Station 11: We Are All Part Of This World

WELCOME TO THE WORLD!

Where were you born? What songs did you like to hear when you were little? What stories did you listen to? Maybe these are the same as your friends. Maybe some friends heard different songs and listened to different stories or were born in a different town or state or country. These differences are what make us UNIQUE – and everyone is UNIQUE. UNIQUE means being the only one of its kind. And you are the only YOU!

But everyone is also similar. Everyone was born. Everyone knows songs and stories. And everyone can share these. Let’s celebrate each other!

WELL, HELLO THERE!

Hey! Hola! Ni hao! Kamusta! Marhaba!

Learn to say “Hello” in different languages by using language apps (you can usually get a language app through the library with your library card) or through language books. Make “Hello” flash cards and practice saying “hello” in different languages every day!

USE THE COMPASS!

Stand in the middle of the compass and pretend you are a bird and can fly directly to locations around our state and world.

Stand pointing towards N for NORTH – Canada (Surrey, BC) is 135 miles NORTH

Turn right so you are pointing NE for NORTHEAST – The North Cascades (Concrete, WA) are 116 miles NORTHEAST

Turn right so your are facing EAST – the Puget Sound is just ½ mile EAST

Turn right to SE for SOUTHEAST – Mt. Rainier (Ashford, WA) is 46 miles SOUTHEAST

Now turn right to SOUTH (you are OPPOSITE of NORTH) – Oregon (Rainier, OR) is 65 miles SOUTH

Turn right to SOUTHWEST – Our Sister City Kato in Japan is 5,005 miles SOUTHEAST

Turn right to the WEST (you are OPPOSITE of EAST) – the Pacific Ocean is 59 miles WEST

Turn right to the NORTHWEST –  The Olympic Mountains (Hoodsport, WA)  are 26 miles NORTHWEST

SISTER CITY KATO, JAPAN

Did you know? Olympia initially began a Sister City relationship with Yashiro, Japan in 1981. In 2006, three Japanese towns — Yashiro, Takino and Tojo — merged to form the larger city of Kato. Sister cities are formed to have two different cultures come together in friendship.

ACTIVITIES

You are perfect! Help children build their self confidence by creating a self-portrait. Find some great tips HERE. If you are working with a group of children, use the self-portraits in this activity to help them celebrate family differences.

You can also teach children to celebrate diversity through this playful activity.

A great way to explore your family’s unique culture is to create a family traditions book. Add pages to this book as you add traditions. Ask friends about their traditions and see if any of your family’s are similar.

CCAC’s Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Justice committee has a great project to work on with the book, Drawn Together by Minh Lê and illustrated by Dan Santat.

Drawn Together Family and Child Activity: Connecting Through Art is a Superpower

(1) For this activity, you will need the book Drawn Together, two blank sheets of paper, and drawing materials such as crayons, colored markers, colored pencils, watercolor paints, etc.

(2) After reading the story, Drawn Together, think about what kind of a superhero you could be. What would be your superpower? On the first paper, Draw a picture of yourself as a superhero. Write, scribble write, or dictate a description of your superpower.

(3) Think about someone in your family or in your life who helps take care of you, someone who matters to you. What is their superpower? On the other sheet of paper, draw a picture of your loved one as a superhero. Write, scribble write, or dictate a description of your loved one’s superpower.

(4) Frame the two pictures together. Title it “Drawn Together” and talk about how being connected through art is a superpower because art is a language of sharing ourselves with another.

This activity can be tied to the WA State Early Learning and Development Guidelines under “About Me and My Culture” and “Communication” – ages preschool through 3rd grade.

BOOKS TO READ TOGETHER

All the Colors of the Earth by Sheila Hamanaka (Author and Illustrator)

Celebrate the colors of children and the colors of love—not black or white or yellow or red, but roaring brown, whispering gold, tinkling pink, and more.

Included in Brightly’s list of recommended diverse poetry picture books for kids, this beautifully illustrated book “celebrates the beauty of diversity to the fullest through engaging, rhyming text,” commented Charnaie Gordon in her Brightly review. All the Colors of the Earth “would be a wonderful book to use in multicultural classrooms in schools.”

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold (Author) and Suzanne Kaufman (Illustrator)

Join the call for a better world with this New York Times bestselling picture book about a school where diversity and inclusion are celebrated. The perfect back-to-school read for every kid, family, and classroom!

Find the Library book HERE.