Help your preschoolers identify where people in other cultures live and why they may look different. Locate the country you are teaching about on a map or globe. Discuss why Africans, most of whom live in a hot, sunny climate, wear different types of clothing than many Russians who spend most of the year bundled up in frigid temperatures. Make copies of the shape of the country and different map symbols for each child. Teach kids how to cut out each symbol, pasting it on the correct map spot. Use a star for the capital, houses representing major cities and native animals for rural areas.
All cultures have a unique style of food. Whether your class is composed of different ethnicities or only one demographic group, serving cultural food at snack time develops preschoolers’ taste buds for food unfamiliar to them. Teach youngster to use chopsticks to eat bits of rice, nibble on Native American cornbread or cool down with a refreshing taste of Italian gelato. Prepare ice cream sundaes with fruit toppings kids like to use in other countries. Crown ice cream with Italian maraschino cherries, Asian mandarin oranges or New Zealand kiwi fruit. Host a multicultural potluck, encouraging parents to bring dishes unique to their own heritage.
Take a trip around the world teaching your preschool class how to greet people in their own native language. Explain that each country may speak a different language, and it is important to know how to say “hello.” Use a world map pointing at Mexico, the first destination. As a class, stand and pretend the airplane is flying to Mexico. Once the plane arrives, practice saying “hola,” the Spanish term for “hello.” Repeat for several more destinations, arriving back in the United States.
Enhance your cultural theme curriculum with children’s books teaching facts about another country’s everyday life. “A is for Africa” expounds on Ifeoma Onyefulu's Nigerian heritage, set to the letters of the alphabet. "This alphabet is based on my own favorite images of the Africa I know," writes Onyefulu.
“Hush! A Thai Lullaby” by Minfong Ho describes a mother finding the source of animal noises that she fears will awaken her sleeping baby.
“Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y Margaret“ by Lynn Reiser bridges the Spanish/English language barrier, uniting two little girls who communicate through hand gestures, eventually learning a few words of the other’s language.