Celebrating easter inclusively

Celebrations such as Easter, always bring to the surface the ongoing ‘celebrations’ debate. Another celebration that we need to consider whether we celebrate and how.

Our philosophy @ Diversity Kids has always been “Yes! It’s ok to celebrate!” There are so many ways to ensure that our celebrations programs are inclusive of every child & family, their unique circumstances and ways of being.

Before considering cancelling Easter celebrations ‘in order to be more inclusive’, it would be useful to refocus our inclusion lens around such occasions and critically reflect on important questions including:

- How does Easter fit in to the demographics of our education & care community?

- What are some of the things we can do to ensure that our Easter  programs are respectful, responsive, inclusive, sensitive and meaningful to the diversity of our children & families?
 
- Is Easter something relevant, important & meaningful to your children, families & Educators? Have you consulted with the children & families on their thoughts & ideas?  

- When we talk about inclusion, who are we being ‘inclusive of’? If we decide to cancel Easter celebrations, are we potentially being exclusive of the children & families who would normally celebrate and for whom celebrating Easter is important? In many cultures for example, Easter is one of the most significant events on the Christian calendar. Celebrations such as Easter would be meaningful to them and they would be looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate and share, as this would be something that they also celebrate at home.  

Celebrations such as Easter are another great opportunity for us to research, critically reflect, consult and find strategies and solutions to turn something that we perceive as potentially exclusive, into a meaningful, respectful & inclusive experience for every child.

What are some of the things we can do?

- Just the same way we determine whether and how to celebrate cultural, religious and other festivals based on our centre demographics, child & family interest & through consultation with our children and families – we can apply the same process to events such as Easter.  

- The first step to take is to research & reflect as a team whether there are any children that you feel may be disadvantaged during Easter celebrations & programs. Consider what approaches you can take to ensure meaningful & sensitive inclusive practices around this.

- The key is in our respectful relationships & ongoing consultation and communication with both the children & families. Reach out to families and check in on what they would like to see happen, how they would like to be involved and how they would like their children to participate during the Easter activities & programs.
 
- Consult with the children also, about their current interests around Easter, whether they would like to celebrate and how. This helps develop their sense of agency & belonging. This way we are offering children authentic, meaningful learning experiences, based on their family circumstances and ways of being.  They also get to have a say about their participation & engagement in learning. It may be useful to provide them with options. eg  offer them activity choices.

There is no need to do away with and cancel Easter. There is a way!

 Use these celebrations as opportunities to:
- critically reflect communicate, consult & collaborate;
- work towards cultural responsiveness & authentic, meaningful inclusivity;
- educate children around the diversity of celebrations;
- provide children with a sense of agency and opportunity to celebrate both their and other ways of being.

Sometimes we focus on exclusive aspects of celebrations, when what we can be doing is turning it around and start focusing on solutions & strategies to ensure inclusion for all.