Children from Alyth Kindergarten spent a whirlwind week exploring the world from the comfort of their north London setting when parents were invited to run circle time sessions about a country they had lived in, visited or had some affiliation to.
Tor Alter, head teacher of the Jewish kindergarten, was inspired to organise an international week when planning how to introduce children to the traditions of Tu Bishvat, a Jewish festival that is celebrated in Israel. ‘We want to give children responsibility and ownership that the world is full of diverse people,’ she says. ‘This is about celebrating all cultures and all diversity.’
Staff were ‘blown away’ by the response from parents, with them volunteering to introduce the children to:
Israel
A mother from Israel started the week by telling the children about Tu Bishvat, which celebrates the environment and particularly fruit trees. They discussed the importance of looking after the earth and how some fruit grows on trees, before sampling a selection of traditional dried fruits. She read The Giving Treeby Shel Silverstein.
France
A mother, whose husband originates from France, told the children how to say hello and goodbye in French and showed them a French children's book about colours. ‘The children liked hearing the sounds of the words and we spoke about how people from different countries can speak in different languages and accents,’ says Tor. ‘Some children found it funny that there are different words for colours in different languages.’
Colombia
A father who had recently been on holiday to Colombia played some Colombian music, which the children danced to, and told about how the country's climate – which has lots of sunshine and plenty of water – makes it particularly good for growing coffee beans and bananas. He brought in some coffee beans for children to handle and smell the strong aroma, and bananas for the children to look at. Children were surprised to see pictures of how bananas grow ‘upside down’ in bunches on trees.
Netherlands
Two sisters with children at the kindergarten spent their early childhoods living in the Netherlands. They brought in some traditional clogs and children were fascinated by the footwear made out of wood and enjoyed dressing up in them. The country is also famed for tulips. The sisters brought some of the brightly coloured flowers in for the children to smell and look at and they were used as a provocation for the children to paint.
Japan
A father attended the nursery wearing his traditional blue kimono and taught the children how they formally greet each other in Japan. They learnt to say ‘konnichiwa’ and to bow. He showed children the country's distinctive national flag, a white banner with a red circle in the centre to represent the sun as it rises in the sky.
Children were excited to link up via Zoom with his mother, also wearing a kimono, in Japan. She took them on a tour of a Japanese garden before the children were introduced to origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, and had the opportunity to try the craft.
Russia
A mother visited to share a folk story in her home language with the children and teach them how to count to ten in Russian. She brought in a set of Matryoshka dolls, otherwise known as Russian dolls or nesting dolls, for the children to explore the intricate decoration and how they all stack into each other. ‘The dolls formed a beautiful sequence and there was a lot of mathematical learning as we looked at the different sizes and lined them up in height order,’ says Tor.
Scotland
A dad attended the kindergarten wearing his traditional kilt to talk to the children about his home country of Scotland, and Burns Night, celebrating the life of Scottish author Robert Burns. The dad told children about haggis that is traditionally eaten at the celebration and shared some poetry. He explained the tartan kilt to the children, showed them the flashes on his socks and the sporran pouch.
South Africa
A parent who originates from South Africa brought in an official rugby shirt, scarf and the country's colourful flag. ‘She read the story Nobody Laughs at a Lion, which has the moral that everyone has something they’re good at,’ says Tor. ‘And she had safari puppets so we could look at the big five animals – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo – from South Africa.’
A traditional drumming workshop was timed to coincide with the parent's visit. Children were shown how to play the drums with the flats of their hands and tips of their fingers. They were also taught about rhythm and how to count a beat while drumming.
Turkey
A supply teacher who is Turkish showed the children her country's red flag with white star and crescent. ‘She spoke about some of the food that is eaten in Turkey and she brought in special tea and the tulip-shaped glasses traditionally used to drink it from,’ says Tor. She also showed the children a stone with an ‘evil eye’ painted on it, which she explained is believed to protect the holder from bad energies by moving the evil away. Children then had fun learning how to belly dance.
Switzerland
A parent who lived in Switzerland as a child brought in two of the food products that the country is famous for – cheese and chocolate – for the children to sample. She explained how they officially speak four languages in Switzerland – German, French, Italian and Romansh – but that the majority of people speak Swiss-German, which she helped the children to count up to ten in. She showed the Swiss flag – a white cross in the centre of a red background – and shared holiday photos of the mountains and lakes in summer and covered in snow in winter.
Links to learning
‘The learning opportunities were fantastic,’ says Tor. ‘They tried new foods, counted in different languages, looked at traditional dress, discussed different cultures and spent a lot of time looking at a big world map to see where the country was located. It was such a fun-packed week and we covered all of the EYFS and truly experienced cultural capital.’
She adds that the children whose parents came in to the kindergarten helped them to present and experienced a sense of pride in sharing their heritage with their peers and a sense of belonging.
Some children developed an interest in countries’ flags so the kindergarten has bought more books to support their learning. Looking at the world map led children to discussing how to travel to the countries they had heard about, bringing in conversation around distance and time. They talked about getting the train to Scotland and even France, but that people tend to fly to further away places, such as Colombia.
Talking about long-distance travel prompted some children to share their experiences of flying. They created their own aeroplane from a large box and pretended to fly to different countries.
‘I think the week made the children realise that we are not just part of a little setting in London,’ says Tor. ‘There is alot going on in the world, lots of places to visit and lots of cultures to celebrate.’
Book corner
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Once there was a little tree and she loved a little boy. But as the boy grew older, he began to want more from the tree…
Nobody Laughs at a Lion by Paul Bright and Matt Buckingham
‘You can see why I’m King of the Jungle,’ said Pa Lion. ‘It's because I’m the best.’ But what is he best at? Each time he thinks of something, he sees another animal who does it better.
Katie in Scotland by James Mayhew
Go on a tour of many of Scotland's highlights, including Glasgow's Kelingrove Park, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood, The Royal Mile, Scotland's National Gallery and Greyfriar's Bobby.
Martha Maps It Out by Leigh Hodgkinson
Martha loves drawing maps. She creates maps of everything – even her thoughts and dreams!
Welcome to our World by Moira Butterfield and Harriet Lynas
In this beautifully illustrated book, children can learn all about what people in other countries eat, wear and play and how they speak.
My First Book of World Flags by Collins
This reference book is packed with colourful illustrations and photographs to help young children to identify flags.
My World, Your World by Melanie Walsh
Pierre says ‘bonjour’. George says ‘hello’. But they both say ‘achoo!’ when they sneeze…
FURTHER READING
- ‘All about… maps’ by Meredith Jones Russell, Nursery World, February 2023