Harmony Week is a wonderful time to celebrate inclusiveness, respect, and belonging among all Australians, from the traditional owners of the land to those who have come from many countries around the world. For primary classroom teachers, it’s a valuable opportunity to foster understanding and acceptance in young children. Here are eleven activities perfect for bringing Harmony Week into your classroom.
1. Cultural Passport Creation: Have students create their own “cultural passports” where they can document different cultures they learn about throughout the week.
2. International Food Day: Invite children to bring in dishes from their cultural background and organize a shared lunch where everyone can taste different cuisines.
3. Traditional Costume Show and Tell: Encourage children to wear traditional clothing from various cultures and share information about what they are wearing.
4. World Language Lessons: Teach children simple greetings or phrases in different languages spoken by students in the class or within the broader community.
5. Peace Dove Origami: Teach students how to make origami doves as a symbol of peace and harmony, which they can then decorate and display around the classroom.
6. Multicultural Storytime: Select books that celebrate diversity and read them together as a class, discussing the different cultures represented in the stories.
7. Heritage Interviews: Assign students to interview a family member about their heritage and present their findings to the class.
8. Unity Wreath Project: Each child decorates a paper handprint with their own unique designs, then all handprints are connected to form a unity wreath, symbolizing coming together in harmony.
9. Harmony Day Song Composition: Collaborate as a class to write and perform a song about what harmony means to them.
10. Friendship Chains: Children cut out strips of paper and write messages of friendship or words that represent harmony before linking them together into interlocking friendship chains.
11. Cultural Games Olympics: Organize an Olympics-style event with games from various cultures; this could include Chinese jump rope, Italian bocce ball, or Australian Aboriginal games like ‘kee’an.’
Each activity not only celebrates cultural diversity but also promotes teamwork, empathy, and creative expression among young students during Harmony Week.
