World Environment Day

My story to mark World Environment Day was about native animals. Children are never too young to learn that animals sometimes need our help and that the special places where they live must be protected and sanctuaries must be created to keep animals safe. I showed the three-year-olds a poster of forest habitat that was destroyed by bulldozers and we talked about what must have happened to the animals.

I had taken a bag of soft toy animals (See picture above), to the childcare centre and the children unpacked them and we named and talked about each one. A possum had a bandaged paw. This one needed help at an animal hospital. I had a ‘please help’ letter for each child with a picture of an animal that needed help. Could we raise money to help? A market stall would be a great idea.

The children watched as I set up the market stall on a table. I reminded them that none of the food was real so they must only pretend to eat it. I had ice creams, icypoles, fruit, slices of pizza, lollies and cup cakes. There were 18 children and each one could choose two items, give imaginary money to the assistant, and return to their seats to eat. When the food had been collected again, I gave each child a piece of toy paper money to put into their envelopes. We all walked around the room so each child could post their envelope in a post box.

My stories always involve the children in activities rather than just listening. There was a lot of learning in this activity. Naming animals, waiting for a turn, following instructions, manipulative skills and conversation. I rewarded them with a sticker each.