Environmental Sustainability Education in Early Childhood for Play

Question: Discuss about theEnvironmental Sustainability Education in Early Childhood for Play. Answer: Evaluate the curriculum for environmental sustainability practices Sustainability is usually linked to the environment. Every time people talk about sustainability, they think of environmental sustainability such as protecting wildlife, reducing waste and other deeds that protect the environment. These are important factors of sustainability. However, points out that sustainability can also be termed more widely as people being able to meet their need without encroaching on other peoples future to be able to meet their needs. In this regard, sustainability is not only viewed in terms of conservation but also in terms of equity, fairness and the need to look into the impact of the present generation on the future generations. The children of today represent the future generation and it is crucial as educators, to assist these young ones to realize that it is important to protect and take good care of the environment[i]. It takes small steps to cultivate sustainable practices. Nothing will make the service sustainable in one go[ii]. Taking small steps may include: remembering to switch off the lights, picking papers on the ground etc. The educator should make a list of the things he or she would like the children to do and then introduce these activities to the children step by step. The practices and evidence seen has been developed over time. The secret to deal with the kids is to take small steps until one has the courage to move to another level. The teacher should make a list of all the things that the instructor does or wants to do that can be considered sustainable[iii]. Bring together different things so as to make a coherent strategy or plan. The first thing to do is to establish a starting point. An audit or self-assessment conducted by another will assist one to identify what project to undertake. It will also assist the instructor to identify the baseline for the use of the resources. For example: how much gas, water, and electricity is used? How many tissues are used and paper towels? What are the cleaning chemicals used? How much is thrown away to the trash can, how much recycling is done. When the instructor evaluates, all these factors, he or she can determine which steps to take so as to conserve the environment for example, opening windows instead of using fans, turning off the taps[iv]. After a while and depending on the resources, one may consider other forms of sustainability such as installing solar panels and water tanks. The instructor should talk to families including children and come up with a shared view of what sustainability is and how to do it. The instructor should be realistic by starting small. Fo r example he or she may start with a vegetable garden and a worm farm as a start of the project. The project should be meaningful. Sustainability should be an ongoing process not a one-time experience. To be successful, the project has to be rooted into a day-to-day basis. To involve the children, find out how the children should be involved in the sustainability practices of day to day and outline the things that are done in the school or surrounding and what else they can do. Design an environmental sustainability initiative to include into practice A well designed programme for environmental sustainability in an early childhood environment will require a collaborative effort with Local Authority to provide essentials such as kits for education. The educators will require regular hands-on workshops where they can test sustainability education activities. Teacher should engage the children in the discussions towards the environmental sustainable projects. For example, the teacher can narrate how and when a garbage can is full, how to empty food and left overs. Encourage the children to take part in programs for recycling, for example, plastic paper and bins. They can be taught how to come up with new recycling material such as art and craft and /or donating some of these materials to the cleanup companies. Water savers and energy savers can be taught to these children such as switching off light and water taps and for the older children, record weather reports and place them on charts on the boards. Evaluate a curriculum Schools policy makers and educators firstly need to understand the ideal method to use in learning for environmental sustainability. This understanding will allow them to evaluate the efficiency of current programs and find out or check on the progress towards the enduring environmental sustainability change. As such, an ideal curriculum must be inclusive in that the pupils or children must participate, share and influence the learning process. The participatory approach includes, co-learning, reflection, sharing, listening , negotiation, co-operation and critical thinking. Design and plan a curriculum Provide in-services on sustainability education. This in-services are crucial as the instructor will get involved with other people can try some activities on sustainability education. Kits can be provided to children through entertainment such as song incorporated into an education session for environment sustainability. The instructor can also find ways to conserve water through drafting a plan. The school can be provided with a bag of devices on water saving[v]. Introduce items such as drama, music and craft material to improve kits and their usability. Teachers may also encourage green cleaning to their students by using products that are not harmful when cleaning the premises such as detergents when cleaning the wash rooms. Teachers can give information to educators and parents to help them understand better and monitor their children in accessing media and promote health by better physical activity, wholesome meals. Teachers can also give notices on boards to help the parents of the children to remember the activities to enable them carry out the program more efficiently[vi]. The teachers can also train the children on how to respect animals. Also educate on recycling programs for printing material and ink cartridges. Evaluate the curriculum learning experiences The curriculum and learning process was effective in both planned an unplanned methods of learning. The planned method involved kits, notes, a systematic process that the teacher used to educate the kids such as teaching the children on how to manage waste to construct cartons and paper which process is more identifiable with the older kids. The unplanned method was also ideal and effective as it involved showing the children how to keep their environment clean by picking up papers, proper usage of water including closing taps once used etc. The program gave the children a chance to give their views on what they would prefer such as games, kits and it was effective. Other children preferred the use of paper from waste to construct items for play. The school achieved the objectives of the curriculum because it involved parents, teachers and children. None was left out and this wholesome approach in dealing with the issues assisted a great deal in making the curriculum a success. Bibliography Blenkin, Geva M., and A. V. Kelly.Early Childhood Education: A Developmental Curriculum. London: Paul Chapman, 2006. Bruce, Tina.Early Childhood Education. London: Hodder Education, 2011. Cutter-Mackenzie, Amy, Susan Edwards, Deborah Moore, and Wendy Boyd.Young Children's Play and Environmental Education in Early Childhood Education. 2014. https://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1697894. Meade, Anne.Dispersing Waves: Innovation in Early Childhood Education. Wellington, N.Z.: NZCER Press, 2010. Pianta, Robert C.Handbook of Early Childhood Education. New York: Guilford Press, 2012. Tina Bruce; Stephen Halder.Early Childhood Education