Guest blogger, Darci Faiello, shares a local preschool's Earth Day celebration. I love these ideas for activities, which are both educational and fun! For more fun activities for your little ones, visit Kids Be Green.
Berkeley Hills Preschool
has been helping children take their first steps in
formal education for over 30 years. One of those steps is teaching the children
about their environment and how they have an impact on their surroundings. The
children recently celebrated Earth Day with their own Recycle Day at school!
They learned the values of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle through their various
activities and play.
One of the games that they played was the Recycle Roller. They rode a little car along some tracks and picked up pieces of paper. This activity taught the children how important it is to reduce the amount of waste they create and how important it is to put trash in the proper place. It also helped the children develop their leg muscles as they pushed the car along the tracks.
The children learned the importance of reusing items as a special project. They made “Trash” using bits and pieces of leftovers from previous snacks. They used Cheese Its, Pretzels, Fruit Loops, Goldfish Crackers, and my son's favorite ... CHOCOLATE CHIPS! The first step was to sort everything into different piles and determine which pile was the biggest and which was the smallest. They practiced their sorting, counting, and pre-math skills as they prepared this yummy snack and then used their small motor skills to mix it all together. The best part was they were able to eat and enjoy the “Trash”!
The children also learned how to reuse garbage during their art project. They took empty paper towel rolls and turned them into traffic lights! They worked on their listening skills while following directions as they painted the paper towel rolls. They also worked on their fine motor skills and scissor handling while they cut out three circles and then glued them to the paper towel roll to make their traffic lights.
The recycling part was something the whole family could get involved in. The children were asked to bring in a recyclable item from home. This sparked a conversation at home as to what items we recycle, what we do with them when they are empty, and where do they go after they get tossed into the recycle bin. My son picked a Sprite can to take in for his part of Recycling Day. He played the “Garbage Game” with it and had to decide whether it went in the paper bin, the glass bin, the metals bin, or the plastics bin.
The Berkeley Hills Preschoolers celebrated their Recycle Day by practicing the concepts of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. That is one of the key components of Berkeley Hills Preschool ... they learn by doing and interacting rather than by drill and memorization. They spend their day engaged in free play that is designed to develop their skills, which is then followed up by cognitive time that is designed to enhance their learning experience. It makes a lasting impression on the children, as can be seen in my son who, when asked about recycling day, said, “We have to keep the Earth clean and healthy!”
One of the games that they played was the Recycle Roller. They rode a little car along some tracks and picked up pieces of paper. This activity taught the children how important it is to reduce the amount of waste they create and how important it is to put trash in the proper place. It also helped the children develop their leg muscles as they pushed the car along the tracks.
The children learned the importance of reusing items as a special project. They made “Trash” using bits and pieces of leftovers from previous snacks. They used Cheese Its, Pretzels, Fruit Loops, Goldfish Crackers, and my son's favorite ... CHOCOLATE CHIPS! The first step was to sort everything into different piles and determine which pile was the biggest and which was the smallest. They practiced their sorting, counting, and pre-math skills as they prepared this yummy snack and then used their small motor skills to mix it all together. The best part was they were able to eat and enjoy the “Trash”!
The children also learned how to reuse garbage during their art project. They took empty paper towel rolls and turned them into traffic lights! They worked on their listening skills while following directions as they painted the paper towel rolls. They also worked on their fine motor skills and scissor handling while they cut out three circles and then glued them to the paper towel roll to make their traffic lights.
The recycling part was something the whole family could get involved in. The children were asked to bring in a recyclable item from home. This sparked a conversation at home as to what items we recycle, what we do with them when they are empty, and where do they go after they get tossed into the recycle bin. My son picked a Sprite can to take in for his part of Recycling Day. He played the “Garbage Game” with it and had to decide whether it went in the paper bin, the glass bin, the metals bin, or the plastics bin.
The Berkeley Hills Preschoolers celebrated their Recycle Day by practicing the concepts of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. That is one of the key components of Berkeley Hills Preschool ... they learn by doing and interacting rather than by drill and memorization. They spend their day engaged in free play that is designed to develop their skills, which is then followed up by cognitive time that is designed to enhance their learning experience. It makes a lasting impression on the children, as can be seen in my son who, when asked about recycling day, said, “We have to keep the Earth clean and healthy!”
