At Wild Roots, we believe in a world free from bias and discrimination. To do this we aim to teach every child to celebrate and value diversity so that they are proud of themselves and their family traditions. It is important to show children to respect and value people regardless of the color of their skin, their physical abilities, or the languages that they speak.

To achieve this goal at our school, the Kinder and Transitional Kinder program furthered the foundational geography studies from our primary class. After gaining a beginning knowledge of the seven continents, their names and general location, the TK program promoted an understanding of countries. Each week, the TK students studied one country. This study began with an aesthetic appreciation of the country’s flag, followed by discussions, books, videos and various explorations of wildlife, people, languages, food, climate, and architecture.

This opened up a wonderful array of diverse cultural awareness in our classroom. From building the Eiffel Tower out of blocks to crafting Moai Statues out of clay, the children were exposed to ideas and customs that were different from their own. Our learning of the tribal hand art of the Aborigines inspired us to discover other ancient cultures such as the Aztecs and Egyptians. We learned about riddles from the Great Sphynx, and how to knit colorful Bilum patterns from Paupa New Guinea.

Each Friday the children are welcomed to the school’s kitchen for advanced food prep. This is where they assist in preparing a local dish from that week’s country. While some dishes contain familiar ingredients, others look and smell very different from the foods we eat at home. The children are then encouraged to try the things they make!

In order to combat future bias is essential to expose students to the vast array of cultures during early childhood education. American families are diverse. Some children speak different languages at home, practice different faiths, cook different foods that may be considered strange by other children and adults. If these differences are perceived negatively children may refuse to speak their home language, eat certain foods, wear certain clothes, or follow certain religious practices. As they grow, our children discover their world is much larger than just inside their own family. As they begin to branch out during playdates, sleepovers, and parties children begin to compare their appearance, family or life with others.

Preschool-aged children often need to be reassured that differences are okay! Simply because someone does something differently from you does not make them wrong, different can be wonderful! More than that, we aim to work with parents to help bridge the norms, the attitudes, and the ways of doing things in children’s cross-cultural worlds to counteract any demeaning and harmful messages. While we are able to connect with our similarities, it is our differences that make us beautiful and unique.