Let's Talk Art: Celebrating our differences!

We have been facing a lot of negativity recently, with the effects of the pandemic and news that pop up on our social media newsfeed. And so we thought, these are all great learning points for our children to be able to be in touch with the world. The question was, how do we, as adults, do our part to share and talk about these challenging topics, instead of dismissing and shying away from them?

This is where we came up with Let's Talk Art series, a monthly discussion with Art. We recognise the power of art as a tool that can inspire change and facilitate difficult conversations with our little ones. We also wanted to help equip our parents and educators with the direction and tools to start meaningful, thoughtful discussions with them - and hopefully this will help!

Our topic in June was: Celebrating Our Differences! If you missed it, don't worry - we will share our printables right here on our blog. For current content and discussions, keep up to date with our weekly July series on Facebook!

In June, our first week of discussion addressed how each of us are unique! We encouraged our little ones to start noticing the diversity among their friends and family and identifying how each of our differences make us special. We released a printable inspired by Little Red Explorer, our first children's activity book that shares about Singapore's culture and heritage. (We'll talk about this more on another blog post, but if you would like to have a copy of this book, click here!)

Click here to download this printable inspired by Little Red Explorer, published by Art Wonderland. Encourage your little ones to start identifying the details of their friends - start noticing their hairstyle, length, texture. Do they wear glasses? What kind of clothes or colours do they enjoy wearing?

In our second week, we showcased our individuality! Show us what makes us special!

Click here to download the paper doll printable.

In our third week, we had an amazing Live Zoom storytelling session by Teacher Levina, sharing the heartwarming story of 'The Colours of Us' by Karen Katz. We had an amazing discussion with the kids about how our skin colours remind us of all the delicious foods we eat - and that we are all beautiful because of our diversity! Parents and educators - keep an eye out for July as there is another interactive live storytelling session coming up!

Click here to watch a recording of the live storytelling of 'The Colours of Us' by Karen Katz.

Our final week, we explored how we can use art to promote racial harmony and celebrate our unique differences to wrap up our month long discussion.

Click here to download this printable and create your portrait!

We hope this series helps both parents/educators and children to approach more sensitive topics that we should definitely face head on as our children start gaining exposure to these in their own time.

Some useful questions you can start to approach this topic with your little ones. Just remember to approach this is a calm, positive and encouraging tone!

• Start by identifying physical differences: What kind of hairstyle do you and I have? Is it wavy or straight? What kind of lines can I draw to create the texture of our hair?

• What kind of colours do you like to dress in? What about your best friend? And you both look great!

• What food does your skin colour remind you of? What about your best friend? Aren't they both great colours and food!

Enjoy the process and good luck! Share your journey and artworks with us on our Facebook or Instagram, we would love to see them!