Educators across MercyCare Early Learning Centres do a fantastic job educating children about Aboriginal history and culture. One of the ways they do this is through books, but not just any old books!
When choosing books that celebrate Aboriginal culture, it’s important to find a mixture of books that celebrate the traditional culture of the Aboriginal people – such as dancing, hunting, the land and the elders.
But it’s equally as important to choose books with ‘everyday’ stories that the children can relate to.
Some of our favourite Aboriginal story books that you’ll find across our Early Learning Centres include:
- My Culture and me (Gregg Dreise) – this book talks about the traditional aspects of the Aboriginal culture, and the children really love it!
- The Rabbit hole golf course (Ella Mulvey & Karen Briggs) – a light-hearted funny story about a group of children trying to catch a rabbit at the rabbit hole golf course. Expect lots of giggles with this one.
- The lost girl (Ambelin Kwaymullina & Leanne Tobin) – about a girl who has lost her way, and how mother earth looks after her as she finds her way home. This one is better suited to pre-schoolers.
- Kick with my left foot (Paul Seden & Karen Briggs) – a simple story book about a little boy playing football. Great for the littlies.
- Shake a leg (Boori Monty Pryor & Jan Ormerod) – this book is about an Aboriginal man who works in a pizza shop. He explains the Aboriginal culture to a group of children that come in to buy some pizza. A lovely story!
- Nyoongar dictionary (Bernard Rooney) – this is not a children’s book, but such a great resource for our educators so they can teach some Noongar language to the children.
MercyCare’s Early Learning programs have been designed to support children with an understanding of themselves, their community and the world around them. This includes teaching them in fun and engaging ways about different cultures and recognising the unique role of Australia’s First Peoples.
In addition to educating the children through storytelling, our wonderful team of educators also provide experiences and have regular conversations with the children that help to embed the Aboriginal perspective and culture throughout the service.
It’s this holistic approach that successfully engages the children, allowing them to develop a positive view and respect for this fascinating culture.
