United Nations day learning activities for kids

United Nations Day is a day to celebrate nations from across the globe coming together to work towards the goal of world peace. Kids today are living in the most globalized world we’ve ever seen. That’s why it’s important to take every opportunity to teach them the value of diversity and cooperation.

U.N. Day makes for a perfect occasion to instruct your child in these values. You can teach them about the history of the U.N., its goals and objectives, and more! But learning doesn’t have to be boring, which is why we’ve compiled this selection of fun activities you can do at home with your child on U.N. Day.

The History of U.N. Day for Kids

The United Nations was a term coined by Franklin Delano Roosevelt to describe the original 26 world nations who united against the Axis powers in World War II, and signed the United Nations Charter in 1945. To commemorate the ratification of the charter on October 24th, 1945, United Nations Day was established, three years later, in 1948.

Today, the UN is made up of 193 member countries. The current mission of the UN is to promote world peace through the cooperation of diverse world governments. They are also concerned with other global issues like poverty, sustainability, and the preservation and protection of human rights.

Try expanding your child’s vocabulary and engaging their language learning skills by teaching them some words pertaining to the United Nations and its formation.

Here are some suggestions of words and topics to teach your child on United Nations Day:

Axis Powers—Why not start with this entry in Britannica Kids?

World War II-- Check out this factsheet from National Geographic Kids for a crash course.

 Charter—a written agreement by a body of authority or power that creates a company, organization, or institution.

Ratified—to make a document, treaty, or agreement official and enforceable.

Human Rights— Amnesty International U.K. has a great guide to activities for teaching kids 5 and up about human rights!

Sustainability-- the practice of using the world’s resources in a way that can be maintained over time. In other words, make sure you don’t run out of something!

Climate Change—This video from Learn Bright gives kids an excellent introduction to the topic of climate change.

Poverty—the condition of being financially unable to reach basic needs. Poverty affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Check out this article from Food for The Hungry for suggestions on how to teach kids about poverty.

World Peace—The International Day of Peace website has great resources for teaching kids of all ages about the concept of world peace and how they can contribute!

Committee—a group within a larger group or organization, such as the UN, set aside to address a specific project or problem.

Alliance—a partnership created, often between two or more governments, for the good of both parties.

Sanction—a penalty imposed for breaking rules. For example, getting grounded is a sanction for breaking the rules at home!

U.N. Day Learning Resources

Check out some of these exciting resources from the UN and beyond to make learning about the UN fun for your child!

Learn about how to become a “food hero” with Peter Rabbit and these printable activity books and videos for kids from the UN’s Organization of Food and Agriculture.

The UN’s Sustainable Development campaign has a super engaging site for kids, teaching them to become climate action superheroes!

They also have a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed activity curriculum for kids to teach about various global goals the UN has in the areas of human rights and sustainability. The topics include global gender equality, sustainable cities, global access to clean, sanitary water, and more!

On top of all that, they’ve also created a free online storybook called Frieda Makes a Difference, about a little girl from Namibia. This book helps to teach kids about the importance of sustaining world resources.

Why not also check out their printable board game, Go Goals?

Educating your child about the role they play in protecting their community from the global COVID-19 pandemic is a very difficult thing to do. Here to help is a new storybook entitled My Hero is You, developed by over 50 UN humanitarian committees to teach kids about COVID-19 and how to do their part to combat it.

From the Human Rights Library, we have an extensive list of guided activities for kids of all ages. These range from discussions to arts and crafts projects, and much more!

This primary school activity designed by the UN to teach kids about the UN Charter makes for a great discussion starter at home as well.

Likewise, the United Nations Matters teaching pack from the UK branch of the UN is chock-full of printable handouts and worksheets that could be a fun activity for older kids at home, as well as at school!

Check out these educational online games from Youth E-Games to give your child a taste of various human rights issues.

Freerice.com is yet another online game but with a twist! Each correct answer your child gives in these quiz games covering various subjects donates rice to hungry people all over the world. Your child will reinforce learning concepts like geography, vocabulary, and math skills while making a difference in the world.

If you’re looking for more fun ways to more fun ways to celebrate all the most educational and diverse holidays with your child, stay tuned for more of The Holiday Helper on the Wondrfly blog!

But where do you turn all the other days of the year for fun and learning activities? Keeping your child engaged, learning, and living their best life is a difficult task. But Wondrfly is here to help! We have an extensive collection of kids’ activities both online and in Jersey City, just waiting for you to search. If you sign up for our exclusive beta program, you’ll get recommendations personalized for your child!