Teaching young children to care for the earth
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
There is a famous proverb saying that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children that has resonated with me for a long time. It is now an undeniable fact that climate change is happening on a vast scale globally, and it is imperative for me, being both a mother and an educator, to ensure that I teach my children and the ones I teach to take care of their environment.
By starting to teach them from when they are infants and toddlers the message that they are responsible for the world they live in, I hope to impart strong values, such as respect, protection, care, responsibility and mindfulness that will stay with them throughout their lives and ensure they can make a difference, no matter how small.
But how does one go about teaching these values to such young children? This post will look at activities and ideas that parents and teachers can use at home or in school.
First of all, teach them the differences between land, water and air. Introduce each concept carefully, explaining the functions and uses of each, through stories, songs, cartoons (yes, why not?), pictures and activities. My favourite activities include nature walks and short hikes to see these things in nature, at the park or in the countryside. Most children love being outdoors in nature, exploring and investigating, splashing in streams and puddles, clambering over rocks and are always quick appreciate the beauty of flowers and bugs, or patterns in leaves and stone. If nature walks are not possible, bring nature into the home or classroom. Bring dried leaves or living plants, interesting pebbles and earth, or even dead bugs and use magnifying glasses to look at them in detail. If you are able to grow plants, vegetables and flowers, this is an excellent opportunity for children to understand and learn about life cycles and how each living thing is dependent on clean air, water, and nourishment.
When children can appreciate the wonder and beauty of nature, they have a vested interest in protecting what they love. This is then a good time to introduce the concept of environmental issues. If you feel that your children are mature enough to understand such issues, give them concrete examples of the destruction of the environment, showing pictures of dirty oceans or water, polluted air and earth and let them ask questions. Answer their questions honestly and explain that much of the pollution and environmental issues are man-made and come from people not caring for the earth. You can ask them if this is the kind of place they would like to live; would they like to swim in polluted, diseased water or play on land filled with rubbish, with no trees, grass or plants? These questions may seem harsh but they are designed to get children to understand the immediacy and impact of our global issues. Children have strong imaginations and will feel the need to stop these issues, which allows parents and teachers to then introduce the concept of environmental protection.
What kids can do to help the environment:
Reduce
Conserve water: When brushing teeth, turn off the water. Teach children about water-saver gardening through plant selection.
Turn off the light when you leave the room and save electricity.
Turn off the air conditioning. In AC-loving Hong Kong, it is incredibly important to teach children about how much energy air conditioners use to cool rooms down. Turn them off and invest in fans for the summer or open windows in autumn, spring and winter!
Reuse: Clean out jam jars and reuse them as drinking glasses — they're the perfect size for little hands and incorporate empty paper towel rolls, used straws, old scraps of fabric, clean food containers and empty cereal boxes into your youngster's next art project, or as I like to call it the ‘inventor’s box’ - bonus point, it stops my kid from complaining he’s bored and gives him something to do when I’m occupied with other tasks!
Invest: in resuable coffee mugs and containers, steel drinking straws and eating utensils and bring them with you if you eat or drink out. Commit to using no plastic utensils for 2018 and make a real difference. Plastic-free HK has some great alternatives for all kinds of food storage (https://www.plasticfreehk.com ).
Recycle: Recycling may seem an obvious step but there are so many still so many people and communities that don't but the HK government is now stepping up their recycling game in an effort to help. While buying products made with recycled ingredients such as paper or plastic, you can explain to your children the concept of “upcycling”. Get kids sorting their rubbish into plastic, metal, glass, paper and other. Quite a lot can be washed, cleaned and reused and be “upcycled” to add in their inventor’s box to create their next masterpiece.
Grow things: Salad leaves, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and much more are possible on a balcony or sunny window. Fast-growing veggies can be grown in tiny HK apartments - check out Green Queen(https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/hong-kong-gardening-resource-guide-seeds-planters-urban-farming/) for more ideas! Children will learn that grow your own food tastes much better and are safer to eat, with no pesticides.
