'Who is in your family?' Resource Kit
A resource kit for early childhood services, primary schools and the rainbow families who use them. Produced by the Rainbow Families Council, 2010.
Rainbow Families Council proudly presents the “Who is in your family?” resource kit. Rainbow Families Council developed these resources through surveys conducted with families and childcare workers in the City of Darebin and neighboring suburbs during 2009. Development funding was provided by the City of Darebin.
Officially launched at our February 2010 conference by the City of Darebin Mayor Cr Vince Fontana, we have re-launched the entire kit online to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17.
The posters and information sheets are now available for you to download below. You can order FREE full colour A3 copies of the two posters from Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria (GLHV) by emailing info@glhv.org.au *As at 21 July 2010 these posters are out of stock - we hope to have more available soon. Meanwhile, download them for free below as pdfs*
Introducing the kit.
This resource kit aims to help children, families and early childhood educators start discussions about the diversity of families – including same-sex parented families – who are part of their communities.
It comprises of two A3 posters and four A4 information sheets, including one specifically for parents to help them choose a rainbow family-friendly childcare centre or kindergarten.
- Poster 1 ‘Who is in your family? Our families come in all different shapes and sizes’ (with animal families)
- Poster 2 ‘Who is in your family? Our families come in all different shapes and sizes’ (with diverse human families)
- Info sheet 1 ‘Introducing rainbow families – a guide for early childhood services’
- Info sheet 2 ‘Creating inclusive children’s spaces’
- Info sheet 3 'How children play: challenging myths and stereotypes'
- Info sheet 4 'Tips for choosing a rainbow-family friendly childcare centre or kindergarten'
Some personal stories – how to get the conversations started.
This kit is suitable for use by staff that work in maternal child health centers, childcare centres, kindergartens and the early years of primary school. We developed the resources to help children, families and early childhood educators start conversations about the diversity of families – including same-sex parented families – who are part of their communities.
We have asked some parents to share their stories of how they have used the resources to get these conversations started. Share your stories with us at info@rainbowfamilies.org.au and we will regularly update this section to include them.
“All the prep classes at Wales Street Primary School have the posters up in their rooms, we just approached them and asked to put them up to reflect diverse families in the school and to send that message that it's ok to have two mums. It was easier to ask knowing that there were a range of families reflected in the posters. We asked them to refer to the poster when discussing families so they can actually see and not just be told about different families.”
- Parent from a primary school, 2010.
"We gave the posters and some fact sheets to our daughter's kinder teacher with a quick explanation and request to have it displayed. After a week I was very disappointed not to see it anywhere. The following week I arrived early to collect her and the teacher invited me into the class to listen to story-time. I was surprised and excited to hear that the story was about all the different ways you could make a family. Later the teacher told me that she had tried for the last week to find suitable books to reflect our daughters’ family but that they were difficult to source. I told her about Amazon and agreed to loan her some of ours. Last week she told me that they are going to have "family" as a theme for next term once her Amazon shipment has arrived!"
- Tracey, 2010.
“The poster is up at our childcare centre right near the doorway of the kinder room, so everyone sees it when they leave the room. It’s so colourful that it can’t be missed. Staff were really pleased to have something to put up that represents the range of families that attend the centre”
- Amanda, 2010.
Books and where to get them.
Hares & Hyena’s Bookshop in Melbourne www.hares-hyenas.com.au have put together a list of children’s picture books available to order through them. You might like to provide your childcare centre or kindergarten staff member, or even your primary school librarian, with this list as a way to start a book collection that reflects family diversity. These books are mentioned in the “Who is in your family?” resources. Download the Hares & Hyenas bookstore book list below.
The following US websites include comprehensive booklists covering a range of families:
- Family Equality (download list below or at www.familyequality.org)
- COLAGE – Children of Gays & Lesbians Everywhere (download list below or at www.colage.org)
Rainbow Families Council thanks to the parents, Rainbow Families Council members, childcare workers and survey respondents who contributed to the development of these resources and acknowledges the City of Darebin for providing development funding, and the kind support of GLHV in distributing these materials.
 Poster 1 - 'Who's in your family?' animals | downloads: 438 | type: pdf | size: 1 MB |
A4 sized poster with animals to depict a range of families |
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| Poster 2 - 'Who's in your family'? people | downloads: 486 | type: pdf | size: 1 MB |
A4 sized poster with cartoon people depicting all kinds of families |
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| Information Sheet 1 - Introducing Rainbow Families | downloads: 359 | type: pdf | size: 633 kB |
A one-page information sheet - a�guide for early childhood services |
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| Information Sheet 2 - Creating Inclusive Children's Spaces | downloads: 335 | type: pdf | size: 639 kB |
A one-page information sheet |
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| Information Sheet 3 - How Children Play: challenging myths and stereotypes | downloads: 380 | type: pdf | size: 636 kB |
One-page information sheet on how children play: challenging myths and stereotypes |
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| Information Sheet 4 - Tips for Parents | downloads: 293 | type: pdf | size: 626 kB |
A one-page sheet providing tips for parents in choosing a rainbow-family friendly childcare or kindergarten |
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| Colage book list for kids | downloads: 186 | type: pdf | size: 275 kB |
From www.colage.org (USA) |
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| Family Equality book list | downloads: 147 | type: pdf | size: 82 kB |
from Family Equality in the USA |
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| Hares and Hyenas Bookstore booklist - books for rainbow families | downloads: 169 | type: pdf | size: 5 MB |
Provided by Hares and Hyenas bookstore in Fitzroy. |
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