National Sorry Day or the National Day of Healing took place on Wednesday, May 26.
At Story House Early Learning Black Rock, our children engaged in activities to help them learn about Australia’s first people and their culture. We began the day by saying the Acknowledgment of Country with sign language which they had been practicing the week before. This was taught to the group by Hasu and Taka’s Mum. The group looked at pictures of Aboriginal Australians and talked about how they were the first people who lived in Australia and kindly share the land with us. Educator Jessica reinforced with children that even though everyone has a different appearance and background that we are all Australian and need to show kind words and kind hands to each other. Children used damper and beans (black, yellow, and red) to create Indigenous Australian flags. They talked about the meaning of each colour and what they represented red (land), black (Aboriginal people) and yellow (sun).
Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week (May 27 – June 3) provides an opportunity for everyone to celebrate Australia’s indigenous people, families, and communities and reflect on what we can do to help the ongoing process of reconciliation.