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View Full Version : Multicultural activity idea, easy, simple. Ideas please.



Cpgp
10-07-2014, 03:11 PM
Nearly 4 year old mindee mentioned at home that will not invite former mindee friend for his birthday party because she has "funny" hair (afro).
Apparently he has been making comments at home about other children in his nursery who has funny hair.
I am not sure how parents are tackling this but I never heard him saying those things in my setting.
However parents will not invite the child with the ' funny ' hair for the party....they would like to, also to reciprocate an invite, but will respect mindee's wishes.
Now 2 weeks ago I did an international week to talk about difference, but now I want to make an activity, preferably arts and crafts for the kid to take home.
Any ideas.?

watford wizz
10-07-2014, 06:24 PM
What about this is me pictures/ collages you can get packs of skin coloured card/crayons/paints use different wool/felt for hair each child works on every picture. Photograph them as a group for them to have copy of each other with caption like "all different, all unique, all special" x

Cpgp
10-07-2014, 09:54 PM
Lovely idea but I have this mindee only at the moment and he looks like my child's sibling tbh so I can't even do this activity with both of them...

I think the parents do not understand that this kind of behaviour should stop: e.g.; their child excluding another child from his B'day party saying that is is because their hair and even the parents are using the term "funny" hair now instead of curly or afro....I do not like it. Nut maybe I am being too intense?

I am thinking about sending home for the weekend a lovely book about people being different BUT I don't want the parents to feel patronised...I might do it anyway disguised as 'homework'
And I really want to make something 'arts and crafts' within the theme as I know parents make a big deal out of the child's art work (lovely) so it will be on display at home and talked about. I will call it "friendship" week and "international week was not long ago.

Dragonfly
11-07-2014, 06:17 AM
The child is probably saying 'funny hair' as they do not know how else to put it? doesn't mean they are being rude.I had young mindee's once who would not play with black doll's because they were 'dirty!' They didn't mean it in a rude way, just they could see different colours to a white doll. I always told them why they were that colour and they were not dirty etc they grew out of it.

FloraDora
11-07-2014, 07:01 AM
I think you are right in saying that its the parents issue if they think it is ok not to invite the child because of his hair, but like someone else pointed out, is it the genuine not liking hair or the lack of vocabulary to describe the child? I don't think a one off art idea is going to resolve this one, continual equality through books, resources, art equipt etc...and work on childs language aquisition in describing people, guess who is a good game for this.
I think the parents need to be the role model here and say you can't not invite because of hair and talk to their child about why they are inviting other children and what is different about this child, there must be others he is not inviting either? If they really believe their child is discriminating because of hair then I don't think this is the time to 'respect his wishes'.
My friends and family reflect our multicultural world, all british born and bred. My children grew up in a world of equality by the way we role modelled, we didn't buy books for their multicultural or diversity value, they gathered by choice of child being attracted to the book/ story/ pictures etc.. International focus lets us find out about other countries but be careful that children don't assume that a person who isn't 'white' must come from another country.
You are in a tricky situation., as you may have to educate the parents before you can help the child.

Cpgp
11-07-2014, 11:38 PM
Child is eloquent and have a good vocabulary.

I pointed out that his best friend who is afro descendent would have afro hair too if he let it grow. Child's answer was: but friend's hair is very short, we can't barely see it and he never lets it grow.

The way parents and child are using the word "funny" is not as in an amusing way but as a way to criticise or highlight a difference in a negative way, I feel.

Sorry for drip feeding but both parents have slightly curly hair and both are always doing chemical treatments to keep it straight.
Child also have same hair as parents so when it gets a bit longer both parents expresses disapproval and keeps mentioning how they shuld make time to get the child's hair cut asap.

To make things worse, one of the parents today made a unnecessary comment about somebody else's weight within the child's ear shot...however he done in a quiet voice, which shows me, the parent know that you shouldn't be speaking like this.

I just sent "All kinds of people" book home and told child to ask both parents to read for him on the weekend

Hopefully the penny will drop.

Cpgp
15-07-2014, 09:54 AM
Sent the "All kind of people" book home and child told me that dad read it for him.
Still, I witnessed that child making comments about someone's afro hair and dad thought it was hilarious.
Maybe it is because the parents chemically straightens his hair at a hair salon and projects this on someone who has a hair curlier than his.
Unbelievable.