Celebrating who we are

A big part of our social studies curriculum in kindergarten is learning about who we are as individuals and members of a community. All year long we have done different activities that help us explore how each person is unique. Here are some glimpses into what we have done!

We started off by looking at pictures of children from around the world, and sharing our observations. What does their hair look like? What does their skin look like? Can you see where they live? Do they look the same or different from you?

Then we started a discussion about our skin color. Several of our books taught us that while skin is often called "black" or "white," we are all actually various shades of brown.

We compared our skin color to each other's skin, and then I passed out skin color crayons. The students chose a shade of brown that most closely matched their skin shade. Some crayon colors included almond, chocolate, and maize.

Then they made drawings of themselves using their skin color crayon, and shared their color with the rest of the class:

We read a book called "It's Okay to Be Different," by my favorite author Todd Parr. The message in this book is that we are all different, and instead of ignoring this fact, we should celebrate it! Here are some excerpts from the book:

Later in the year, we did a similar comparison activity using paint chips of various shades of brown. Then we shared how our beautiful skin made us feel.

We also read the book "I Love My Hair" and shared why we loved our own hair. These are all original ideas from each student, and I loved seeing what they had to say!

We then created a matching game out of photos the kids' hair and faces, which is available as a sort during stations and free choice! This is a great way to help kids pay attention to detail and truly notice the differences among each other.

Then we made and shared "All About Me" puzzles, coloring six different pieces that represent who we are. These are now available in one of our workstations, so the kids can try to put together each other's puzzles.

And here's a look at how different we all are - and how beautiful!