Bestchance Child Family (Kinder)
We were invited to present our program at Bestchance child family kinder, to the 4 year old Kinder groups and share our vedic Indian culture. The staff organised a whole day’s incursion for the children to learn about our tradition and culture. As the children walked in to the workstations which were well presented, they seemed curious and were interested to learn what it was about, discussing among themselves.
We had modified the program to suit our young participants. The program started off with the introduction of our speakers and then moved on to the presentation of our colourful display of clothing around the room. The children were very interactive when asked about the various types of traditional clothing. We showed the children the length of the sari and they looked amazed. We invited one of their teachers to be dressed in one and the children clapped when their teacher was dressed in the sari with Indian jewellery. They eagerly went to get dressed when it was their turn and busily chose their outfit. They then patiently went and had some special face painting and were excited to see themselves in the mirror.
Story time was next and the children listened attentively. When it came to music and dance session they seemed very excited to try out the instruments that we had brought along to present. They were swift in picking up the hand cymbals (kartals) and follow the instructions that they had been taught, and tried some intricate beats on the drum (mrdanga). They all learnt an amazing song we had taught them and they enjoyed singing it independently. During dancing everyone had a great time, as once everyone knew the steps they started to sing and dance. The children looked beautiful wearing the traditional Indian clothing whilst singing and dancing.
After this, they had some cupcakes we had brought for them, which was enjoyed by all. Henna art was next as children patiently waited for their turn and watched as the artists created a special design on their hand. Children protected their hands until the henna had dried.
Some children enthusiastically showed their henna to their parents as they came to pick them up and brought their parents to meet us. The educator Christine said that, “this has been the best incursion (they) have ever had.”
