NAIDOC Week Kids Arts and Craft Ideas

NAIDOC week is held in the first week of July and is a very important time to celebrate and reflect on the achievements, culture and history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This is a wonderful time to engage and educate children in the rich Indigenous Australian culture.

Below you will find 2 fun and easy ideas for NAIDOC craft activities for children but recommend that this week also includes time for learning about as many aspects of the rich indigenous culture as possible, as such you may want to include activities such as reading dreamtime stories, inviting Indigenous Elders to speak, learning the meaning behind local Indigenous place names, inviting Indigenous dance groups to perform, learning about traditional Indigenous food and cooking methods and maybe even cooking some simple dishes using native Australian ingredients. 

There are so many options and ways to instill a knowledge and respect to children which shouldn't be overlooked. Providing kids with these experiences allows them to expand their understanding and empathy skills by responding to diversity with respect and appreciation.

NAIDOC week provides a great opportunity for us to foster learning in our children about the long Aboriginal Australian history, the important culture and the many achievements of Indigenous Australians.

Now for the craft ideas..

Nature Walk and Collage 

Give each child a bag or basket and then take a walk outside (weather permitting) and ask them to notice all the different natural materials in their area. What colour are the leaves? What sounds to the twigs make when you walk over them? What animals or wildlife can you see?

Ask children to collect small items from the natural area that capture their interest. Whilst collecting you might like to take this time to talk about the traditional owners of Australian and their deep connection to the land, you may also like to talk about traditional methods for hunting, gathering, cooking and land management. This is also a great way to remind children of the importance of looking after nature and the native animals that call it home.

After the collecting has been done, return inside and give each child a sheet of cardboard or poster paper and now it's time to start getting creative arranging their collages. 

Distribute PVA glue in cups with paintbrushes and ask everyone to start arranging their collections as if it was artwork in a picture frame.

Depending on the size of the background you may also encourage kids to finish their masterpieces with some Indigenous dot painting in any white spaces. You can use regular poster paint in primary colours and the end of the paintbrushes to do this, like our example picture below.

Indigenous Sand Art 

Sand art is a great sensory craft activity for kids aged 3 and older.

Children develop their fine motor skills by removing each section of the sand art card using a toothpick and then get to express their creativity by choosing which colour sand they will use to cover each section of the picture sheet.

SilverStarCrafts stock 10+ authentic indigenous sand art card designs (some of which can be viewed below) which can be purchased separately or in a pack with coloured sand, the Indigenous sand art pack is one of the most popular items in our store and many of our customers use this activity every year as an activity and a teaching aid to discuss Indigenous dreamtime stories and native animals. 

For more information and resources https://www.naidoc.org.au/