Growing with our Communities
Connecting
through culture
“There are many benefits to learning a language from a young age and the positive effects it has on the brain. Students gain cognitive benefits such as improved attention span and memory. Stronger cultural awareness also means individuals can adapt to new environments and be open to new experiences.” Tara, Language Teacher at Nara Preschool.
As part of a broader cultural awareness program, many Y Kinders take part in learning a language.
Havilah Road Preschool, Long Gully and Nara Preschool in Mount Waverley received funding through the Early Childhood Language Program and cannot speak highly enough of the initiatives at their kindergartens and the benefits that they have seen. These extend far beyond learning words and phrases and to communicate in a language other than English.
For children, there are recognised advantages, such as enhancing pre-reading and writing skills, increasing understanding of other cultures, and developing abilities that support overall learning.
However, importantly, for many families, it is also a powerful way that they feel a closer bond with the kindergarten community and a deeper sense of connection. And this sense of connection has positive effects on their children and their learning.
Integrating Karen culture into the Kinder program
Havilah Road Preschool has been taking part in the Early Childhood Language Program since 2019, with Karen as part of their curriculum. With a high number of Karen families attending the kinder, the team’s goal was to support children to maintain their first language, while contributing to their sense of belonging at the Preschool.
Their Karen teacher, Sei sei, attends the kindergarten weekly and uses the Karen language in all parts of the day, switching between Karen and English when talking to the children. They celebrate the Karen culture in many ways, including participating in Karen New Year activities, Refugee Week, and the Water Festival each year. A favourite session is when Sei sei cooks traditional meals with the children.
In the City of Monash, Nara Preschool has more recently introduced their Chinese language program, with sessions twice a week for the 4-year-old children. Taught by Tara, one of their educators, children learn Mandarin vocabulary that they can use in their everyday lives, such as greetings and manners, asking for help, and numbers and colours.
While not every Y Kinder has a formal language program in place, a wealth of initiatives take place across our services. Whether it is embedding Indigenous perspectives and introducing local First Nations’ Language, teaching children to sign in Auslan, providing a range of engaging resources available for play-based learning, celebrating festivals or inviting families to the kinder to share aspects of their culture, these are as varied as our kinder communities.
Cultural awareness at Brandon Park Preschool
Brandon Park Preschool created their own regular cultural program for the children. The format varies from week-to-week depending on the calendar of cultural events or other kinder programming.
The initiative arose from interest expressed by families, who were keen to visit the Preschool to show children their traditional attire as part of Aluth Avurudu (Sinhalese New Year). From there, it grew, with Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek and Indian cultural activities included. Over the time that this has been part of the kinder program, the enthusiasm and participation of the children has far exceeded the team’s original expectations.
Gina Ma, Teacher at Brandon Park Preschool recently reflected on the success of the program, “We are delighted to see children’s growing knowledge of different cultures and their development of inclusiveness.”
Through respect and fostering understanding in the early years, the seeds are sown to build stronger communities and an increasingly connected and more unified world.