An Early Childhood
Service-Learning
Curriculum
for the
Environment
and Earth Day
Brought to you by:
Table of
Contents
introduction
Welcome.......................................................................... 3
About the Sponsors. ......................................................... 4
•Barrow Street Nursery School at Greenwich House
•Greenwich House
•generationOn
A History of the Project...................................................... 5
What is Service-Learning.................................................... 7
How to Use This Guide....................................................... 8
Service-Learning Begins in Nursery School........................... 9
Steps to Service-Learning................................................. 10
Service-Learning Checklist................................................ 12
ACTIVITIES
Turning Trash into Treasures............................................... 13
Creating Recycling Bins.................................................... 14
Recycling Superheroes..................................................... 15
Reducing Waste at Lunch. ................................................ 16
Award-Winning Neighbors. .............................................. 17
Caring for Plants.............................................................. 19
Flowers as Gifts. ............................................................. 20
Recycled Bird Houses....................................................... 21
Transportation & Pollution................................................ 22
Rocket Ship.................................................................... 24
Oil Spill Experiment......................................................... 25
Recycled Sculptures......................................................... 27
Recycled Jewelry. ........................................................... 28
Recycled Books............................................................... 29
Recycled Piggy Banks. ..................................................... 30
Musical Instruments........................................................ 31
• Craft 1: Food & Nutrition Craft................................ 32
• Craft 2: City Creation Craft. .................................... 32
• Craft 3: Robots & Animals...................................... 33
• Craft 4: Hospital Study........................................... 33
Cut the Pollution Card...................................................... 34
Earth Day. ...................................................................... 35
Green 100 Lesson & Project Ideas...................................... 36
A Special Thanks We would like to recognize the
following people for their outstanding contribution to this
publication. Without their hard work and dedication, the
success of this project would have never been realized.
Crissy Barker • Carol Carrozelli • Nicole Ferrin • Haley Gibson •
Nancy Glauberman • Blakely Offutt • Alicia Weber •The Barrow
Street Nursery School at Greenwich House teachers and staff
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Welcome!
A letter from parent Crissy Barker
P
reschool with all its exciting firsts and
nerve-wracking moments has been an
amazing experience for our entire family.
I assumed that preschool was going to educate
my child, but I was also deeply enriched by
the experience. Parents learn along the way
how to function within a school community,
communicate with teachers, and how to support
what our children are learning in the home
environment. My son Jack started nursery school
as a timid two year old still in diapers
and is now finishing Pre-K as a confidant four
year old who can write his name. I am a mother
of two and also work part time, so the past
few years have been a bit of a juggling act.
I first became involved in our Parents Association
when I volunteered to be a “Class Parent.”
This gave me the opportunity to meet other
dedicated parents who were involved, and I
quickly learned how important their role was
in the functioning of the school. I wanted to be
involved in my child’s school because I felt it
was important for him to see that I valued the
place where he spent his time. I feel that if I was
asking him to leave the comfort of our home
and enter into a new environment that I should
also make the same commitment. Jack takes
pride in my active membership in our Parents
Association, and this in turn gives him a sense
of connection to and ownership of his school.
A Quote from Jack:
Before we cared about
the future, but not
about the earth.
Now we know
how to care for
the earth; we
can recycle.
3
I have always had
a love of arts and
crafts and was inspired by all the fun activities that
the children were doing in Jack’s class and the
pieces of art trickling home each day. From time
to time, the teachers would request items to be
brought in from home such as paper towel rolls
or old magazines for special projects. I loved the
innovative creations that these unconventional
materials created, and the teachers seemed to love
working with them. I suggested collecting regular
donations of recycled materials so that these types
of crafts could continue. It started as a single box in
the hall and a few flyers announcing the launch of
a “Recycled Craft Program,” and with the support
of the school and the parents, it has grown into
a green initiative that touches every aspect of the
school. Our director, together with the teachers,
has integrated conservation into the curriculum,
launched a waste-free lunch program, and made
efforts to offer organic snacks and use green
cleaners. We also have a school-wide recycling
program, gardening and composting on our roof,
and now have an entire room dedicated to recycled
items from which teachers and students borrow
both materials and inspiration for creative projects.
