teaching children the language of caring for our planet
EARTH FRIENDS
WE LOVE OUR THINGS
(20 minute lesson)
Objective: To hold space for the children to form an opinion on where our things come from and where they go
Vocabulary: (recap) material, natural resources, respect, impact
Reading: Little Blue Chair
Creative Activity: Last Marker Box
BEGIN LESSON
(move & discover - 7 minutes)
Materials Make Things
Pass around samples of the following materials. Discuss what natural resource is used to make this material AND if taking this resource is harmful to Earth when we don’t take too much.
What is the impact each has on Earth? Remind the children the impact is how much we take from Earth and how much waste we create. What happens if we take too much? (new) Could we use a different material?
Wood (If we use too many trees, animals who live in a forest habitat don’t have a place to live.)
Plastic (Too many fossil fuels will make Earth’s blanket too thick.)
Rubber (Let’s use plants, because too many fossil fuels will make Earth’s blanket too thick.)
Cardboard (Animals who live in a forest habitat don’t have a place to live. We can use recycled carboard.)
Metal (If we take too many minerals, we will run out. We can use recycled metal!)
Textile (We can make fabric from plants and animals and fossil fuels.)
Glass (Glass is hard to make and recycle, but we could use metal sometimes.)
Leather (When we make leather, we use animals and we don’t want animals to run out.)
Paper (If we use too many trees, animals who live in a forest habitat don’t have a place to live. We can use recycled carboard or paper.)
Ceramic (If we take too many rocks and minerals, we will run out. We don’t want to use too many.)
(sit & learn - 5 minutes)
Curious Question I wonder how we can keep our things out of a landfill.
While the obvious answers will be Recycle, Reuse, and Compost, take any suggestions that the children have to keep our waste from going to a landfill.
Main Lesson We get our materials to make our things from Earth’s natural resources. We can take less from Earth when we take care of our things and respect them, because we won’t need to make new things. Using natural resources to make materials and throwing our materials away is our impact. Humans can have positive (thumbs up and smiles!) impact when we don’t take too much and we keep our things out of landfills.
(move & learn - 6 minutes)
Last Marker Box
(materials needed: box)
Do you know why we have this box? Where does a marker go when it’s used up? We can’t recycle it. We can’t reuse it. We can’t compost it. What can we do with it? When we can’t use our markers anymore, they go to a LANDFILL. We can put our markers in here instead of the garbage, because we want to see how many markers will go to a landfill.
Let’s count! How many markers do we have?
Have the children count the markers and discuss how many markers would go in the garbage. Do we want to keep our things out of landfills? Maybe we could use crayons and colored pencils instead of markers sometimes?
Closing Sentiment: Humans share our home on Earth with animals and plants, and we share our food with all our Earth Friends too. The energy we use for power comes from Earth, and when we make our things, our human things become part of Earth too. Humans can make good choices so that everyone on Earth has a safe home, enough food, and beautiful places inside and outside to live and play.
We can pay attention to our impact and learn to love and respect all living things.
END LESSON
WE LOVE OUR THINGS
(activities for the classroom)
The History of Our Toys
Materials Needed: Toys in the classroom
Preparation: Select 3 different toys.
Toy #1 is the oldest toy in the classroom.
Toy #2 is the most played with toy in the classroom.
Toy #3 is the newest toy in the classroom.
Talk about how each of these toys are doing with the children. Are they in perfect condition? How do we take care of them? What is different about the new toy and the most played with toy? What is the same about the most played with toy and old toy?
Explore: the materials we make things out of by using the images in We Love Our Things. Use the material samples to match with the images in the book. What is a plane made out of? What is a book made out of? What natural resource do we need to make plates?
Reading: Little Blue Chair
Vocabulary: material, natural resource, respect, impact
Good Choices:
I can take only what I need and use only what I need.
I can take care of the things I own.
I can ask where something goes when I am done using it and don’t want it anymore.
