger connection and bond. Making our children aware of other cultural rituals and traditions helps them develop a positive sense of identity and builds self-esteem. To form positive self-concepts, children must honor and respect their own families and cultures and have others honor and respect these key facets of their identities too. If the classroom doesn’t reflect and validate their families and cultures, children may feel invisible, unimportant, incompetent, and ashamed of who they are. There are many other reasons why it is important for educators and parents to share stories and engage in discussion with children to develop their cultural awareness. The following reasons stress the importance of children learning about cultural diversity and the ways other families in our community and around the world celebrate religious festivals.

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WORLD RELIGIONS AND CULTURE

Reading the following books is an opportunity to bring culture into the classroom or at home as you raise your children’s awareness and understanding of cultural diversity. Reading books and singing songs followed by age-appropriate discussions, assist children to understand different cultures and for some to feel proud and develop a sense of identity. The following books are culturally relevant and assist educators and parents to learn more about other religions and to incorporate anti-bias curriculum and values in their learning spaces and at home. 

1.  Read and Sing together 📚 

VAISAKHI (or Baisakhi):  April 14. 2022. The Sikh New Year festival is one of the most important dates as it marks the start of the Punjabi New Year. It is also a day to celebrate 1699 – the year when Sikhism was born as a collective faith. Often Sikhs begin Vaisakhi with a visit to the gurdwara, a place of worship. After religious services are held, people begin a day of celebration. Traditional  colourful clothes are worn during the parade as they sing, dance and chant hymns through the streets. Giving out free food comes from a tradition called langar. Everyone in the community, no matter how rich or poor they are, comes together to share a meal.  In BC, large local Sikh communities in the cities of Vancouver, Abbotsford and Surrey typically hold celebrations and Nagar Kirtan (parades) in April.

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  • Let’s Celebrate Vaisakhi! by Ajanta Chakraborty In this multicultural and educational series. Join Maya, Neel and their pet squirrel, Chintu, as they visit Punjab in India to celebrate Vaisakhi, Punjab’s Spring Harvest Festival. Kids will learn about history, food, language and cultural elements of Vaisakhi.
  • The Garden of Peace by Navjot Kaur. When five ugly and dried up seeds are found, Elders wonder if they will grow.  Some throw the seeds aside, while others hold out hope. This is an allegory rooted in the social despair, with a tyrant ruler and unfair social class system. Read to discover how a nation-building event in Sikh history harvested citizens of change. At the back of the book, there are five steps on how to grow a garden of peace. Earth Day takes place on April 22nd and points out the importance of our choices to conserve our earth. Connect these concepts and discuss how we can incorporate anti-racism by “planting seeds” and carrying out random acts of kindness, being fair (no discrimination); being brave; and having a growth mindset. Read more about The Five Khalsa Values.
  • A Lion’s Mane by Navjot Kaur is a beautiful picture book that details the journey of a young child as he embraces his patka or dastaar using the metaphor of a Lion’s Mane. The main character also connects the lion metaphor to other cultures and historical figures around the world. Central to this story is a young Sikh boy, who explores what it means to be different just like you. The first page asks a question that will encourage deeper conversations about identity and belonging: “Do you know who I am?” Join this child’s quest for self-discovery through the metaphor of a lion’s mane.

RAMADAN – April 2 – May 1. This holy month is celebrated by Muslims around the world with the common greeting “Ramadan Mubarak”. It is believed to be the month in which the Qur’an (the religious text of Islam) was revealed to the prophet Muhammed. It is a quiet, reflective time of worship, prayer, helping others, and spending time with loved ones. Muslims, 12 and over, fast during Ramadan, not eating or drinking anything between sunrise and sunset as a reminder to appreciate their blessings and to help those in need. Sadaqah, or good deeds, are undertaken to show kindness and generosity. As the new moon ends, the “Festival of Fast-Breaking,” or Eid al-Fitr, begins and includes a three-day celebration with prayers, the exchange of cards and gifts, and feasting with friends and family.

  • Lailah’s Lunchbox by Rheem Faruqi. Lailah is in a new school in a new country, thousands of miles from her old home, and missing her old friends. When Ramadan begins, she is excited that she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worried that her classmates won’t understand why she doesn’t join them in the lunchroom. Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that she can make new friends who respect her beliefs. Decorative arabesque borders contrast the ordered patterns of Islamic observances with the unbounded rhythms of American school days.
  • Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid al-Fitz by Lisa Bullard. For Muslims, Ramadan is a time for fasting, prayer, and thinking of others. Rashad tries to be good all month. When it’s time for Eid al-Fitr, he feasts and plays! Find out how people celebrate this special time of year.
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  • My First Ramadan by Karen Katz, Look! There is a new moon in the sky and it’s time for Ramadan to begin. Follow along with one young boy as he observes the Muslim holy month with his family. This year, he is finally old enough to fast and shares his experiences of this special holiday in Islam.
  • It’s Ramadan, Curious George by H.A. Rey and Hena Khan. It’s the first day of Ramadan, and George is celebrating with his friend Kareem and his family. George helps Kareem with his first fast and joins in the evening celebration of tasting treats and enjoying a special meal. George helps make gift baskets to donate to the needy, and watches for the crescent moon with the man in the yellow hat. Finally George joins in the Eid festivities to mark the end of his very first Ramadan. 
  • Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan. With breathtaking illustrations and informative text, this book magnificently captures the world of Islam, celebrating its beauty and tradition. Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, this entrancing volume is equally at home in the classroom or being read at home.