As Chair of the Green Committee, I share in the
excitement of all these fun new programs.
Barrow Street Nursery School at
Greenwich House has gone green this year,
and with that commitment, our children have
blossomed into little stewards of the earth. I
overhear things every day in the halls: children
telling each other not to waste the water, or to
throw the paper in the recycling bin. At home
I have to be very careful about everything that
I throw away, as Jack is very quick to point
out what can be recycled and what he can
reuse in his next craft. From his lessons
at school, he has been given a deep
appreciation and respect for the earth.
This sense of compassion will serve
him throughout his life, and who knows
what it will lead to? I feel so honored to
have been a part of this movement and
proud that the work I do for our school
has benefited my child and many others
in so many ways.
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
About the
Sponsors
Barrow Street Nursery School
at Greenwich House
Barrow Street Nursery School at Greenwich House
(BSNSGH) is committed to providing young children with
the experiences to help foster the development of their
personal interests and capabilities in a safe and nurturing
environment. Our curriculum provides children with the
building blocks of knowledge, thinking and reasoning by
focusing on the development of social interaction, problem
solving and language skills.
Together with our parent organization, Greenwich House,
which supports many community initiatives, we believe
that children learn best in an environment that is filled
with opportunities to explore the world around them.
The collaboration between BSNSGH and generationOn
was a natural extension of our philosophy, and together,
we have shown what can be done when inspiration and
motivation synergistically come together.
http://greenwichhouse.org/programs/education/bsns
Greenwich House
Greenwich House was founded in 1902 as a settlement house to help
New York’s increasing immigrant population adjust to life in a new country.
Today, Greenwich House offers programs in social services, arts and education
that provide thousands of New Yorkers with personal enrichment and growth.
The mission of Greenwich House is to help individuals and families lead more
fulfilling lives by offering social and health services, cultural and educational
programs, and opportunities for civic involvement to New Yorkers of all ages
and backgrounds.
http://greenwichhouse.org/
generationOn
generationOn is the youth, family, and education division of the Points of Light
Institute. With volunteer service and service-learning at the core of its mission,
generationOn mobilizes the energy, ingenuity and compassion of young people
and empowers them to take action that changes the world and themselves.
www.generationon.org/
4
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
A History
of the Project
When a parent came to us with a
suggestion for starting a recycling
program at Barrow Street Nursery School
at Greenwich House (BSNSGH), we
welcomed the interest, but nobody could
have anticipated the impact it would have
over the course of the following year.
Crissy Barker, a parent, suggested that the
school integrate recycling into the curriculum by
using recycled materials in the classroom and
drawing attention to the importance of where
our resources come from and how we best put
them to use. The administration and the teachers
were on board and excited about the initiative,
but we needed to collaborate with our parents to
make it work. Crissy started a committee and, as
chair, oversaw the creation of a recycling closet
to centralize the efforts around a symbolic and
functional focal point in the school.
This proved to be a catalyst for the much larger
project of infusing our educational experience with
environmental awareness and service. Inspired
by the success of the project and its incredible
potential, more families became invested in the
idea. Teachers and parents united around the
notion of becoming a school that was committed
to environmental literacy.
Our vision was implemented by the use of
recyclable trays for lunch and other innovative
materials in the classroom. One of our lead
teachers, Haley Gibson, served as the liaison
between the parent committee and our classroom
teachers on all issues relating to recycling and our
environmental initiatives. In 2009 we launched
a school-wide Earth Day program involving
active participation from all of our students.
While reinforcing recycling in the classrooms,
we were able to make connections with larger
environmental issues and the goals of becoming
a green community.
The last piece of our project was for the children
to begin to serve their community. The children
first developed an understanding of their
ability to give back to the community and help
facilitate change. Around this time, our school
became familiar with generationOn and began
collaborating to introduce service-learning to
our children in conjunction with our recycling
program. Our nursery school found a perfect
partner in generationOn, whose mission is to
“mobilize the energy, ingenuity and compassion
of young people, beginning at an early age, to
discover their power and potential to solve real
world problems through learning programs that
instill a lifelong commitment to service.”
generationOn developed workshops for
our teachers and trained them in innovative
approaches to environmental education
through service-learning. We started with an
intergenerational event in which our students
prepared environmentally-themed songs for the
senior center located in our building. This aligned
our project with Greenwich House’s initiatives in
the community. In 2010, we had a special Earth
Day Fair. The expanded activities included use of
the roof to teach about planting, composting and
other practical skills for green living.
