International Mother Language Day ideas for OSHC
17 DIY activities for International Mother Language Day at before and after school care or vacation care. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.
Auslan Hello and Names
Children learn to sign hello, thank you and their names using the Auslan fingerspelling alphabet, the sign language of the Australian Deaf community.
International Mother Language Day · National Simultaneous Storytime · Book Week +3Bilingual Storytime With Families
A cosy storytime where a family member or educator reads a picture book in a home language and English, so children hear how the same story sounds in two languages.
International Mother Language Day · Around the World Day · International Literacy Day +2Borrowed Words Detective Relay
Teams race to match everyday English words, like kangaroo, pyjamas and tsunami, to the languages they came from, discovering how languages share and borrow.
Italian Festa Day · International Mother Language Day · Board Games Day +2Ciao Italian Word Bingo
Children learn everyday Italian words for greetings, food, colours and numbers, then play bingo as the caller says the words in Italian.
International Mother Language Day · Games Day · Chalk Festival +2Counting Hopscotch in Many Languages
A chalk hopscotch course where each round is counted aloud in a different language, led by children and families who speak it.
World Hello Day · Friendship Day · Harmony Day +2Hello Mix and Freeze
Children move to music, then greet the nearest person in the way the educator calls out, from a wave and a bow to an elbow bump or a hello in another language.
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples · International Mother Language Day · NAIDOC Week +2Indigenous Languages Listening Lab
Children listen to short official recordings of Indigenous languages from Australia and around the world, then mark each language on a map and talk about why keeping languages alive matters.
Torres Strait Islander Culture · International Mother Language Day · Mabo Day +2Languages of the Torres Strait
Children discover the main languages of the Torres Strait, Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya and Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole), and make word cards from an official or community resource.
Day of the Dead · Board Games Day · International Mother Language Day +2Make Your Own Lotería
Children design picture cards and boards for lotería, a much-loved Mexican picture bingo game often played at family gatherings, then play a round together using Spanish words.
International Literacy Day · International Mother Language Day · Harmony Day +2Many Languages Word Wall
Children and families add words from the languages spoken at home, such as 'hello', 'book' and 'friend', building a colourful wall that celebrates many ways of reading and writing.
International Mother Language Day · Harmony Day · Culture Celebration Day +1Our Home Languages Graph
Children survey the group about the languages spoken at home, then build a giant picture graph that shows how many languages share one room.
Italian Festa Day · Craft Day · International Mother Language Day +1Pasta Shape Name Collage
Children sort dried pasta, learn what the Italian shape names mean, such as little butterflies and shells, and glue them into a labelled picture.
Songkran · International Mother Language Day · Culture Celebration Day +2Sawasdee Pee Mai Greeting Cards
Children make Thai New Year cards, copying the greeting 'Sawasdee pee mai' in Thai script and learning the wai, the respectful Thai greeting with palms together.
International Mother Language Day · World Book Day · International Literacy Day +2Scripts of the World Bookmarks
Children explore different writing systems, from Bengali to Korean to Arabic, and copy a word or their name in a script they choose onto a decorated bookmark.
International Mother Language Day · Music and Dance Day · World Music Day +3Songs From Home Circle
Children and invited family members share a short song, rhyme or lullaby in a home language, and the group learns a line or an action to join in.
Italian Festa Day · Games Day · Around the World Day +2Un, Due, Tre, Stella!
Children creep towards the caller and freeze when they turn around in this Italian playground game, chanting the count in Italian as they play.
Greek Day · Greek Myths Day · International Mother Language Day +2Write Your Name in Greek
Children use the Greek alphabet to write their names and secret messages, and discover English words with Greek roots, like alphabet itself.