Come on, surely you must know FBD? It’s that day that celebrates those gorgeous multicoloured dots that marry so perfectly with white sliced bread and lashings of butter for the fussy, or marg for the rest of us. It’s a uniquely Australian Day and given the close link between children and fairy bread through the ages it seems imperative that every education and care centres celebrate it.
Eating fairy bread, preparing it with the children, exploring colours, asking why humans love it so much (hint – it has to do with abundance and scarcity!) This could be a rich topic for any number of learning experiences at your centre.
But then again why? Why should any centre do anything for Fairy Bread Day? What does it actually have to do with children’s curiosities, learning and identities? Isn’t it really just a gimmick to sell more hundreds and thousands? (No coincidence that the company that makes hundreds and thousands is called Dollar Sweets.)
It’s unlikely that many education and care centres will actually celebrate Fairy Bread Day. But you can bet your bottom dollar that many centres now have a list of a myriad of other days they will incorporate into their program for the year – from the ubiquitous Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Australia Day, Anzac Day, Xmas Day, Halloween, to the more specialised – AFL Grand Final Day, Valentine’s Day, International Women’s Day, Sorry Day, Mardi Gras…
Surely we have to celebrate special days? Don’t we?
Maybe ask yourself some questions before you plan your programming around ‘days’.
Questions like:
Is every child really being included when we celebrate this day? (Are some being excluded?)
Is this really child led curriculum design?
What else are children learning by us privileging this day or through the ‘activities’ or experiences we do on this day?
Where would this sit within the EYLF V2.0?
Who is the day really for?
What would happen if we didn’t celebrate this day?
But if after answering all these questions, you still reckon Fairy Bread Day is the go…….. then go for it. At least your and the children’s day will be colourful as!
Resources