(continued on next page)
5
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
A History
of the Project
(continued from previous page)
Through this experience, we witnessed the
power of service-learning at very young ages.
We observed that children between the
ages of two and five years old are capable
of understanding how to give back to their
community. This is an area that is not
traditionally emphasized in nursery school,
but our experience suggests that children
respond positively to the idea of helping others
and the world around them. In fact, after our
children created a recycled model hospital
with an elevator, they insisted on taking their
imaginative exploration to the next level to
achieve real-world impact by collecting money
for St. Jude’s Hospital. What would usually be a
separate charitable initiative in the community
became a project where the children could
claim responsibility. In an effort to expand these
programs so they become commonplace in
other nursery schools, we believe our efforts
can be easily recreated by others.
We can do our
part to build the
foundation for
ethical awareness
in our students.
6
This is an exciting step for all of us. We hope
many will share the enthusiasm we generated
though our experiences and lesson plans.
Together we can foster links among families,
schools and non-profit organizations to bring
service-learning to young children. By gradually
developing a curriculum in early childhood
education that highlights awareness of servicelearning coupled with recycling, we can do our
part to build the foundation for ethical awareness
in our students. I am excited to share the success
we have had and invite you to join us in further
developing approaches to environmental servicelearning in early childhood.
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
What is
ServiceLearning?
Service-learning is not just
volunteering or participating
in community service.
A
s defined by the National Commission
on Service-Learning, service-learning is
“a teaching and learning approach
that integrates community service with
academic study to enrich learning, teach
civic responsibility, and strengthen
communities.” It gives meaning and real life
application to the subjects taught in the classroom,
helping to answer the perpetual question, “Why
do I need to learn this?” Service-learning also
includes an emphasis on reflection to help
students understand the importance of their
actions. Service-learning can be implemented at
all grade levels and can be rewarding and fun.
Service-learning offers powerful lifelong benefits.
Participants learn responsibility, leadership,
critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
They experience greater self-respect, character
development and self discipline, increased
motivation and engagement in studies, more
tolerance, a broader perspective and improved
academic performance.
Now generationOn and Barrow Street Nursery
School at Greenwich House want to help you
build service-learning into your community.
Your service project can be as large as you dream.
This guide contains the tools and resources to
help you plan an engaging service project with
your students. The service-learning plans in this
guide are designed to help teachers, youth leaders
and other community leaders to incorporate
youth service into their communities and schools.
Thank you again for your commitment to young
people and service!
7
2-year-old student looking at spring
tulips blossoming in our rooftop garden.
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
How To Use
This Guide
m
ing Curriculu
earn
hood Service-L
An Early Child
onment and Earth
for The Envir
Day
ACT IVIT Y
lptures
Recycled Scu
This guide will lead you through how to
ren think
t what the child
r or on
discussion abou
Have a full-group down their ideas on chart pape
recycling is. Write
le.
the board.
we should recyc
think
they
why
• Ask children
Green.
Jen
by
cle
Recy
Should I
if everybody
• Read Why
would happen
of reusing
and ask what
papers instead
• Review story
news
and
s
bottle
threw away old
new products.
are
them to make
reuse items that
how they could
s they could
• Ask students
. What are thing
trash
dered
normally consi
?
create with them
LESSON
OB JEC TIV ES
e aware
becom
➜➜Students willhow
we recycle.
of why and
learn about
➜➜Students will
can be reused
materials that
school.
for projects in
plan and manage a service-learning project
tes
Duration: 45 minu
with your students. The service projects
Materials:
I Recycle
• Why Should
by Jen Green
ials from
• Various mater
recycling closet
the story) to your
students did in
the children can
the teacher and
Take a trip (like closet with bins to collect items
ling
school’s recyc
cts.
reuse for proje
help you
nts
have stude
on the rug and
nts
stude
all
Gather
materials.
ture using the
create a sculp
materials on each
l, place various
e group mode
create fun
After the whol
have children
and paint and
table with glue
ntly.
ende
indep
sculptures
TAKE ACTION
• Glue
• Bins
suggested are child friendly and ready for
you to introduce to your students.
