Celebrate NAIDOC Week with these fun activity ideas

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held every year in July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We encourage all playgroups and families at home to acknowledge and celebrate NAIDOC Week to foster a better understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Things you can do

Here are some ideas to celebrate the special week:

• Begin Playgroup with an Acknowledgement of Country
  ABC ME Acknowledgement of Country and a song and other resources are here: ABC PlaySchool Acknowledgement of Country
• Indigenous Art: Dot Painting or Rock Painting
  Aboriginal Dot Paintings are created by making several small dots of paint to create an entire piece of art – whether it depicts an image or a pattern. To enjoy this activity, simply fill up bowls with different colours of paint and using cotton ear buds (or their fingers), have the children make their own dot painting on paper plates, poster paper or rocks.

Mount Hawthorn Playgroup used boomerang cutouts for their dot paintings (as did Jarrahdale Playgroup below).

• Aboriginal Handprint Flag
  Using the flag colours of black, red and yellow paints you can make a great Aboriginal flag using hand prints! Remember – black for people, red for the earth, yellow for the sun.

Have a look at Jarrahdale Playgroup’s art!

• Make Damper
  Damper is an easy food to create with simple ingredients and enjoyed warm with butter or even jam. Watch our very own Aunty Averil make her very special fried damper here.
• Playdough
  Always a favourite with children! Make your own playdough and use the colours black, red and yellow to represent Indigenous colours or blue, yellow and white to represent Islander colours.

We love what Wickham Playgroup did with their playdough and how they incorporated Aboriginal symbols into their activity. 

• Sing songs
  Listen to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Noongar Language – ‘Djinda Djinda Kanangoor’.
• Learn a new song
  Learn how to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Noongar Language – ‘Kaart, Djerdim, Boonijt, Djena‘.
• Colouring in
  Print out this NAIDOC Week Poster for the little ones to colour in.
• Coloured Pasta Bracelets
  WATCH: Make coloured pasta bracelets with our Program Manager Chris.
• NAIDOC Bunting
  If your playgroup is interested, you can print out this bunting to display.
• Reading
  Incorporate some indigenous reading into story time with some new picture books. These ones from Magabala Books are perfect for little ones.

It could also be a great idea to ask your playgroup families if they have any stories to share or if they know any Indigenous role models who might like to visit playgroup too!

For more ideas visit the NAIDOC Week website or have a look at this fantastic booklet for some more fun activity ideas!

Don’t forget to share the fun with us and tag us in all the things you get up to!

Happy NAIDOC Week!