Three Activities to Help Start Discussions About Diversity and Equality with your Kids

Diversity Discussion- Egg Experiment!

How this uses STEM

• Introduce science experiment language by making a hypothesis- a prediction on what the insides of the eggs will look like!

Tierra Tips to Engage your Little Helper

• This activity can get your little one talking! Which of the five senses are important to point out for this activity- this is about what the eggs look like!
• Let your child crack the eggs! It may get messy, but it helps them work their fine motor skills in a unique way.

Materials:

• 1 White Egg
• 1 Brown Egg
• A Plate or Bowl
• Optional- One Painted Egg!

Instructions:

1. Set all the eggs in a row, one next to the other for easy comparison.
2. Discuss how the eggs look, and emphasize their differences.
3. Ask your child what they think the eggs will look like on the inside. Will they be different colors like they are on the outside? Write down the answer you come up with!
4. Crack all the eggs onto the plate or bowl, and examine how they look. Was your prediction correct?
5. Time to bring in the diversity discussion- MLK Jr. worked to create a world where the differences on the outside didn’t matter, a world where we all knew that we were the same on the inside!

Chain of Friends

Tierra Tips to Engage your Little Helper

• Folding, drawing and cutting- this activity is a great one for fine motor skills development!
• Add in some counting practice- how many people are holding hands in the chain? Have your little one find out the answer!

Materials:

• Piece of copy paper
• Scissors
• Paint and Paintbrush

Instructions:

1. Cut a strip of the paper- the wider the strip, the more room you’ll have to draw the outline!
2. Fold the paper hamburger style three times, then unfold and refold on the fold, so the piece of paper is accordion style.
3. On the refolded stack, draw an outline of a person, where the arms and legs reach the edges of  the paper.
4. Cut out the outline!
5. Decorate the people differently- and notice how even though they are all different, they still hold hands happily!

Handprint Wreath

Tierra Tips to Engage your Little Helper

• Have every family member trace their handprint- and have your little one organize them by size. Who has the biggest handprint?
• In MLK Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, there are two quotes about holding hands. For a word recognition activity, print out the speech and have your little one search for the quotes!

Materials:

• Paper of all different colors OR white paper and paint
• Scissors
• MLK Jr. Quote

Instructions:

1. Trace handprints on paper, as many as you want!
2. Cut them out!
3. If you’re using white paper, paint the handprints!
4. Glue them in a circle to resemble a wreath- and add in an MLK Jr. quote in the middle!