Bridging the gap between global environmental issues and understanding it in our own lives.
I am sure that most of the population love a piece of chocolate here or there but do we ever think about where it comes from?
A recent article discusses some major chocolate companies and their bid to decrease deforestation and child labour in key areas where cocoa is grown.
A lesson in the classroom or at home that involves chocolate is always a fun lesson
So how about:
Have you ever wondered about what life would look like if there were only a small amount of bees left in the world?
This is a very real problem and one book that made me shudder with the possibility of being real.
Meet tough, smart and vibrant Peony, an ten year old farm girl who works in the Goulburn Valley of NSW, Australia. Peony works hard on the farm, manually removing bugs from crops as pesticides have been banned – however becoming a Bee is what she dreams of. Being a Bee is one of the most important roles in this futuristic society as the young and nimble need to do the job the bees once did – pollinating flowers.
Peony lives with her grandfather and sister but the community around them and the bond they all have is amazing and something to aspire due despite the poverty they live in. Peony’s mother wants more than farm life and takes Peony off to the city to earn real money. Despite her utter dislike for city life, huge disparity being rich and poor and still the utter disregard for the hard work of farmers, Peony learns about the importance of friendship, family and kind acts.
How to Bee brought a tear to my eye and although it may seem like a bleak outlook from the start it shows how strong the human spirit is and the need we all have to belong and live in harmony.
Perhaps if the big supermarkets and chemical companies read this story they would start to change how they see the world and start to think more about the impact we are having on the future.
There are some areas of the world where this form of pollination is already happening today – I’m not sure if we want this to spread to all areas of the world. http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/humans-bees-china_us_570404b3e4b083f5c6092ba9?section=australia
– Bee
I’ve always been intrigued by the amount of people that tell me they can’t stop using cling wrap because they can’t afford to buy reusable containers.
So I decided to do a little research of my own and here you are – some reasons why you should ditch the cling wrap and plastic zip lock bags and move towards reusable containers, beeswax wraps and paper bags!
You can’t cite the cost when they are nearly all the same!!
If you had a round the world ticket where would you go?
This great new book by Lonely planet allows children to participate in a choose your own adventure style travel book – what fun!
As you arrive at each destination you learn something new and get to decide how you will travel – which allows you to move to a new country depending on the mode you choose.
The information is short and simple so kids will learn just enough before moving on and the way you travel to the next city teaches children about distances between places.
Travel is important but it is more important to understand the places you are travelling to and in – we shouldn’t expect places we visit to be like our own cities.
By introducing children to facts and figures about new places that are different to our own it can show them how wonderful travelling can be – as they will learn about a new culture, be part of the lifestyle and absorb language and mannerisms.
Round the world in 50 ways is such a fun way to teach geography and can be read again and again!
Want to know how to be a globally conscious traveller? Check out this post:
And – come over and join my facebook group where we discuss how we can help our students and children understand and take action on these big issues!
When you travel :
My most memorable holidays are of places where I could speak to the local people, when I found places not on the tourist trail and when I learnt more about the place I visited than I ever would have just jumping on a tourist bus.
We need to show our children how to be globally conscious travellers – how about saying no to that resort or hotel holiday and trying something a little different next time? Even if it is only for a couple of nights as you will see that place in a whole new light!
And – come over and join my facebook group where we discuss how we can help our students and children understand and take action on these big issues!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/362368594250457/
Octopus are very intelligent creatures and with eight legs and a bunch of friends they are also very good at cleaning up – even if the mess isn’t theirs!
Anne Helen Donnelly has created another fun book with a much loved character – Ori the octopus and this time he has a little message for all of us!
Meet Ori – a friendly Octopus who loves his underwater home, just not the rubbish that seems to be hanging around. Together with his friends they pile up the rubbish that is hanging around their watery houses but alas as the week goes by, the rubbish falls from the piles and scatters across the ocean again – encouraging them to problem solve a little bit more and work out where rubbish should go.
Children will love the bright illustrations, the use of alliteration and repetition and the simple message of cleaning up after ourselves.
Ori teaches us all that rubbish can not only go in the bin but also be recycled, reused, repurposed, composted or even better – refused!
Ori also shows us that teamwork is one of the best ways we can make the world we live in a better place.
So what else can you do with this picture book?
Free activities from Anne’s website: http://www.annehelendonnelly.com/activities/
And some ideas from me:
– Explore alliteration of the animals names. What other names could these animals have? Can you think of names for other ocean animals?
– Explore repetition throughout the book. What other actions do Ori and his friends do that could use this type of language?
– Link all the different types of rubbish and where they go when we need to get rid of them.
– Explore your own bin: What is inside your bin after one week of being at home?
– Think: How can you create less rubbish in your bin? Try these activities in your home via my dropbox: (Please note this is in very very draft form!)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xnstqsthasuz2tu/How%20much%20plastic%20is%20in%20our%20pantry.docx?dl=0
Love this review? Join my facebook group where we delve deeper into these issues facing children, parents and teachers.
JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS WHERE WE EXPLORE BIG ISSUES AND HOW TO BEST TALK ABOUT THEM WITH KIDS.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/362368594250457/
Tufts of grass, muddy banks, forest floors and watery gardens are all places animals hide – with every intention of never being found, but perhaps you can find them?
Gordon Winch has worked alongside Patrick Shirvington to create this picture book which not only allows readers to search images but also read along with the story through the use of repetition and simple language.
On each double page spread the reader will hear clues that will help them to find the animal who is trying to camouflage in their natural habitat – some are very easy to find while others are quite tricky!
Early readers will get a feel of how each page is written and start to read along as they search the illustrations.
The Australian bush land is full of so many marvellous animals and so many of them are very well hidden so that if we ever want to see them we have to be very quiet!
This picture book is a wonderful way to teach children that when we are in the bush, sometimes it is important to be quiet, look around, listen and most importantly tread carefully because all creatures are there, we just need to take the time to look for them!
Many of the animals in Can you find me? are endemic to Australia so by bringing their habitats to life through questions really engages children and will help them to think about each animal as they venture into the natural world.
And – come over and join my facebook group where we discuss how we can help our students and children understand and take action on these big issues!
A turtle hatches from her egg and immediately her life is in danger – we know that has always been that way but how have humans made the dangers even more numerous?
Tilly’s Reef Adventure by Rhonda N. Garward is a wonderful book – both illustrations and story engage young children from start to finish and gives them so many different ideas for questions they can ask.
The main character in this story is Tilly, and she is a new turtle, born with an instinct to survive.
She escapes from crabs, birds and barracudas but it is the one thing that she wasn’t prepared for that nearly kills her – a plastic bag!
Luckily for her there are some caring humans around who help her out of the bag as they continue to pick up rubbish along the beach.
Continue reading “Tilly’s Reef Adventure by Rhonda N. Garward”
Sometimes it’s the little people that make the biggest difference in our world.
In this colourful picture book we meet Poppy and her friends – Dandy, Bluebell and Buttercup.
They love playing outside but one day they realise that there is a park nearby that has lost it’s love, lost its colour and lost it’s joy.
And even though they are small and the park is big, they know that with a lot of teamwork and determination they can make a huge difference to the world they live in.
The pages are bursting with colour and the feeling of life, love and friendship all throughout the story. The story is filled with determination and one which will encourage any young listener to believe that they can make a difference.
Do you encourage your little changemaker to make a difference in the world they live in?
Children are willing to care for the world they live in and with a little bit of help in the right direction they will make a difference.
Take the time to make some positive changes in your world and do it alongside the smaller people in your life so that they grow up knowing that they can act and make a difference.
