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In Pre-K we have been focusing on our Earth and the importance of recycling and reusing objects.  To help celebrate Earth Day we created original pieces of artwork using recycled materials brought to school from our homes!  The kids thought it was interesting to see what each other brought – what was same, different, or just something that was “really cool!”

The children worked on their projects all morning and afternoon long during center time!  The children had many opportunities to tear, cut up, poke holes, tie up, make knots, and problem solve on how to get their creations to actually stay together and then hang from the ceiling in our classroom!

At the conclusion of the activity each child was asked to study their artwork and to describe the following:

  • What is the name/title of your original artwork?
  • What items were used to create your Recycled Art Hanging Mobile?
  • How did you make your creation?
  • Why is it important to recycle?

I can tell you that the students thoroughly enjoyed participating in this Earth Day activity. However, please don’t tell them we also accomplished some of our learning objectives shown below:

  • Discussion and understanding of recycling, reusing, and our responsibility for taking care of the Earth
  • Creative thinking – Naming original artwork, creating artwork
  • Problem solving – How to make, how to hold together, teamwork, and sharing
  • Fine motor skills – cutting, poking, tearing, taping, typing, knotting
  • Cognitive – activity recall, identifying objects, and creative thinking
  • Teamwork & social-emotional – sharing/trading objects with friends, helping one another, problem solving with a friend, trial and error

Enjoy the photos below highlighting some of the student work.

Your trash can be a treasure!

Misti is a Pre-K teacher at The Grove School of Plano. She is an avid Kansas State fan. (We don't hold that against her!)

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Two weeks after Earth Day, and there’s still a lot of talk about recycling, gardening and wildlife around my house. But mostly my talk. And my teaching. How are these subjects developing in the minds of my daughter and her friends? I wanted to find out so I asked them a few open-ended questions and videotaped their answers. Have a look.

Things we can do to help the Earth:

Friends talk about our planet:

This is a fun project that yields the sentiments of your child. Like the idea that Earth is where the people we love live. After viewing TV series like Planet Earth, it’s nice to leave the jungles and ocean floors and return to the idea of Earth as our families’ home. That simple but moving notion brings the Earth Day mission full-circle; back to the concept of saving the planet for the generations to come. Plus it reveals how central Earth is to our children’s sense of family.

What does Earth look like through the eyes of your child?

This projects is easy to pull off. You don’t need a fancy recorder. The video function on your digital phone works great. Here are questions to help start your inquiry:

−Where is the Earth?
−What grows there?
−What do you want to do to help the Earth?

Be sure to share your video with us.

Here’s how:
−Email your video file to share@groveschool.com
−Or, email us the embed link from YouTube
−Check out others’ videos on our YouTube channel

Remember too that we have a fabulous new eco-adventure summer program at The Grove School. In it we’ll introduce your child to the five major biomes of the world—deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra and water.  Learn more.

Britt is the editor of The Grove School website. She's got 15 years of writing and editing experience, a 6 year old daughter, a garden and a healthy obsession with all things green.

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Some glorious images of our planet from NASA. Check out more pictures at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Flickr page.

All images courtesy of NASA.

Britt is the editor of The Grove School website. She's got 15 years of writing and editing experience, a 6 year old daughter, a garden and a healthy obsession with all things green.

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I hear the term Nature Deficit Disorder so much lately that I decided to look into it. NDD, as it’s sometimes called, describes the American youth’s lack of relationship with the environment. It’s a problem because it has led to a nationwide increase in childhood mood disorders like anxiety, depression, obesity and attention-span issues.

Richard Louv is leading the wake-up call. In his book, “Last Child in the Woods” (first published in 2005) he points to TV, Internet and other multimedia outlets as major contributors to our youth’s sedentary lifestyle. According to research, the average home in the U.S. has more TVs than children, and kids in our country watch more TV than children any place else in the world.

What I find so interesting about Louv’s message is that it’s not just about turning off the TV. It’s about actually getting outside. That’s important because studies show that time spent in nature gives our children valuable ingredients for healthy, happy living. For example, one resource I found cited that children’s attentional functioning improves after play in green settings. And that the greener an activity area the better the children functioned, with attention deficit symptoms becoming less severe. Another resource suggests that a connection to nature leads to greater self-esteem. Louv says it best, “Parents should see the woods, streams, fields and canyons around their home as a type of therapy to keep kids focused, confident, healthy, and balanced.”

This totally struck such a cord with me because I cherish the memories of my own childhood outdoor adventures. I can’t imagine my daughter not having the same experience.

On Monday, I’ll cover more on this topic, including some creative ideas for getting outside with your kids. In the meantime, be sure to leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Britt is the editor of The Grove School website. She's got 15 years of writing and editing experience, a 6 year old daughter, a garden and a healthy obsession with all things green.

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One of the joys of having a preschooler is hearing the creative ideas they have for real-world issues. To get my daughter talking about Earth Day, I popped in the album “Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George” by Jack Johnson and Friends. On it is the “3 R’s” song, which highlights the concepts reduce, reuse and recycle. And it features math too. Grab your child and have a listen.

My daughter loves that song. And I do, too. It’s relevant to our times and it’s fun to sing. There’s also a lot in it to help spark communication about Earth Day. Here are a couple of conversation-starter suggestions:

What do the words reduce, reuse and recycle mean?

    - Reduce means to make something simpler or smaller.
    - Reuse means to use something more than once.
    - Recycle means to put something used through a process that allows it to be used again.

To help define other Earth Day words, check out this online dictionary for kids.

Why do you think we do these activities?

Talking about these actions can help children learn how simple items they use every day can be reduced, reused and recycled. This encourages them to be helpful around the house and yard, as well as to help take care of our planet.

How else do you learn what’s on your child’s mind on Earth Day? Be sure to share it all with us in the Comments section below.

Britt is the editor of The Grove School website. She's got 15 years of writing and editing experience, a 6 year old daughter, a garden and a healthy obsession with all things green.

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