Skip to main content

Earth Day with our Dixon Buddies

A few weeks ago, our buddy teacher and I got together to plan some activities around Earth Day. During one of his teaching practicums, Kevin was introduced to the Popcorn Project. It is an interesting exercise that sheds light on the idea of ecology,sustainability and reducing our ecological footprint. The group is divided into four generations; the first generation has only 2 people and then each subsequent generation has more and more people. There is a large mound of popcorn on a communal table. Each person is given a bag and instructed to take as much popcorn as they wish, providing it fits into their bag. The first generation begins helping themselves to popcorn and then the second and so on. Of course, the fourth generation was left with nothing. Some interesting moments occurred during this exercise:

  • The first and second generations mostly filled their bags to the brim.
  • Some people really stuffed their bags while others took barely any.
  • The fourth generation had concerned looks on their faces as they watched the third generation finish of the pile. Chloe said " The number 3's are taking all the popcorn, there won't be anything left for us!".
  • Nico, in the fourth generation, said "Oh no! None left for me."
  • The older buddies could see what was happening and some of them started to take less as the pile diminished.
  • Realizations occurred... Loreli said "We should have taken less so Nico and Chloe could have some." and Kayla said "Take less next time."
  • Luca, trying to navigate through his complex thoughts, said " If everybody took this much or less then somebody will have enough popcorn."









Questions that arose for me...

Do the preschoolers understand the concept of using resources?
If I ask them tomorrow about the Popcorn Project, will they be able to recount their experience?
Will the big buddies take what they learnt and begin to apply it to their daily lives?
Why are some people so innately generous and others more concerned with their own well-being? Does this change over time?

All this hard thinking required....RECESS!!

We ran to the playground and ......hung...slid...jumped...leaped....ran....tripped....climbed....twirled. And then we went to see the Dixon Dragonfly garden plot and their mason bees! The big buddies did not realize their little buddies had made their mason bee houses so this became very exciting news indeed! It was lovely to listen to the children share information about mason bees.

Kevin and I also wanted the teams to create a 'gift' to the Earth. After discussing many ideas we decided to explore the concept of environmental art through the artist Andy Goldsworthy. The students watched a video on his art during lunch time and then we all went outside to collect items to create their own piece of non-permanent art. We talked about how the art can change either from natural elements like weather or from other children walking by and adding or taking away from it. Buddies, big and small, adored this activity and could have continued for much longer than our time allowed.










Happy Earth Day!



Emily

Comments

BYRES said…
Wow - what an amazing experience and what good questions arose....and environmental art - so lovely and innovative.
25 April 2013 at 10:48
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mosaic Garden Stones

Today our children had an amazing opportunity to work with Glen Anderson, a local artist specializing in mosaics. You can see his work at http://www.mosaicplanet.net . I met Glen last year at Urban Weavers Studio in Strathcona. I asked him many, many questions about mosaics, all of which he patiently answered with expertise. I was gearing up for an art project in our preschool class so I really wanted to get any pointers I could from him. The plan was to have our students make mosaic tiles to place along our fence at the garden plot at Terra Nova Farm. They worked out very well, thanks to Glen's great advice and it was a beautiful moment when child and parent hung the stones at the farm on our last day of school. It was a moment of great pride for all of us. The garden that they cared for with their own hands- tended to its needs in sunshine and in rain. They will always remain part of that space, that land and their stone will remind them of this connection. Even though they turne...
Post a Comment
Read more

3 Year Old Class - Westham Island Herb Farm Field Trip

Our threes class recently visited the Pumpkin Patch at Westham Island Herb Farm in Delta. After a relatively short and scenic drive through Ladner en-route to the farm, we crossed a small, one-lane bridge that remarkably has been in place since 1911.    Westham Island Bridge We arrived at the farm in the early morning, before the school buses appeared. It was a very peaceful time of the day, and the morning mist floating over the fields only enhanced the feeling. Westham Island Herb Farm is a community oriented farm that promotes buying fruits and vegetables from local sources. This farm is part of the Ellis family farm and they have been in this location since 1916! Upon arrival at the farm, we were greeted by a beautiful display of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. Prior to the tour of the farm, we visited the general store, which showcased a large variety of homemade jellies and honey selections such as wild flower, raspberry, pumpkin and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Day at the Farm... with a twist

We were all looking forward to heading to the farm. We had not been in two whole weeks so we were all experiencing farm deprivation disorder! We craved outdoor time, running on the paths, and checking out our favourite spots. We had no particular agenda- nothing to plant, nothing to weed, nothing to harvest and literally nothing to do! Perfect!!  Actually, we did have one special thing happening there but I will get to that in a moment. The children could not get off the bus fast enough, bounding down the tall stairs. Jackets on, zipped up, hats and mitts on, ready to face the chill of December. The children tossed their knapsacks onto the picnic table with abandon, and began to run around the courtyard area, obediently staying on the paths  ( finally, four months later they have learnt to stay out of the garden beds). They shouted, they chased and fell down! Once our initial burst of energy was out (only slightly), we walked over to the compost to see what the worms w...
Post a Comment
Read more