REFLECTION
each child
for a share. Have
ture
back to the rug
ng their sculp
Bring children
used when maki
materials they
the materials.
explain what
were able to use
ent ways they
and the differ
EXTENSION
As you work with these activities, you will note that we have
been attentive to addressing the unique challenges of engaging
young children through volunteering.
Have children
one recycles.
S
create a story
about a world
where no
dress up area
e props for the
materials to creat
Use recycled
baby)
(ex: cradle for
people, signs,
rials to make
use recycled mate items for the block area.
Have children
and various other
transportation,
children to
ion: encourage
nect
Con
Home-School
at home.
sort their trash
g an imaginary
A student creatin
The projects in this guide were developed by generationOn
and by the teachers at the Barrow Street Nursery School at
Greenwich House; they have been tested by children there and
in other classrooms in local communities. Each project is a lot
of fun and provides ample opportunities for service-learning!
sculpture.
An Early Child
hood Service-Le
arnin
26
The Green 1
00:
One Hundre
d Service an
d
Serviceg Curriculum
for The Enviro
nment and Earth
Day
Learning Proj
ects and Idea
1. Practice the
3 R’s: reduce,
reuse, recycle
2. Use gene
rationOn’s Relig
ht USA
curriculum www
.childrenforchild
ren.org
3. Conduct
a Recycling Relay
race to learn
how to sort recyc
lables
4. Participate
in National Trails
Day in June
5. Investigate
current
www.airnow.gov air quality
The guide includes suggested service projects for students in
Nursery School, Pre-K, and Kindergarten. You can also come
up with your own!
35
6. Send away
for an
21. Visit the
Darby Duck and
Action Kit from Indoor Air Quality
Aquatic
the EPA
Crusaders site
http:/
7. Use lessons
nps/kids/darbydu /www.epa.gov/owow/
presented in Proje
ck.html
ct A.I.R.E.
http://www.epa.g
22. Take an
ov/region01/stud
E-Field trip to
teacher/aire.htm
ents/
a local (or not
l
local) park http:/
so
/www.efieldtrips.
8. Use the EPA’
org/
s Tools for Scho
23. Calculate
ols http://
your carbon footp
www.epa.gove/ia
rint
q/schools/
http://earthday.n
et/footprint2/inde
9. Use math
x.html
to learn about
24.
Teach students
the ozone
http://www.ucar.
about the coast
edu/learn/1_ 5_2_2 layer
al wetlands
http://www.nwrc
4t.htm
.usgs.gov/fringe
10. Discuss globa
/ff_index.
htm
l warming with
students and
ways to alleviate
25. Visit the
it
Glob program
http://www.clima
teclassroom.org
http://www.globe
.gov/
11. Read The
Lorax by Dr. Seuss
26. Learn how
and have a
discussion abou
you can
t it
school http://www reduce waste in your
.epa.gov/epawas
12. Visit the
education/toolki
te/
Energy Star for
t.htm
Kids website
http://www.ener
27. Find out
gystar.gov/index
more ways to
.
cfm?c=kids.kids_
help the
index
environment
throu
13. Watch the
org/zoom/activitie gh PBS http://pbskids.
movie An Incon
s/action/way04.
venient Truth
html
14. Learn abou
28. More from
t the Internation
An Inconvenie
al Polar
nt Truth
Foundation http:/
www.climatecris
/educapoles.org
is.net/education http://
-guide.php
15. Visit Hipp
29. Make prepa
oWorks
rations for Earth
warming for youn to learn about global
Day
http://www.thete
ger students
achersguide.com
http://www.hippo
earthdaylessonp
/
works.com/hipp
lans.htm
oHELP.html
16. Visit PBS’
30. Resources
The Greens
for ESL classr
ooms
http://meetthegr
http://www.eslflo
eens.pbskids.org
w.com/
/
environmentless
17. Learn abou
onplans.html/
t climate chan
ge in various
31. Vacant lot
subject areas
cleanup
http://www.clima
techangeeducati
on.org/
(continued on
next page)
m
ing Curriculu
earn
hood Service-L
An Early Child
onment and Earth
for The Envir
Day
ACT IVIT Y
erheroes
Recycling Sup
OB JEC TIV ES
stand
under
➜➜Students will
ss
ling is the proce
that recyc
materials
of reprocessing
.
