Global Day of Parents | EYFS & KS1 Activity Ideas

**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Global Day of Parents. Global Day of Parents is observed annually on June 1st. It was proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to honour parents throughout the world for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifices towards nurturing this relationship. For official information and details, please visit the United Nations website: www.un.org/en/observances/parents-day.

Monday 1st June 2026

Understanding Global Day of Parents in EYFS & KS1

Let's give a big cheer for our amazing parents and carers! 💖👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a wonderful and heartwarming theme for exploring families, relationships, kindness, emotions, belonging, community, and understanding the world (people and communities). It's about fostering an appreciation for different family structures, promoting empathy, and encouraging children to express love and gratitude. This day offers fantastic planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities & invitations that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about family bonds, respect, and emotional well-being wonderfully heart-warming!

Why Is Learning About Parents and Families Valuable for Young Children?

Integrating Global Day of Parents and themes of family, kindness, and appreciation into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) builds a sense of belonging, and an understanding of diverse family structures.

• Builds a Sense of Belonging: Helps children feel secure and valued within their own family unit and the wider community.

• Promotes Gratitude & Appreciation: Encourages children to recognise and value the care and love they receive from parents/carers.

• Develops Empathy & Kindness: Fosters an understanding of others' feelings and the importance of being kind and supportive within relationships.

• Explores Family Diversity: Acknowledges and celebrates different family structures and the various roles parents/carers play.

• Supports Social-Emotional Learning: Provides opportunities to discuss emotions, relationships, and how to express feelings constructively.

• Strengthens Home-School Connection: Reinforces the partnership between educators and families in supporting children's development.

Engaging Family & Kindness Activities for Global Day of Parents (EYFS & KS1)

Let's celebrate Global Day of Parents with these playful ideas, provision enhancements and learning opportunities inspired by the important relationships, care and sense of belonging that help children thrive. The focus is on recognising the people who support us, celebrating family life in all its forms, and exploring kindness, gratitude and emotional wellbeing.

Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated ‘Families’, ‘Kindness and Friendship’, ‘Emotions and Feelings’, and ‘All About Me’ resources.

Here’s some inspiration for celebrating Global Day of Parents in your setting. The following ideas may be adapted for various EYFS and KS1 settings. In EYFS, these ideas are best viewed as invitations to explore and enhancements to provision rather than activities every child is expected to complete. Practitioners may choose to follow children's interests, experiences and conversations, using these resources flexibly. In KS1, some ideas may also be used within more structured teaching sequences where appropriate. Printable resources to support the following ideas may be found further down this page.

(Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)

❤️ Families, Belonging & Special Relationships

Global Day of Parents provides an opportunity to celebrate the people who care for us, support us and help us feel safe. In early years settings, this can be explored through conversations, stories, photographs and opportunities for children to share what is important to them.

Children might:

• Talk about the people in their family

• Share photographs from home

• Draw or paint important people

• Create simple family books

• Discuss family traditions and routines

• Explore similarities and differences between families

Our Families resources, family-themed writing sheets, booklets, posters and playdough mats can help support these conversations and creative experiences.

Additional Provision Enhancements

• Create a family photo display contributed by children

• Add small world figures representing different family groups

• Set up a home corner reflecting children's own experiences

• Invite children to bring in a favourite family photograph

• Create "Who is important to me?" drawing invitations

• Share stories featuring diverse family structures

💕 Kindness, Gratitude & Caring for Others

Global Day of Parents offers a natural opportunity to think about kindness, appreciation and the ways people help one another.

Children might:

• Create cards or messages for someone special

• Talk about ways they help at home

• Share examples of kindness they have experienced

• Plan small acts of kindness for others

• Explore stories about friendship, care and cooperation

Our Acts of Kindness resources, kindness activities and card templates can help extend these experiences.

Additional Provision Enhancements

• Create a kindness tree where children add ideas

• Set up a "Thank You Post Office" role-play area

• Encourage children to notice acts of kindness throughout the day

• Make friendship bracelets or kindness tokens

• Create collaborative artwork celebrating people who help us

😊 Emotions, Relationships & Feeling Safe

Strong family relationships are closely linked to children's emotional wellbeing and sense of security.

Children might:

• Talk about people they go to when they need help

• Explore feelings through stories and role play

• Discuss what helps them feel safe, loved and cared for

• Reflect on how different people support them

Our Emotions and Feelings page resources, including Teddy emotion activities and wellbeing resources can support these conversations.

Additional Provision Enhancements

• Create a feelings station with mirrors and emotion cards

• Add family-themed story books to reading areas

• Encourage children to create "people who help me" drawings

• Use puppets to explore everyday family situations

• Create calm spaces where children can reflect and talk

🏠 Home Life, Role Play & Real-World Experiences

Role play allows children to explore familiar experiences and make sense of their world.

Children might:

• Recreate everyday routines

• Care for dolls and small world characters

• Act out cooking, shopping or bedtime routines

• Explore different family roles through imaginative play

Our Houses and Homes resources and home corner materials can help enrich these experiences.

Additional Provision Enhancements

• Add real household objects to role play areas

• Create family meal role-play invitations

• Provide notebooks for making shopping lists

• Introduce baby dolls and care resources

• Create family photo albums for browsing

🌍 Celebrating Every Family

Global Day of Parents is also an opportunity to recognise that every family is unique.

You might explore:

• Different family structures

• Languages spoken at home

• Family traditions and celebrations

• Cultural similarities and differences

• The many ways people care for one another

Our Families and All About Me resources can support inclusive conversations that help every child feel seen and valued.

🔍 Explore More

You may also like to explore additional pages covering relevant and connected themes such as:

All About Me • Emotions and Feelings • Families • Houses and Homes’ • Kindness and Friendship • Mental Health • People Who Help Us • Dual-Language Resources

These ideas and provision enhancements offer meaningful ways to celebrate Global Day of Parents in EYFS and KS1 settings. By focusing on belonging, relationships, kindness and emotional wellbeing, practitioners can create opportunities for children to recognise and celebrate the people who help them feel safe, valued and loved.

To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.

Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Global Day of Parents’

Free ‘Family’ & ‘Kindness’ related EYFS & KS1 resources:

‘Family’, ‘Parents’ & ‘Kindness’ related EYFS & KS1 resources:

Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes

More Early Years Event Pages for June

Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children

Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!

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Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Global Day of Parents'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the United Nations (UN), which proclaimed this international observance. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For official information and details, please visit the United Nations website: www.un.org/en/observances/parents-day.