With Earth day happening this month, Parkland Children’s Academy once again feels the need to convey just how important it is for children to learn about environmental issues from a young age. Our children are growing up in a world where this issue is ever more pressing, and by teaching to these issues from a young age, we stand a chance of instilling a passion for conservation and a love of nature. Children’s academies need to elevate the level to which children are involved in these issues, and there are so many creative ways of doing this.
Bringing Nature to the Program
Planting trees and gardens are great for teaching young children about nature and how to nurture nature. Growing plants takes care and teaches responsibility, but it is also a long term project that invests the idea of conservation. Children can actively see the result of their actions in how the tree or garden grows.
Other elements of nature can also be brought into the classroom for learning purposes. There are several ways to raise awareness of recycling and waste.
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Make Trash into Useful Items
So much is thrown out that could be put to much better use – bird feeders from milk containers, flower pots from plastic bottles, and so much more. There are so many examples of how people have used waste to make much better use of garden space. Providing children with a visual of waste conversion could prove to inspire them. If they are already planting gardens, this is a great way of making combining two important lessons.
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A Children’s Academy for Litter Collection
Hosting a day of collecting litter will show how much people actually throw out. Use this as a basis for making or decorating your own “green bags” to use instead of any plastic bags. Children will enjoy decorating these bags (using environmentally friendly resources would make the activity more powerful) and by making them unique, they would learn a valuable lesson in stuff that isn’t disposable. As they collect trash, time can be spent on teaching about the dangers that litter has on animals.
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Going Through the Garbage
Spend some time sifting through items that can and can’t be recycled. Recycling is a good habit to develop, but also a difficult one to implement because it does take time. By learning to do this from a young age, that habit will be better ingrained in their adult selves. Once they have formed their various piles, maybe some of the less recyclable items can be used for art projects. Many people have made an impact on social media with their ability to use unlikely waste to make wonderful art.
Current Issues in your Community
Any given area will have an issue they are currently dealing with regarding the environment. For Florida, water safety levels and conservation have been hot topics. Small projects in the classroom can be taught that relate to a very real and current issue. Even if children are too young to fully understand an issue, there is always a starting point. Show the class how a damn is built; teach them why. Have a lesson on when it is or isn’t safe to drink water from a certain place, and how water can be made safe.
Events Nearby
The local community might be hosting events that deal with environmental and conservation issues. Some of these may be aimed at children and would make for a worthwhile outing. Not only would this be educational, but it would show children that conservation affects all of society, and that there are things happening outside of the classroom that people are involved in. What better way of letting a child know that this topic is a long-term project.
It is so important to drive this awareness amongst children because they are the generation that will be finding ways to counter many of the problems that exist in our natural world. We need to find creative ways of sparking that desire to be involved and to find new ways of treating our environment. Children are not only in the most need of learning about this, but also in the best stage of life to forge better habits and awareness for change. Earth day is just one day where we can get this started.