Avoid plastic bags in lunchboxes: Use recyclable containers when packing lunch boxes, with cloth napkins. There are even reusable, washable, beeswax sandwich wrappers, available from good department stores, ESLite and our charity fair vendor, Tree Children (see below).
Beach Cleanup: Get the whole family involved and join the countless beach clean up days around HK or organise your own at http://hkcleanup.org/ and save our shores from dreaded plastic straws and rubbish.
Compost: Put leftover apple cores, banana peels and any other of nature's wrappers in a compost bin, where they eventually will break down and turn into fertilizer to use in your home garden! There are now tabletop composters for small home living available.
Walk or bike or use public transport:: Instead of using petrol to drive, walk, take your bicycle or use public transport to school, to friends' houses or to the store.
Toy Swap: Make use of the Hong Kong Toy Library in Sheung Wan, or arrange a toy swap with your kids’ friends, and save money at the same time! Or come check out the Mamaswap toys collection at our charity fair (see below for details).
Give “experiences” : Instead of giving toys that will break or that kids will quickly tire of, take them rock climbing, camping, wild swimming (in rivers, ponds, or the sea) or hiking. You’re then giving them memorable experiences that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives.
If you’re keen to protect your environment and reduce your impact, come check out our Chinese New Year Charity Fair on January 20th (Saturday) from 10:30-4:00pm. Our theme is “Mighty Green” and we’ll be hosting Hong Kong’s local, environmentally-minded, green businesses.
In addition to wonderful vendors such as Green Monday, Nice Pops, Sundara, Baby Hero and Cloud Candy, as well as many others, we will be hosting a Green Monday x MAMASMART swapping event for children’s books and toys - perfect for any parents looking to offload an excess of books and toys after Christmas (so come down and bring your gently loved toys along with you to swap)! To keep your little ones entertained while you shop, Orff for Kids will be offering 2 music-jamming sessions of 45 minutes each for kids to have fun with music.
Proceeds from table sales will be matched by Mighty Oaks and donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation, a registered charity organization in Hong Kong. We hope to see you there!
Read why our Hong Kong Playgroup expert believes character education is essential in today’s world here!
➡【Join our Mighty Oaks family!/ 快來加入奧恩大家庭】
➡【 Sign up for Acorn Trial Class now!/Acorn 試堂優惠】
By starting to teach them from when they are infants and toddlers the message that they are responsible for the world they live in, I hope to impart strong values, such as respect, protection, care, responsibility and mindfulness that will stay with them throughout their lives and ensure they can make a difference, no matter how small.
But how does one go about teaching these values to such young children? This post will look at activities and ideas that parents and teachers can use at home or in school.
First of all, teach them the differences between land, water and air. Introduce each concept carefully, explaining the functions and uses of each, through stories, songs, cartoons (yes, why not?), pictures and activities. My favourite activities include nature walks and short hikes to see these things in nature, at the park or in the countryside. Most children love being outdoors in nature, exploring and investigating, splashing in streams and puddles, clambering over rocks and are always quick appreciate the beauty of flowers and bugs, or patterns in leaves and stone. If nature walks are not possible, bring nature into the home or classroom. Bring dried leaves or living plants, interesting pebbles and earth, or even dead bugs and use magnifying glasses to look at them in detail. If you are able to grow plants, vegetables and flowers, this is an excellent opportunity for children to understand and learn about life cycles and how each living thing is dependent on clean air, water, and nourishment.
When children can appreciate the wonder and beauty of nature, they have a vested interest in protecting what they love. This is then a good time to introduce the concept of environmental issues. If you feel that your children are mature enough to understand such issues, give them concrete examples of the destruction of the environment, showing pictures of dirty oceans or water, polluted air and earth and let them ask questions. Answer their questions honestly and explain that much of the pollution and environmental issues are man-made and come from people not caring for the earth. You can ask them if this is the kind of place they would like to live; would they like to swim in polluted, diseased water or play on land filled with rubbish, with no trees, grass or plants? These questions may seem harsh but they are designed to get children to understand the immediacy and impact of our global issues. Children have strong imaginations and will feel the need to stop these issues, which allows parents and teachers to then introduce the concept of environmental protection.
