Mudiad Meithrin is proud to release a new resource giving guidance to early years care and education settings on celebrating world religions. Dewch i Ddathlu! (trans. Come and Celebrate) is a new resource pack comissioned by Mudiad Meithrin and created by Helen Roberts, a Religious Education specialist and a familiar name as a teacher, lecturer and consultant.
Helen Roberts said:
“It has been a pleasure to work with Mudiad Meithrin on this scheme. The Mudiad identified a gap in provision, and I hope that this resource will help early years care and education settings to be confident in celebrating religious festivals all the year round.”
She added,
“The resource outlines the background and gives details of the six chief religions of the world. Within the resource on each religion is background information and ideas for stories, songs and activities suitable for young children.
This resource is another important element of the Mudiad’s work celebrating diversity and equality. It continues to send out the message that everybody is welcome in the Cylch Meithrin, and the Welsh language is for everybody. The six religions that form the basis of the resource are: Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism.”
Vanessa Powell, Mudiad Meithrin’s Foundation Phase Lead Officer, said:
“We are very proud of this new and innovative resource. Dewch i Ddathlu is a bespoke resource pack which can be referred to at various times throughout the year, when planning how to celebrate the numerous religious festivals that are important to the young children attending our Cylchoedd Meithrin all across Wales.”
She added, “The resource places emphasis on being kind and on helping others, and lots of fun will be had learning about and celebrating the new experiences offered by the various festivals.”
The resource will be available to Mudiad Meithrin members, practitioners and early years advisers by applying to www.meithrin.cymru/developmentandlearning and is available in English and in Welsh. The resource has also been adapted for nursery classes to correspond with the principles of the New Curriculum for Wales.
The scheme was funded by a grant from the Welsh Government’s Foundation Phase Specialist Network.