into new items
ways
learn
➜➜Studentsawill
difference in the
to make
recycling.
world through
tes
Duration: 30 minu
Materials:
le
• Michael Recyc
by Ellie Betehl
ials: plastic
• Recycled mater um cans,
soda bottle, alumin l
cerea
foil, newspaper, plastic
boxes, glass jars,
containers, etc.
(4) and a
• Cardboard boxes paper,
box:
each
for
label
& glass
plastic, metal,
s bags
• Collect canva
jewels
• Puffy paint and
ironmental
t becoming “Env
them. Help
enthusiastic abou
eye masks with
To get the kids
cut
make super hero
or cardboard,
Superheroes,”
y used paper
r
a strip of lightl
holes on eithe
students cut out use a hole punch to make
s.
and
rate their mask
children deco
out eye areas
nts’ heads
mask. Have the
side of the eye
around the stude
.)
mask
mask
the
the
tie
n to
either side of
Use the ribbo
holes made on
the
to
ns
(tie the ribbo
s the following
boxe
oard
the cardb
(glass)
paint each of
r), and yellow
(pape
blue
Have students
l),
(plastic), red (meta
colors: green
why
cle to discover
think
Michael Recy
children: Do you
• Read the book
rtant. Ask the
recycling is impo a ‘Superhero’? Why?
Michael was being
r
use our “supe
ways we can
of
ty
varie
the
n.”
• Brainstorm
to be more “gree
human powers”
t, sort, and
coun
to
s
d boxe
colored, labele
• Use the 4
lable objects
classify the recyc
LESSON
TAKE ACTION
who
collect and
use to collect
a canvas bag to
.
en each design
port projects home
• Have childr
items and to trans
future recyclable
Have students
each week.
8
Superheroes”
ycling
we will be “Rec s to make projects.
• Explain that
good
use recyclable
EXTENSION
4-year-old students participating in a planting activity with
the help of a student volunteer during the Earth Day 2010 fair.
S
count, sort, and
classify recyclable
objects
can help out
ty of ways we
discover the varie
out weeds, and
Help students
a park, pulling
, like cleaning
the community
rs and trees.
planting flowe
nts make their
stude
have
r is made and
Explain how pape an experiment.
gh
own paper throu
a local
take a trip to
t recycling and
Sing songs abou
r.
cente
ling
recyc
ization.
to a local organ
y
mone
te
sell; dona
Collect cans to
make a recycling
have students
s or design
Connection:
cardboard boxe
Home-School
y at home using
use.
to
y
poster to displa
famil
s bag for their
their own canva
15
s
18. Watch Adve
ntures of the
Garbage
Gremlin http:/
/www
education/kids/gr .epa.gov/epawaste/
emlin/coverb.htm
19. Become
and IPM Supe
r Sleuthhttp://ww
ipminstitute.org
w.
/supersleuth.htm
20. Learn abou
t Coral
preservation http:/ Reefs and their
/www.epa.gov/ow
oceans/coral/
ow/
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Service-Learning Begins in
Nursery School
No, they’re not too young! by Alicia B. Weber
C
hildren learn best in an environment filled
with opportunities to explore their world
and to build on their previous experiences.
Barrow Street Nursery School at Greenwich
House (BSNSGH) bases its curriculum on thematic
teaching, allowing children to explore concepts in
order to discover their meaning and relationships.
The school emphasizes developmental skills
such as language and literacy, social studies,
math, science, art and gross motor activities.
Environmentally-based activities have evolved
into another key focus at BSNSGH. Part of the
educational mission is to make children aware
of important environmental issues and to foster
their instinctive eagerness to help. The students at
BSNSGH recognize they are important members
of their classroom, the school and the broader
community in which they live.
