Glen Education Rowen St

Celebrating Cultural Identity

By the Glen Rowan Street Kindergarten Educational Team

At Glen Rowan Street Kindergarten, one of our service goals is to celebrate in culturally responsive ways to ensure every child experiences a deep sense of belonging and has their cultural identity recognised and respected. This includes teaching children about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, as well as acknowledging the many other cultural backgrounds within our community.

Honouring Cultural Identity in Our Program

We take intentional steps to acknowledge and honour each child’s unique cultural background. This term, we began by exploring the origins of our families and community:

• Some children shared that they were not born in Australia.
• Many shared that their parents were born overseas.
• Most discovered that their grandparents were born in other countries.

This led to rich discussions about our multicultural society and where we all come from.

Exploring Flags and Cultural Symbols

We explored the meaning and symbolism of the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander flags - learning what each colour and shape represents. The children also enjoyed identifying world flags that connect to their own family histories, fostering a sense of pride and cultural awareness.

Reconciliation Week: Caring for Country and Others

For Reconciliation Week, we watched the Play School episode Welcome to Country as a way to open meaningful conversations with the children about what it means to care for others and care for Country.

Using our rich natural outdoor space featuring trees, flowers, a veggie patch, roaming chickens, and other natural materials we talked about sustainability and only taking what we need from the land so that others have enough too. This built the foundation for understanding respect for nature and for community.

Kindness, Equity, and Celebrating Differences

We had many thoughtful conversations about kindness, inclusion, and diversity:

• We discussed how strength lies in our differences and similarities.
• The children reflected that being different is what makes us awesome.
• Sharing new ideas in play makes learning more fun.
• Learning from one another helps us grow into the best people we can be.

Nurturing Curiosity and Respect

Connecting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities begins by connecting with and reflecting on ourselves. Through these discussions, we nurture children’s curiosity, support the exploration of identity, and strengthen their understanding of equity and respect.

When all children are seen, heard, and included, it fosters a strong sense of acceptance and belonging - which is at the heart of what we do every day.