Let’s Play

Listed below is a variety of play activities that you can do with your child to help start conversations and learn about race and racism. For each activity, there are instructions for how to guide your child through the activity including before, during, and after.

I Am Me

We are all our own person! There are many things that make up who we are. This interactive game helps children to understand all of the unique pieces that make someone who they are.

Before

Ask your child to play a game about identity with you.
Ask: “Have you heard the word identity before?”
Say: “Your identity is what makes you YOU! There are many things that make up your identity. What are some of the things that make you You?”
Say: “Let’s learn about some of our friends from Sesame Street and what makes them special.”

During

Launch the I Am Me game from Sesame Workshop.
As the characters describe themselves, ask your child what things your child has in common and which things are different.

After

Ask your child to describe each of the characters. What things made each character special?
Ask you child to decribe themselves, including descriptors about their physical appearance as well as hobbies or interests.
Remind your child that everyone is different, in lots of different ways. We all have both similarities and differences and that’s what makes up your identity.

Story Hopskotch

One way to help children develop their racial identity and awareness is to talk about and celebrate both similarities and differences, beyond just skin color.

Before

Ask your child to think about one of their friends or family members.
Ask: What about you is the same? What about you is different?
Say: “It can be fun to have things in common, but our differences are what make us special. Everyone is different. Isn’t that cool?”

During

Print out this Story Hop Scotch from Ditto Magazine (also on page 32 of the magazine we provided you).
Together with your child, complete this story activity by coming up with words to fill in the blanks.

After

Remind your child that everyone is different, in lots of different ways. We all have both similarities and differences and that’s what makes everyone their own unique person.
Ask: What makes you different from everyone else? What about [another family member or friend]?

Challenge: Unfairness

You can use the idea of unfairness to help children think about power and privilege. This game will help start a conversation about fairness and unfairness. (Adapted from Equitas–International Centre for Human Rights Education)

Before

Tell your child that you are going to play a game. The goal of the game to complete as many of the challenges as possible.
Challenge Ideas:
- Crawl or hop on one foot across the room from one area to the next
- Put on their shoes without using their thumbs
- Make a letter with their body
- Draw a house
- Make up a song or story
- Tell a joke
Ask your child(ren) to brainstorm what skills they have that would help them be successful in each of the challenges.
Divide children into two teams. If it is just the two of you, have your child be on one team and you on the other. Play three different rounds. One of the teams will have half the time to complete the first challenge.

During

Start the activity by giving a few minutes for one of the groups to complete a challenge and only half the time for the other group to complete the same challenge.
After children have completed one challenge, ask them to do a second challenge, but this time, give the team who had less time the advantage.
Finally, do a third challenge, but this time give the same amount of time to both teams and explain that if one team finishes earlier, they must support the other team to complete the challenge. The objective is that we all support each other to succeed.

After

Feel:
- How did it feel to be the team with more time?
- How did it feel to be the team with less time?
- How did it feel in the last round to have the same amount of time and help each other?
Think:
- Did you think it was fair to play a game where one team had less time than the other? Why?
- Why is it important to ensure all people are treated fairly, no matter who they are or what they look like?
Connect:
- Have you ever been experienced a disadvantage or unfairness at school, at home or with friends because of who you are (e.g. because of your gender, the language you speak, how you look, if you have a disability)?
- Have you seen that happen to someone else? What happened? What do you think about that? What should we do together to make things more fair?
- Say: “Throughout history, people who have tan or brown skin, speak a different language, or have a different religion have been treated unfairly. Even today, there are rules in the world that make it so people get less. For example, they might not be able to get a house where they want to live or have to work a job that pays less money. What do you think about that? What could we do together to make things more fair?”
Act:
- What can we do in our group to make sure everyone can complete the challenges?
- What can we do at school, at home or with friends to make sure all young people are treated fairly?
- What can we do at school, at home or with friends if we see that one group is not being treated fairly?