Free Printable Diversity Activities for October
October gives us two lovely opportunities to celebrate and talk about the wonderfully diverse world around us: Black History Month and Global Diversity Awareness Month.
But talking to children about diversity doesn’t have to involve complicated conversations or sitting down for a serious chat. In fact, some of the best conversations happen naturally while children are playing, colouring, making and imagining.
So we’ve put together a few free printable diversity activities that you can enjoy together. From dressing dolls with different skin tones to a lovely colouring sheet depicting the very brave Ruby Bridges, these are simple activities designed to encourage creativity, imaginative play and little conversations about the people and families who make up our world.
Dress up dolls with different skin tones
Time for some cutting, folding and dressing up!
These printable dolls are a lovely quiet-time activity and give children the chance to create their own little characters. As they play, you can naturally chat about how people – just like their dolls – have different skin colours, hair and features.
There’s no right or wrong way to colour or dress them. Just let your child’s imagination take over.
Lola
Ferne
Doll colouring
Get out the pencils, crayons or felt tips and create a whole family of characters.
Encourage your child to use lots of different shades to colour their dolls. They might choose colours that look like their own family, create characters inspired by friends and relatives, or simply invent a completely new family.
It’s a wonderfully simple way to explore different skin tones through creative play – and there really are no wrong answers.
Doll colouring
Download the Doll Family printable
Baby doll birth certificate
A new baby is always a big event – even when that baby happens to be a doll or a teddy!
Turn imaginative play into a special welcome ceremony with our printable baby doll birth certificate. Children can give their new arrival a name, fill in their details and imagine all the excitement that comes with welcoming a new member of the family.
The printable features a family with brown skin, helping to bring a little more variety and representation into everyday pretend play.
And of course, it doesn’t have to be used for a baby doll. Why not give a much-loved teddy their very own official birth certificate too?
Birth certificate
Download the Baby Doll Birth Certificate
Hotel door sign to print, cut out and make
Playing ‘holiday’ at home is even more fun when your dolls have somewhere fabulous to stay!
Our Happy Folk Hotel is home to dolls with a lovely mix of skin tones, and this printable hotel door sign makes a fun addition to the set. Print it out, cut it, make it and let your little holiday-makers decide who is staying in each room.
It’s another easy way to bring diverse dolls and imaginative play together – with plenty of opportunities for children to invent their own stories and adventures.
Hotel door sign
Download the Happy House Hotel printable
Small activities can start big conversations
The lovely thing about activities like these is that they don’t need to feel like a lesson. Children can simply colour, cut, dress, play and make up stories – while you gently introduce the idea that families, people and communities can look very different from one another.
And if your child’s questions move beyond the activity and into bigger conversations about race, skin colour or difference, our article Small Conversations That Matter has some simple ideas for talking to toddlers about these subjects in an age-appropriate way.
You can also bring more representation into everyday imaginative play by adding diverse dolls to your toy box or dolls house. Browse our full range of dolls and discover the thinking behind our collection in Diverse Dolls for a Diverse World
Because sometimes, a little colouring, a new doll or an imaginary family is all it takes to start a conversation.
