Aspire Centres Celebrate Harmony Week!
Harmony Week, recognised from 17th – 24th March, is a celebration of cultural diversity, and brings together Australians from all different ethnicities. It’s about inclusiveness and creating a sense of belonging and respect for everyone.
In early education settings, it is a great opportunity to promote inclusivity, respect, and cultural understanding in young children. At Aspire, our families as well as our educators, come from all different cultural backgrounds, so we recognise the importance of teaching children about diversity and appreciating different cultures and traditions.
During Harmony Week, our Aspire centres celebrated in many different ways! Our staff and children dressed up in traditional clothing, ate multicultural food, and engaged in different activities and cultural incursions.
Many Aspire staff and children dressed up in orange to show support for Harmony Week. Some staff at Aspire centres also chose to wear traditional clothing from their heritage. This was a beautiful way to showcase part of their culture, and a great way for children to feel proud of their heritage.
Check out some of the beautiful outfits across our centres below!
Food was also a big part of Harmony Week at our centres. Some of our centres hosted special morning teas, afternoon teas and lunches and invited families to the centre as well. There was a range of delicious food from a range of cuisines, including curries, lentils, rice dishes, spring rolls, dim sims, sandwiches, pizzas, pasta and more!
During the week, the children also got to participate in different cooking experiences with the centre chef. Here they learnt how to cook some of the food mentioned above. This provided a hands-on experience for the children, as well introducing them to new foods and various cultures.
Harmony Week also saw lots of colour and creativity at our centres! Many of the children at our centres participated in different arts and crafts activities, such as printing their own orange handprints, painting the earth, and decorating the outside of their rooms with different country flags and harmony-related imagery.
At Aspire Cobblebank, they had set up a Harmony Week exhibition, where they showcased different children’s artwork and concepts throughout the centre. One corner of the centre was a “We are One” exhibition. This had images of the children with the Australian flag and colours, which focused on unity and belonging together.
At Aspire Atherstone and Aspire Beveridge, they had a Bollywood incursion to recognise Harmony Week. This incursion involves fun and simple dance routines set to vibrant Bollywood music, promoting physical activity and cultural understanding. Aspire Berwick Waters also had an African drumming experience! This was another great incursion that celebrated West African musical culture with a mix of drumming, dancing and singing.
All of these wonderful activities, both creative and musical, encouraged children to learn and appreciate different cultures in expressive ways.
Some of our Aspire centres were also fortunate to have a few parents come to the centre to share their traditions, stories, and experiences. Parents explained where they were born, told a story from their heritage, and shared different traditions and food from their country. Some Aspire educators also shared their different experiences as well
It was great for the children to learn about different cultures from other adults.
Aspire’s Harmony Week celebrations are a testament to the power of education in fostering unity and respect among our children. To learn more about the celebrations and programs at our centres, enquire today at your nearest Aspire centre.
