Multiculturalism is celebrated throughout all MercyCare Early Learning Centres, and we're committed to educating children about different cultures from an early age so they grow up to be inclusive individuals who will thrive living in a multicultural society, like Australia.
The same goes for the children who attend our centres, who come from a whole array of different backgrounds and cultures. This makes for some fantastic learning opportunities as our families are often happy to assist our exploration of different cultures by contributing or participating in our learning experiences.
Another way our teams educate children about multiculturalism is through books, and below we’ve shortlisted some of our favourites that can be found on the bookshelves at our Early Learning Centres.
They include:
1. I’m Australian Too (Mem Fox)
I'm Australian Too shares some of the many and varied stories of Australia and the places that Australians, their parents and their grandparents have come from. It is a celebration of multiculturalism and an exploration of cultural diversity.
2. My Granny went to market (Stella Blackstone and Christopher Corr)
Fly away with Granny as she takes a magic carpet ride around the world, collecting a steadily increasing number of souvenirs from each exotic location! This rhyming story will take young readers on an adventure to different countries while teaching them to count along the way.
3. My Culture and Me (Gregg Dreise)
This is a story about cherishing and sustaining the indigenous culture, focusing on the traditional aspects of Aboriginal culture. This book also appears in our list of ‘Top books for toddlers that celebrate Aboriginal culture’
4. On the Way to Nana’s (Frances and Lindsay Haji-Ali)
This book is about a family adventure driving across the magnificent Kimberley region of Western Australia. In the book the family count what they see along the way – such as “Thirteen grazing cattle and the long road ahead of me…”
5. If you’re a Kiwi and you know it (Sung by Pio Terei, Maori lyrics by Kotuku Tibble)
The New Zealand version of “If you’re happy and you know it”, in a picture song format. One of our educators is from New Zealand and loves to share this book with the children!
6. Festivals around the world (Nick James)
This is one of our large books, which is ideal for group story time. It’s about how people celebrate festivals around the world. Such amazing illustrations that the children love looking at.
7. We paint the world with colour (Lissa Jane)
This is another one of our larger books, full of amazing illustrations. The author uses simple similes to express beauty in diversity, such as “My hair is brown like delicious dark chocolate.”
8. Kids go to school around the world (Nick James)
Another of our larger books, which looks at the many different ways children travel to school each day. For some children it is easy, but for others, it’s a bit more difficult to get there.
9. Bush Bash (Sally Morgan and Ambelin Kwaymullina)
This is a book about Australian animals. There are animals to count and things to find. The children really enjoy this one!
10. Bush Tracks (Ros Moriarty)
Featuring illustrations by Australia’s leading indigenous design studio – Balarinji – this beautifully designed book is about an exploration of country along a bush track.
At MercyCare Early Learning Centres, we support your children with an understanding of themselves, their community and the world around them, which lays strong foundations for them to grow, develop and find their space in the world.
By educating children about different cultures from an early age, we’re teaching them to be accepting of others so they grow up to be inclusive individuals who will thrive living in a multicultural society, like Australia.