Service-learning is essentially an interactive form
of teaching and learning. Students and faculty
have access to the realities of child development,
curriculum, and instruction, within the ecology of
school and community. They gain insights into
the dynamics of child-family-community, and how
these dynamics influence teaching and learning.
This arrangement shifts faculty and student
learning toward a more active learning approach.*
By participating in numerous service-learning
projects throughout the year, the children
have developed important skills and awareness
of how they can make a positive difference.
“Researchers and teachers note that servicelearning often increases student self-esteem,
promotes personal development, and enhances
a sense of social responsibility and personal
competence.” (Anderson, J. (1998). Servicelearning and teacher education. Washington, DC:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher
Education. [ED421481]) After the students
designed colorful canvas bags using alphabet
9
stencils, numbers and shapes, we discussed
the importance of eliminating waste by limiting
use of plastic bags. During the year, nature is a
consistent part of the curriculum through stories
about the outdoors, nature photographs, walks to
local gardens and planting flowers that are then
given to family, teachers and local seniors. We
encourage the children to become aware of how
they can conserve energy in a number of ways,
including keeping the lights off on sunny days to
enjoy the natural sunlight and decorating light
switch covers to take home as a reminder to turn
off lights when leaving a room.
Teachers and students have spent a substantial
amount of time discussing the importance
of recycling and reusing. Recycled treasures
have played a significant role in the students’
daily schedule. Children enthusiastically share
used items from home with their classmates
that are then placed in the recycling closet as
a resource from which everyone can create
new treasures. Recycled objects are sorted by
teachers and students and incorporated into the
classroom learning centers. Plastic containers
are used at the easel to hold paint, cereal boxes
and newspapers are used as a canvas and
transformed into art work, water bottles become
planters and piggy banks, bottle caps are sorted
and counted at the math center, bird houses are
designed from milk cartons at the science center
and the list goes on and on. Most importantly,
students embrace their role in helping the
environment and consider themselves “recycling
superheroes,” often acting out the part in
dramatic play. We have eagerly encouraged the
children to believe that in order to save our world
we have to do it together one little step at a time.
In the words of the Lorax, “UNLESS someone
like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going
to get better. It’s not.”*
*Swick & Rowls (1999) Service-learning in early childhood teacher
education. Early Childhood Education Journal.
*Anserson, J. (1998) Service Learning and teacher education.
ERIC Washington D.C. An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Steps To
Service-Learning
There are the five basic stages of executing
a service-learning project for any age group.
1
PREPARATION:
In the preparation stage, students brainstorm and identify a need in their community.
They might engage in a teacher-led discussion or gather input from family members
and neighbors directly by asking questions and gathering information from the world
around us. Once an issue of interest is identified, students work as a team to discuss,
analyze and investigate the underlying problem, consider multiple points of view, and
develop a plan of action. They may reach out to potential partners in the community
with the help of a teacher who may be of assistance in their project.
2
ACTION:
In this stage, students bring their service project to life. There are four main types of
service in which students can engage:
Direct service takes place when students work directly for or with the people who
benefit from their service. Examples include making cards for the elderly or making
cat toys for a local animal shelter.
Indirect service activities do not have the same face-to-face component as direct
service activities, but rather benefit communities by channeling resources to a cause
or issue. Examples might include park beautification projects, community clean-ups,
and food drives.
Advocacy creates awareness and encourages action around a specific issue.
Students can be advocates by creating posters and running an awareness campaign.
Research enhances students’ skills in assessment and evaluation as they gather
information and report on it for the larger public good. Examples include conducting
surveys about recycling habits in their neighborhoods or carrying out interviews with
senior citizens about their historical connections to the community. Young students
should always be accompanied by an adult for these activities.
During the action phase, students actively engage and carry out one or more of these
types of service projects. Action should result in meaningful outcomes that are valued
by those being served and those performing the service, while also ensuring that the
students have an experience that is both educational and personally relevant.
(continued on next page)
10
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Steps To
Service-Learning
(continued from previous page)
3
REFLECTION:
Reflection is a core component of the entire service-learning process. Students reflect
during all stages of their experience—before the project starts, during the project itself,
and after the service project is completed. They consider the key issues that inspire the
project and continue to think about how the work they do affects those issues as the
project progresses. They reflect upon their existing attitudes and think about how those
attitudes might be changed. The reflection process also pushes students to identify the
connections between their academic work and their service project. In this way, they
place their experiences in a broader context. The reflection process also reinforces
the role that students have as agents of change (as they generate ideas about how the
project might be improved).