What kids can do to help the environment:
Reduce
Conserve water: When brushing teeth, turn off the water. Teach children about water-saver gardening through plant selection.
Turn off the light when you leave the room and save electricity.
Turn off the air conditioning. In AC-loving Hong Kong, it is incredibly important to teach children about how much energy air conditioners use to cool rooms down. Turn them off and invest in fans for the summer or open windows in autumn, spring and winter!
Reuse: Clean out jam jars and reuse them as drinking glasses — they're the perfect size for little hands and incorporate empty paper towel rolls, used straws, old scraps of fabric, clean food containers and empty cereal boxes into your youngster's next art project, or as I like to call it the ‘inventor’s box’ - bonus point, it stops my kid from complaining he’s bored and gives him something to do when I’m occupied with other tasks!
Invest: in resuable coffee mugs and containers, steel drinking straws and eating utensils and bring them with you if you eat or drink out. Commit to using no plastic utensils for 2018 and make a real difference. Plastic-free HK has some great alternatives for all kinds of food storage (https://www.plasticfreehk.com ).
Recycle: Recycling may seem an obvious step but there are so many still so many people and communities that don't but the HK government is now stepping up their recycling game in an effort to help. While buying products made with recycled ingredients such as paper or plastic, you can explain to your children the concept of “upcycling”. Get kids sorting their rubbish into plastic, metal, glass, paper and other. Quite a lot can be washed, cleaned and reused and be “upcycled” to add in their inventor’s box to create their next masterpiece.
Grow things: Salad leaves, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and much more are possible on a balcony or sunny window. Fast-growing veggies can be grown in tiny HK apartments - check out Green Queen(https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/hong-kong-gardening-resource-guide-seeds-planters-urban-farming/) for more ideas! Children will learn that grow your own food tastes much better and are safer to eat, with no pesticides.
Avoid plastic bags in lunchboxes: Use recyclable containers when packing lunch boxes, with cloth napkins. There are even reusable, washable, beeswax sandwich wrappers, available from good department stores, ESLite and our charity fair vendor, Tree Children (see below).
Beach Cleanup: Get the whole family involved and join the countless beach clean up days around HK or organise your own at http://hkcleanup.org/ and save our shores from dreaded plastic straws and rubbish.
Compost: Put leftover apple cores, banana peels and any other of nature's wrappers in a compost bin, where they eventually will break down and turn into fertilizer to use in your home garden! There are now tabletop composters for small home living available.
Walk or bike or use public transport:: Instead of using petrol to drive, walk, take your bicycle or use public transport to school, to friends' houses or to the store.
Toy Swap: Make use of the Hong Kong Toy Library in Sheung Wan, or arrange a toy swap with your kids’ friends, and save money at the same time! Or come check out the Mamaswap toys collection at our charity fair (see below for details).
Give “experiences” : Instead of giving toys that will break or that kids will quickly tire of, take them rock climbing, camping, wild swimming (in rivers, ponds, or the sea) or hiking. You’re then giving them memorable experiences that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives.
If you’re keen to protect your environment and reduce your impact, come check out our Chinese New Year Charity Fair on January 20th (Saturday) from 10:30-4:00pm. Our theme is “Mighty Green” and we’ll be hosting Hong Kong’s local, environmentally-minded, green businesses.
In addition to wonderful vendors such as Green Monday, Nice Pops, Sundara, Baby Hero and Cloud Candy, as well as many others, we will be hosting a Green Monday x MAMASMART swapping event for children’s books and toys - perfect for any parents looking to offload an excess of books and toys after Christmas (so come down and bring your gently loved toys along with you to swap)! To keep your little ones entertained while you shop, Orff for Kids will be offering 2 music-jamming sessions of 45 minutes each for kids to have fun with music.
Proceeds from table sales will be matched by Mighty Oaks and donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation, a registered charity organization in Hong Kong. We hope to see you there!
Read why our Hong Kong Playgroup expert believes character education is essential in today’s world here!
➡【Join our Mighty Oaks family!/ 快來加入奧恩大家庭】
➡【 Sign up for Acorn Trial Class now!/Acorn 試堂優惠】
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