WE LOVE OUR THINGS
(families at home)
Discover: the history of your things. This week we learned about 3 different toys in the classroom—the oldest toy, the most played with toy, and the newest toy. At home, you can select 3 different things in your house too. What is the oldest, the favorite, and the newest? Show them to your child and talk about why each one is different and how each one is the same. Do you respect all 3 things in your house?
Discuss: The Toy Swap. Our Toy Swap Party is coming up, and that means it’s time to pick out an old toy that your child no longer plays with that can be a new toy to another Earth Friend. This is not always an easy concept to grasp, so you can start off by making a pile of toys that are “maybes.” Maybe I’m too old for this toy. Maybe someone else will love it more. Maybe I have too many toys like this toy. This will help your child ultimately narrow down to one toy they can bring in for the toy swap.
*Try not to pick a toy you no longer want. Give your child time to choose and understand that 2 things might happen. 1) Your child may choose a toy that you love. 2) Your child might not choose a toy you really want to let go of.
Vocabulary:
Humans make all different kinds of things made out of different materials.
The materials we use to make our things are found in nature, like trees and rocks, and we call these natural resources. Some come from underground, like fossil fuels, rocks, and minerals. Some come from plants, like trees and leaves. Some come from animals.
We create all our materials from natural resources. Humans make many things from natural resources. We don’t want to use too much of what we find in nature—what Earth gives us—so we can learn to take care of our things.
When we respect our things, we can make them last longer. Humans use natural resources from nature to make our things. Humans also create waste when we are done with our things.
The amount we take and the waste we create is called our impact.
WE LOVE OUR THINGS
(community event)
TOY SWAP
The children have been learning so much about their things and all the things that humans create and make. Now we know where our things can go when we are done and how to respect the things we have. Something we learned is that an old thing can be a new thing to someone else!
Host an event at the school where children can swap an old toy for a like-new toy. Limit the swap to 1 toy per child but invite siblings to join! Set a time, and when each child arrives, place the toys together on a table. When everyone has arrived, have each child participating draw a number out of a hat. Call numbers to have children choose toys from the table.
You can keep this event very simple. No need to add a round of trading or even a time for snacks. You will find that the children are so excited to go home with something like-new that the usual “sharing” and “boredom” and “mind-changing” and “hunger” isn’t even a factor at this event.
SAMPLE LETTER TO FAMILIES
[GREETING]
We hope this letter finds you well and filled with excitement as we gear up for our upcoming Toy Swap Party on [DATE]! The event promises to be a wonderful opportunity for our Earth Friends to exchange toys, fostering a sense of community, sustainability, and joy. To ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience for everyone, we'd like to share some guidelines to help you and your child prepare for the event.
Encourage your child to participate in the Toy Swap by selecting an old toy that they no longer play with but that could bring joy to another Earth Friend. We understand that parting with beloved toys can be challenging, so we suggest starting with a "maybe" pile. This process involves considering factors such as whether the toy is outgrown, duplicates another in their collection, or simply ready for a new adventure with a different friend.
As your child sifts through their toys, they may encounter some internal debates. "Maybe I'm too old for this toy, but I want to keep it." or "I don’t want to share this one." are common thoughts that might arise. It's all part of the learning process, helping them to make thoughtful decisions about what toys they are ready to part with.
We kindly request that you guide your child during this selection process, encouraging them to choose a toy they genuinely feel ready to share with others. We understand that this may not be an easy decision for them, and that's okay. The goal is to make the experience positive and meaningful. We want to emphasize that parents must respect their child's choices during this process. There are two potential outcomes that we'd like you to be aware of. Firstly, your child may choose a toy that holds sentimental value for you. In such cases, we encourage open communication and understanding. Secondly, there is a possibility that your child may not select a toy you were hoping they would let go of. In these instances, we recommend acknowledging their decision and perhaps discussing alternative times or methods for decluttering.
Ultimately, our Toy Swap Party is about fostering a spirit of sharing, community, and sustainability. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to a fantastic event where our Earth Friends can discover new treasures and create lasting memories.
Thank you for your participation and support!
[CLOSING]
