Why get involved in the community this Christmas?

The benefits of getting involved in the community

A large part of childhood is exploring and understanding the world around them and within the EYFS there is an area which concentrates on this. There is a lot children can when given the opportunity to get involved in the local community.

Unfortunately getting involved in the local community is not as easy as it should be with practitioners facing many barriers. This may be due to time, ratio’s, or a lack of knowledge of what is out there to become involved in. Christmas is a time of year which is all about community spirit, therefore this is a great time to get involved in the community. Many children will be excited about all the lovely things they are going to be receiving for Christmas this year but it is important to remind them not everybody is as lucky.

Getting involved in the community will not only help those less fortunate but also help the children to make sense of what is happening around them. They will learn from those they interact with and discover there is more than just the nursery setting. The questions it generates leads to a wealth of learning for the children. They begin to learn about others customs, beliefs, values and about all the people that can be part of a community. This also helps to instil British Values in the children as they accept others choices and create self esteem and confidence through helping others and talking to new people. The benefits really are endless. Have a look at this list below and see if there is anything your setting could do to become involved in the community this Christmas.

Top ways to get involved in the community this Christmas:

• Have a food collection for the local food bank; take a group of children to deliver the food.
• Create Christmas hampers to give to the local nursing home
• Create Christmas shoe boxes to send to children and schools in poorer countries
• Create shoe boxes to send to soldiers who are not at home for Christmas
• Arrange to sing all of the children’s favourite carols at the local supermarket and raise money for a charity of your choice
• Ask the children to donate an old toy and take them to a local present appeal such as the salvation Army
• Raise money through any Christmas activity of your choice, you may ask the children to make salt dough tree decorations and sell them in your reception area. Give the money to a charity who help at Christmas such as age UK who want no elderly person to be alone at Christmas
• If your policies allow you may ask a local vicar or church attendant to come into the setting and tell the Christmas story to the children.
• Hold your own Christmas fair or raffle
• Have a look at charities, schemes and initiatives that are local to your area. These all vary depending on where you live and it may be more personal for you to help out with a local charity.
• Create Christmas cards to give to local hospitals/ nursing homes/ homeless shelters. This may bring a smile to somebody’s face.

These are just a few suggestions and you may already be doing some of them.