Book to help empower children: 10 things I can do to help my world

[Ruthierhyme]

10 Things I can do to help my world by Melanie Walsh


Links are in association with Silkysteps amazon affiliate account

This is an empowering book that can be used to support many of your settings ethics and aims.. it will help provide resource evidence for targetting any goals set out for the group's performance or achievement.

In supporting Children's right to information the book explains wonderfully how individually they can/are able to contribute towards helping with global concerns, mum, dad, carers household bills and minimising wear and tear on equipment

The 10 areas cover:

Switching off lights

Turning off taps after brushing teeth - supports health awareness, dental care & oral hygiene - Children's dental care from CKS.nhs.uk

Throw rubbish in the bin - sense of community and care for surrounding & wider environment.

Feeding the birds - will help you explore feelings of empathy, understanding, consideration & responsibilities.

Using both sides of a sheet of paper .. duly noted

Turn off the TV with a reminder about the standby facility - will open discussion for ict awareness.

The book features children with differing skin tones which is great for promoting a setting's aim towards diversity & issues of inclusion.

It promotes the use of boxes for junk modelling & toy/game making

and the next page states 'I like to walk to school' - perfect for remembering to read if you take part in the national 'Walk to school' week campaign/s.

Planting seeds and caring for plants is good for seasons - Spring, where the focus may be 'growing. Summer, when we enjoy the flowers that the seeds have produced. Late Summer/Autumn, when the Squirrels eat, collect and store the nuts/seeds for the coming Winter. Autumn/Winter is also when some tree seeds/nuts once fallen plant themselves/are planted - to start again in the Spring with growing ..

The last page details recycling and how different items can be recycled by separating and storing them in different, marked containers - promoting text in the environment.

This is a great all rounder book made from 100% recycled materials

Very impressed

A link to this thread will also be posted in Conservation & the world around us.

-------------------
If you have other titles you've found as flexible as this one please add on ..

[Ruthierhyme]

Adding to this with a few ideas for the learning & play a display based on this book may provide, its a personal view, please adapt anything you feel appropriate to your own setting and paperwork.

For assessment, the suggestion to use this titled book as the foundation for a display can help evidence how you promote Children's self awareness / awareness of self, empower them and how they are able to access information about knowledge and understanding of the world, promoting & fulfilling a settings commitment towards safeguarding Children's rights

The download available for planning continuous provision from SwanseaGfL.gov.uk is great for basing area & activities on: Use the search facility on there to look for an alternate word doc format.

Activity ideas

Switching off lightbulbs:

5 little Caterpillars rhyme & moths for the Lightbulb
Please ask, or look for permission if you hope to reproduce the rhyme in any part beforehand - contact page.

Lights and switches: provide a range of switch operated lights to look at 'on & off techniques - fine motor & gross motor.


Discussion on how switching off lights reduces electrical use / power/energy consumption - good for bills & good for the environment

Maybe find the place where your setting's electrical consumption is measured.

Suggested background information:
Electric or energy suppliers - electricity-guide.org.uk
resolving issues: consumerdirect.gov.uk
Dangers of light switches - exposure to live wires, unearthed wires & electric shock.
Switches and provision for ICT
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research: Moth Count

Turning off taps when brushing teeth
Look at flow, volumn, speed and fill with water tray equipment - funnels, jugs, pouring, measuring equipment.
Chat about turning off/on taps during tooth brushing and other oral hygiene care routines.
Braces, floss, mouth wash - age recommended discussion that could refer to other members of the family/friends and experiences of how they care for their teeth.

Suggested background information:
Children's dental care leaflet from CKS.nhs.uk
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research:
www.nationalsmileweek.org

Throwing litter in the bin
Item grabbers, pick up claws - amazon affiliate link
Scrunch up pieces of paper and card tubes on the ground for collection into buckets.

Suggested background information:
Littering fines penalty notices
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research:
www.keepbritaintidy.org

Feeding birds
Bird cakes - Silkysteps activity page

Suggested background information:
Garden birds
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research:
Survival plan from RSPB.org.uk

Using both sides of a piece of paper
Conservation of paper - a mainly wood based product.
explore the reasoning behind this tip to help the world by showing what's involved in the making of paper.
Use your settings water tray, turn ripped up pieces of paper into pulp and strain into sheets - catch in a sieve and spread out with a spoon if a flat bed strain isn't available.

Suggested background information:
Search and research logging
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research:
Redusing school waste

Turning off the tv
Play the traditional game of musical statues to explain standby.
Ready to move but stopped!
Rename your usual game, and call out 'Standby when you want children to stand still - this can be done to music, marching, holding balloons on strings.

Suggested background information:
Standby power from wikipedia
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research:
Switch it off campaign - poster

Junk modelling
Freeflow access to crafting materials, boxes, tubes and cartons - additional layers - lids, foils, paper - materials for attachment: tapes, glue, string ..
Parent partnerships - requests for items and understanding in the achievement of the work that's produced.

Suggested background information:
Wicked robots
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking and research:

Walking to school
wall chart smiley faces for walking, cars, bikes, bicycles, scooters. Have this in place for the time it takes to complete the display.

Suggested background information:
Atrophy
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking, research:
National awareness campaign
www.walktoschool.org.uk and walk4life

Growing & planting seeds
Cress heads or sunflower seed growing/planting activity.

Suggested background information:
Seeds from Amazon - affiliate link
www.forestry.gov.uk
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking, research:
www.growingschools.org.uk
NB: the Sunflower growing challenge has ended but the growing page is excellent.

Recycling
Take a tour - physical activity: skip to the rubbish bin, walk to the compost, hop to the paper bin and jump to the waste recycling area - add jiggle jiggle turn around and shout out hooray once the activity has completed

Suggested background information:
Recycling from wikipedia
Campaign, initiatives, current thinking, research:
The three R's - Reuse, reduce, recycle campaign


----------------
Classroom displays from teachernet

Preschool conservation book list