Celebrate NAIDOC Week with these fun activity ideas.
NAIDOC Week celebrations are being held from 3 -10 July 2022 to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This year’s theme Get up! Stand up! Show up! stems from a proud history of getting up, standing up, and showing up and now is the time to continue to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! for systemic change and keep rallying around important issues.
Our staff member and Darug Nations woman, Michelle, offers her thoughts on the week here.
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:
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’.
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!
Great content! Keep up the good work!