Learning about others

In my quest to take more time to think about all kinds of ways I can help the kids learn about diversity, I made a point of taking the kids to a couple of events in town this past week.

Last Friday, Cameron’s (and soon to be Jordan’s) school held an International Day. Each year the school holds a really cool event where the families from all parts of the globe share information about their country and culture. The kids got to eat foods from places like Korea, Libya and Guyana. They also got to try on Middle Eastern clothing and pretend to have tea in Libya. They even had their names written in Arabic.

The best part for the kids had to be from our neighbor who is from Italy. He showed us how to make pasta! Jordan and Cameron each got to help flatten and cut the pasta. It was really cool.

Speaking of cool, after Jordan’s baseball game, I took the family over to a different baseball field to watch a Challenge League game. It’s an incredible league that lets kids and teens with special needs play baseball with assistance. There were so many different types of abilities and needs and everyone had a smile. The kids thought it was really cool.

The most interesting moment was when Cameron looked at Jordan and looked over at the kids… He asked me why Jordan wasn’t playing in the Challenger League. I told him I put her in the mainstream league because she can play in the mainstream league. She has special needs but that doesn’t mean she has to do everything that’s available under that category. I wasn’t sure if I had to explain it any further.

After the awesome experience of watching the game and cheering for all of the players, Cameron tells me he wants to volunteer with the league. It makes me really proud and I plan to find out if he’s old enough to help. Jordan, on the other hand, enjoyed cheering at the game but was more focused on staying warm and chasing her dad around the stands.