Living in such a diverse world means we have an abundance of wonderful cultures, traditions, and rich history all around us. For children, we should encourage them to learn more about different cultures and how they’re all important in society.
With this guide from this junior school in Somerset, we take a look at ways you can enrich your child’s cultural knowledge.
Make cultural food at home
Get your child involved in the cooking. Make them feel a part of the process and show them the many different ingredients dishes around the world use. Chinese food for instance uses lots of sesame oil, five-spice, soy sauce, and ginger – ingredients that your child might not have tried before. Show them how lovely different cultures’ appetites are.
Try these dishes with your kids:
- Falafel wraps
- Tacos or fajitas
- Chinese stir fry
- Lentil dal
- Grilled chicken kebabs
Throw a party for different celebrations in the year
It’s likely your child has friends at school that celebrates different events, such as Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, or Vaisakhi, to name a few. This is a chance for your child to learn more about these traditional celebrations and get involved.
They could ask their friends if they’d be able to join them in the festivities or pull off their own event at home. It’s also a chance for you and your child to practice some traditional dishes in the kitchen and learn about different religious and cultural holidays together.
Besides learning about a country’s religion and traditions with family and friends, it’s also important for your child to learn about their religion and culture in other ways.
The methods can be different, such as reading or talking with industry people, or it can be by attending, for example, small groups in your local churches. There is a children’s ministry curriculum in many churches, where your children can go with their friends, and by playing some games, and watching videos, they can easily learn it all and also enjoy their time.
Mark special dates in the calendar
Doing this can mean you prepare something different to do in the home on these days that relate to different traditions. These can include taking part in lent, learning about the Tomatina festival in Spain, practicing a specific dance from a region of the globe, and many more possibilities.
This can also be done by showing your child the globe and showing them where these celebrations or traditions take place, giving them a little geography lesson as well.
*this is a collaborative post
