Pride month
Better Late Than Never! Happy Pride Month from Summers Sensory and Co. 🌈
This month has been all about exploring activities related to rainbows, love, and inclusion. We didn’t want to just stick to rainbows because they’re easy, so us adults took some time to dive into the meaning of the rainbow for the LGBTQ+ community. From there, we brainstormed ways to create Pride-inspired activities at home. Though we had a shock as we tried to book for the pride festival here in Belgium, where we live it isn’t until August! So I will update this blog then, when we have actually attended our first pride in a different country and with our baby!
One of our favourite tools is the amazing Sophie Beer books. We started reading these to our little one while they were still in my tummy, and we’ve loved them ever since! These books are fantastic for their gender neutrality and representation of different family structures. (Not sponsored, but I’ll include an Amazon link for her newest book—which, yes, I asked for as a birthday gift. No shame!)
The colours of the rainbow!
Of course, we had to do rainbow sensory activities to celebrate! For one activity, I dyed pasta in a rainbow of colours and left it on the table for lunch. Our baby loves grabbing and exploring food, especially when it’s something unexpected, so this was a hit! 🌈🍝
The pasta was squishy, sticky, and so fun to touch. We talked about the different textures and colors while they played. Next time, I want to try making natural food dyes using simple ingredients—check out my printable recipe cards for ideas!
A table with spaghetti dyed red, yellow, blue, green and purple with a small baby standing to grab them
Sensory Fun at Its Best
We also used rainbow-coloured scarves to encourage upward reaching skills. I taped the scarves to the wall at different heights, and our little one had a blast grabbing at them while working hard to stand independently. Such a simple but effective activity!
A baby reaching to grab scarves which are on the wall. There is a pink, yellow, blue and green scave,
Music and Movement
Music is huge in our household, so we incorporated it into our Pride activities too. We explored music from LGBTQ+ artists and allies, from QUEEN to David Bowie from Girl in Red and Halsey (not-so-secretly most of my playlist anyway!). We also enjoyed works by Leonard Bernstein and jazz legend Gary Burton.
Morning dance sessions became a highlight of our week, adding movement and language to the mix. We even created some Pride-themed nursery rhymes—grab our printable for your own singalongs! 🎶
Inclusive Parenting All Year Round
We know Pride shouldn’t just be celebrated in June. Inclusion is something we focus on year-round, starting with how we raise our child. We’re trying to practice gender-neutral parenting, whether it’s using inclusive terms like “police officer” instead of “policeman” or singing songs like “Clothes/ Colours Don’t Have Genders” to challenge stereotypes.
We’re also ensuring our stories and videos feature diverse representation, so our little one grows up seeing the beautiful variety in the world. And helping to ensure our little one knows everyone has a place on the earth.
Join the Conversation
If you have suggestions for how we can make our parenting even more inclusive or want to know more about what we’re planning, feel free to reach out via social media or my contact page.
As always, warm regards,
Summers Sensory and Co. 💛
