At the beginning of 2018, when TED Ankara College Foundation Kindergarten was developing their Action Plan, the Eco Committee talked a lot about the sustainability of materials, reusing and up-cycling. They shared ideas about how to save energy and materials to promote sustainability. They brainstormed to list ideas about the things they could do and one of the main activities they wanted to focus on was creating artwork by using waste materials.
Students were asked to collect some waste materials at home, turn them into art and share their ideas with the middle school students. This gave them the opportunity to understand the materials and their importance, be able to separate them in terms of their composition, as well as how they can be re-purposed. The activity was brought into the classroom - into the English, Science and Art classes, where students had the opportunity to learn about these materials. The entire school community of 434 students, 69 teachers and other staff took part in this activity in the classroom, outside, and using their own capacity to support the Eco Committee.
“As a Kindergarten, we are some of the early implementers of the Eco-Schools program for very young learners aged 4, 5 and 6 years old. We are very happy to provide a wide variety of hands on activities specifically in the science and discovery room as well as introducing Eco-Schools projects to very young learners.”
Kindergarten Head of English Departmant Özge GÜNEL
The teachers and school worked to increase the knowledge of responsible consumption and importance of recycling and reusing the waste materials. The students have learnt how to protect the life forms and how pollution threatens biodiversity. With the help of their families, they have been encouraged to use waste materials, learnt to be responsible consumers and experienced the importance of recycling and reusing. Through the collaboration with TED Ankara College Middle School students, they have been able to share their common goals and ideas through an exhibition of their artworks.
Activity duration: 1 week
Age groups: 4-6 years old
Themes covered:
Global warming and climate change, Responsible consumption , Creativity, Reusing, Upcycling and Recycling, Waste , Eco-friendly materials
Necessary resources:
Computer, presentations, photos and videos about the subject, glue, scissors, stapler and some waste materials like paper cups, plastic plates, nylon bags, unused boxes, waste paper.
Eco Code:
Nature Conscious Kids’ for a Sustainable Future!