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Planning our green future
This activity encourages younger learners to creatively explore their environment, think about what features they like and why and use these discoveries to make decisions about the changes they’d like to see in their outdoor space. This session creates the opportunity for children to share and reflect on their opinions and experiences, plan the changes they’d like to make on their site and vote on them to reach a decision.
Preparation
What you need
- a piece of paper for each child to make a heart-shaped view finder
- scissors
- glue sticks
- a printed or hand-drawn map of your outdoor space for each child
- optional: a camera to document features in your setting
- multi-link counting cubes or other objects/tokens for voting
Location
Indoors and outdoors
Useful guidance
Resources
Step by step
- To begin with, learners can be invited to cut a heart shaped hole in a piece of paper.
- Using this as viewfinder, ask them to explore their outdoor space and hold up the heart to frame parts of their space that they like. Learners can be challenged to do this several times with a particular sense mind each time (sight, smell, hearing, touch). If you like, photographs could be taken to document these areas or features.
- A circle time reflection activity can then provide the space for learners to share the elements of the outdoor space they liked the most and why.
- Using the provided images (or creating your own), introduce the possible improvements for nature to support learners to understand their role in caring for and developing their outdoor space, valuing both the needs of wildlife and each other. Depending on the space you have available in your setting, you may choose to use all of the provided images, or just a few.
- Show the group each image and discuss how it may impact both themselves and wildlife.
- Introduce a hand-drawn or printed map of your setting, for learners to take on a walk around your outdoor space to help them orientate themselves. Point to a spot on the map and ask learners to find it in real life – you can use an activity like X marks the spot to help familiarise learners with their map.
- Now place smaller images of the ideas (approximately 2cm x 2cm - these are provided in the image pack) on a table with each child’s map. Give learners time to arrange and stick the ideas they like on to their map, giving them the opportunity to design a potential new space. Encourage learners to look at each other’s designs.
- Finally, place an image of each idea (you can use the larger images for this) in a line on a table to create the base for a pictogram. Ask learners to vote on the idea they really want to see in their outdoor space. They can use an object such as a multi-link counting cube to place next to their chosen idea. Encourage staff to vote too!
- Once all votes have been made, a simple bar chart will have formed and the results can be discussed as a group. Learners have now voted on a positive change they wish to make in the world, which can be taken forward in your Nature Park journey.
Curriculum links
Creating with materials
- safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function
- share their creations, explaining the process they have used
Building relationships
- show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs
What to try next
Colour collecting
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Design a plant
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