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Celebrating Diversity at BestStart Hei Hei
At BestStart Hei Hei, we pride ourselves in celebrating the uniqueness and diversity of the cultures that our tamariki bring to our centre. Over the past few weeks, tamariki got to experience two very special cultural celebrations namely, Holi – The Hindu Festival of Colours and Ramadan/Eid as celebrated by our Muslim families.
To commemorate these special days, tamariki got to engage in multiple activities such as painting and drawing, which contribute towards the development of fine-motor skills as well as baking yummy treats, amongst others. Kaiako, read various stories, explaining the meaning behind celebrating these events. For Holi, both teachers and children wore white in anticipation of the very messy and fun activity that was to be shared amongst all.
Kaiako bought different coloured powders for tamariki to throw on each other as done by many Hindu’s in celebration. Colours permeated the air and the children especially loved this activity and were quite impressed to see their teachers joining in the fun too as they smeared coloured powders on one another.
This learning links to our centre philosophy, where we value inclusivity and recognise the importance of the diverse cultures that make up our home, Aotearoa. It is also linked to Te Whāriki, under the Mana Whenua (Belonging) Strand which recognises diversity and places importance in ensuring that every child's culture and background is valued.
Our Hei Hei team is committed to acknowledging and celebrating the diversity of all our whanāu and most importantly getting to share these special moments with our children.