PASSOVER: APRIL 15 – 23. In Judaism, Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ departure from slavery in Ancient Egypt when Moses parted the Red Sea. It is the most widely celebrated Jewish holiday. The Passover holiday celebrates spring, rebirth, and the journey from slavery to freedom. It also emphasizes responsibility for oneself, the community, and the world at large. 

  • What is Passover by Harriet Ziefert. Help Jake and his family prepare for a special family seder in this holiday lift-the-flap book about Passover.
  • Grover and Big Bird’s Passover Celebration by Ellen Fischer.  Grover and Big Bird are in a hurry to get to the Passover seder, but—uh, oh!—there are many delays. Moishe Oofnik comes to the rescue in his tumbledown truck, but will they arrive in time to ask the Four Questions?

Is it Passover Yet? by Chris Barash. It’s time to clean the house, set out our best dishes, and fill our homes with food and family to celebrate the joyous holiday of Passover! In this sweet story, join one family as they gather with loved ones to share the joy of togetherness and freedom that Passover brings.

  • Passover by Miriam Nerlove. This is an introduction to this traditional Jewish holiday, told in rhyming verses. Full-color illustrations enhance the lively rhymes.

ALL CULTURES:

  • A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley. Everyone, everywhere enjoys a nice, cool drink of water.  With minimal text this book teaches children that water is basic to human life all over the globe. Stunning National Geographic photos show how people in various cultures use and conserve water. An Italian boy sips from a fountain in the town square. A hiker takes a refreshing drink from a mountain stream. Black-robed women in India stride gracefully through a field with brass water jugs balanced on their heads. Whether they squeeze it out of a burlap bag, haul it home from a communal tap, or get it out of their kitchen faucet, people all around the world are unified by their common need for water. This beautiful book doesn’t address water pollution, it is purely a celebration of the world’s most vital resource.
Multicultural Children's Books for Earth Day: A Cool Drink of Water

SONGS:

Introduce children to different cultures, rituals and religions through song. Remember, Music is culture. It has a unique message and defines who we are as a collective people to speak a universal language. When we communicate through music, it is unbiased, peaceful, and serene. There is no force of who or how things should be, just a free form of expression. It explains and supports the culture of all students.

VAISAKHI

PASSOVER

RAMADAN

Cultural Diversity
BY SUSAN K. PERRY, PH.D.

Culture refers to commonalities that exist in a group of people with a shared heritage. Most children believe that their culture or way of doing things is the “right” one and that others are a bit “strange or different.” As you look at other cultures with your children, aim for an appreciation of differences. Hopefully this will lead to more flexible thinking, less prejudice and stereotyping and an increased appreciation of the commonalities as well as the differences we share as human beings. Culture shapes not only our values and beliefs, but also our gender roles, family structures, languages, dress, food, etiquette, approaches to disabilities, child-rearing practices, and even our expectations for children’s behavior. In this way, culture creates diversity.

2. Create together: Puzzles, Crafts, Drawing and Constructing 🧩 

RAMADAN ACTIVITIES: 

  • Create Suncatcher Arabic-inspired Lanterns to celebrate Ramadan. Sing Ramadan Moon; read Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns:and then create these lanterns. Ask children to draw 2 lanterns on black paper and insert and glue coloured tissue to create suncatcher lanterns. 

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  • In celebration of Ramadan, create a tree of good deeds. Have children find a branch from your nature walk and then attach “leaves” showing how they have been kind and helped others. Children can also cut a tree, brainstorm good deeds and print them on their leaves. Find further instructions for the Good Deeds Tree.

VAISAKHI ACTIVITIES:

vaisakhi
Khalsa Qualities: Daya – Kindness; Sharam- Fairness; Himmat – Courage; Mohkem – Determination;
Sahib – Strength

3. Explore, Engage & Interact together 🌍

RAMADAN ACTIVITIES: 

VAISAKHI ACTIVITIES:

  • Download a variety of activities in the Countdown to Vaisakhi resource booklet – check the last page for links for many downloadables. 

PASSOVER ACTIVITIES:

4. Healthy Living: Movement & Nutrition 👭

MOVEMENT:

NUTRITION:

5. Reflect: Thoughts of the Day about Learning 💭


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