Nowadays, we are unfortunately witnesses of the value declining. The 21st century still is not free of prejudice and discrimination.  More often we experience the lack of tolerance and acceptance towards others, especially those with differences  and disabilities. It is widely believed that if we want to create the world a more understanding place, we need to start with children. They are the impressionable ones that are still forming their perceptions of the world, and it is so important for them to have positive role models and good influences in their lives. Not just in reference to religious and racial differences, promoting tolerance applies to gender, physical/intellectual disabilities, size, shape, and everything in between.

How to teach tolerance?

Here are the ways of promoting tolerance and creating the positive attitudes towards diversity:

Promote openness and respect by demonstrating empathy and compassion through your words and actions.

Encourage self-confidence. A child who is confident about him/herself will be more likely to embrace differences and see the value in others.

Honor traditions and learn about others’ traditions. 

Celebrate traditions and explore other holiday and religious celebrations that are outside of your own traditions and comfort zone.

 Give children experiences with diverse populations.

Make possibility to meet other culture and other countries. Allowing children to grow experience a new and different environment will at the very least broaden their worldview and help them understand that people around the world are different.

Talk about differences respectfully. Talk about the differences and similarities among people (hair color, skin color, personal likes and dislikes), and use the opportunity to talk about how it is good that people are different. 

Respond to children’s questions, even if you do not have a “good” answer. Kids can ask hard questions, but your silence can teach a child that it is not okay to talk about differences or “uncomfortable” topics. Even if you do not know what to say, tell him or her that you will get back to them later with an answer. And be sure that you do.

The preschool education conduces to development of proper attitudes. Teachers are able to shape the characters and opinions. Teaching tolerance and acceptance is essential there and possible through games and activities adapted to the age of the pupils. 

All the games presented in this book  were disscused and adopted to the age of children participated in project. All were performed and gave the desirable results. 

The goals:

- lerning empathy, acceptance of diversity, ability to express emotions;

- learnig of respect  the other's differences in one's physical or mental state, gender, race, color, religion or language;

- getting to know the customs, customs and culture of other peoples, to accept and discover the beauty of diversity among people;

- enhancement of positive interdependencies, coordination of action with others. 

Games

How to Teach Tolerance

 in Kindergarten?

WE ARE DIFFERENT

Children are sitting in a circle on the chairs, they are watching each other very carefully: color of hair, color of eyes, clothing colors etc.

The teacher gives them the task for example: “Let’s change places those, who have green eyes” and then children try to change seats with the right person. Another task: "let’s change the places, who have long hair", etc.

The main goal of this game is to notice  that we are different, and no matter what color of our eyes are, everybody could be our friend.

WHO'S MISSED?

Teacher plays music, children walk around the classroom, when the music stops, children fall down, and cover their eyes. The teacher walks around the children and the covers one of them with the blanket. After the teacher asks: "who has missed?". The other children should give the right answer - the name of  a covered child.

The main goal of this game is to know each other better, to be attentive and make all children important.

LET’S APPRECIATE THE DIVERSITY

Discussions with children about the different ways of hanging decoration of the classroom using colorfully decorations: flowers, butterflies, etc. Using these pieces we make our classroom more adorable.  After hanging the decoration teacher says that people are all different colors, too – we have different colored skin, hair, eyes – but it is beautiful when we all come together. If we were all one color, the world would be a bit boring.  After the decorating process, children discover  “Beauty in Diversity”. 

The main goal of this game is to know each other better, to be attentive and make all children important.

GREETING SONG

At the beginning of the school year to support the team we played introductory games such as:

Melodic "Good Morning": a way to learn the names of children. We say "Good morning, Maria, Good morning" while our doll- mascot making a move for example, clapping her hands or  singing the word : Good morning
The main goal of this game is to  make all children equal and important.

EMPTY CHAIR

The kids sit on little chairs forming a circle, having a chair left over and singing "The chair next to me is empty come on my friend .... to sit together. "

The main goal of this game is to  make all children equal and important.

THE BLINDFOLD

To start the blind fly one of the child is selected from the group randomly. His eyes are coverd with a cloth, usually a scarf, so that he cannot see, and the game begins. The other children are turning the kid around  making him "fly". "The blind fly" tries to catch one of the children withaut seeng, just using the other senses to find them. The main purpose is to geuss who the caught child is. The child caught and identified becomes the next blindfold. If the identification is not correct, then the same child remains "blind" for another round. 

The main goals of this game are to  see the difficulties of people with disabilities and to notice  that we are different, and no matter what color of our eyes are, everybody could be our friend.

RACES WITH STICKS

Children have sticks and they are encouraged to face the race with barriers going with sticks. 

That game helps children  to understand the children with physical  disabilities. 

The main goal of this game is to understand the people with physical disabilities. 

The spider’s web:

The children sit in a circle and the Kindergartener holding a yellow clew starts to wrap the thread in her hand and says "I'm a spider monk and my name is Maria. 

Do you want, for example George, to become friends? ”And throws the thread across to George.

Then he becomes the spider, wraps a little bit in his finger, repeats the words and throws the skein at any child he chooses, and this continues until all the children play and the spider web is formed.

The main goal of this game is to know each other better, to be attentive and make all children important.

FRIENDSHIP  GAME

Children run around the class to the music. When the music stops, they group and hug each other depending on the rules given from time to time. For example, only 3 children will be embraced as a sign of friendship, then 4, then all the big children , then the little ones, then only the females or the males, then all those with the same name.

The main goal of this game is to know each other better, to be attentive and make all children important.

THE ELEPHANT RHYME

All the children are in a circle and hold hands while another child is in the center of the circle: they all sing the nursery rhyme:

"An elephant

he rocked,

over a spider's web,

and considering it interesting,

he went to call

another elephant ..."

The child in the center will call a companion to join him. From two you will become three, and then four, then five, until you call them all and form a new circle!

The main goal of this game is to make all children important

GUESS WHO I AM?

A child chooses, among all his companions, what he wants to represent, without communicating it to anyone. Each student will ask in turn: is he tall? It's short? do you have black red blond brown hair? Is he cheerful/sad? Is it quiet? .... The child will answer all the questions, until the whole class has revealed the mystery and discovered which child the companion refers to!

The main goal of this game is to know each other better, to be attentive and make all children important