Throughout National Reconciliation Week 2020, the children at Spence Children’s Cottage have been learning about and exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures.
This included:
- learning about Aboriginal dot painting using cotton buds to paint on paper and bark, while Educators shared meanings behind each of the colours
- creating didgeridoos using old paper towel rolls, that the children then decorated in their own way
- reading Aboriginal stories including White Clay and the Giant Kangaroos, When the Snake Bites the Sun, How the Kangaroos Got Their Tails and How the Birds Got Their Colours
- listening to Aboriginal music including didgeridoo music by Edwin Morrow, while the children danced and tapped along on sticks
- singing songs in Aboriginal languages.
As we do regularly within our programs, we have also been discussing the Aboriginal nations in our region and doing our child-appropriate Acknowledgement of Country.
At YWCA Canberra, we are proud to facilitate learning experiences that promote an understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, contributions, knowledge and histories, as part of our contributions to reconciliation.