4
DEMONSTRATION:
Demonstration can take form in a variety of ways. It could be writing letters as a
class to inform others of the importance of their work, creating posters and signs
that contain information about the problem they were taking actions to solve, or
presentations and performances.
5
EVALUATION:
The evaluation stage is the counterpart to the qualitative process of reflection.
At the end of the process, students might participate in focus groups or complete
worksheets, rubrics, or questionnaires about their service experience that allow the
teacher or student to modify and adapt the lesson plans for future use as well as to
differentiate the project for different levels.
A Quote from chiara:
If we don’t recycle, the world
is going to be full of too much
garbage and the animals
won’t be able to run.
11
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Service-Learning
Checklist
Questions to consider when working with youth
to plan a service-learning project.
PREPARATION:
REFLECTION:
❍❍ Has a genuine community need been
❍❍ Are youth able to reflect on the project in a
identified?
❍❍ Have youth analyzed and investigated
this need?
❍❍ Have youth gathered the necessary
supplies to implement this project?
❍❍ Have youth networked with community
members/organizations and established a
reciprocal partnership?
❍❍ Have youth informed other students,
parents, community members and the
media about the project?
❍❍ Are youth working collaboratively and
encouraging each other to meet their goals?
❍❍ Is the project youth-led and adult-guided?
❍❍ Are the service objectives aligned with
learning goals?
ACTION:
❍❍ Are youth drawing on their academic
skills and knowledge to carry out their
service-learning project?
❍❍ Are youth developing meaningful
interactions with the people and
environments they encounter?
meaningful, engaged manner? –i.e. through
role plays, open-ended questions, drawing,
poetry, music and journals
❍❍ Have youth been able to react, elaborate and
contemplate the nature of their experience?
❍❍ Are youth able to make connections between
the service project and the “big picture”?
❍❍ Are youth able to relate how their project
has impacted the community?
DEMONSTRATION:
❍❍ Are youth able to “demonstrate” insights
gained to the community-at-large?
(Remember, demonstration can take
place in a number of ways, including
public presentations, performances,
murals, class lessons, art projects, letters,
websites, etc.)
❍❍ Have the efforts of the students, staff
and community members involved with
the project been acknowledged?
EVALUATION:
❍❍ Has the impact of the service-learning
project on youth and the community been
measured? (This can occur through surveys,
feedback forms, interviews, case notes, etc.)
❍❍ Have youth assessed the effectiveness
of the project and identified avenues
for improvement?
12
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Turning Trash into Treasures
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will implement
a classroom recycling
program.
Duration: varies
(dependant upon
activities)
Materials:
• Cardboard boxes (3)
• Water bottles
• Paper scraps
• Egg cartons
• Milk containers
• Detergent bottles
• Rainbow construction paper
Lesson
Put cardboard boxes in the center of the room. Ask students:
How can we use these 3 old boxes in the classroom? Discuss
ideas as a class.
Take Action
Have students decorate the boxes and use one for collecting
paper scraps, one for plastic and the third box for special
found objects. Special found objects can be anything that
interest the children.
Place paper, plastic and special found objects in each box and
discuss the importance of reusing things in our everyday life.
Inform the students that they can bring recycled items from
home (such as gallons of milk and paper towel rolls) to add to
the classroom boxes. They can use their canvas bags (created
previously) to carry the recycled materials. Explain the project
to parents and ask for their participation.
• Ribbons
• Paper bags
• Paper plates
• Tissue box
Reflection
Ask students: What projects can be created with our collected
trash in order to turn them into exciting treasures for others?
extension
Uses of the recycled materials include:
Making paper, drawing pictures and writing cards for the
senior center
Planting seeds in milk cartons and transferring them outside
once sprouted
Turning detergent bottles into piggy banks by painting and
decorating them
Creating a bird feed house out of milk cartons or tissue box
Transforming a water jug into a charity collection jug
Supplementing classroom toys with special found objects
Painting water bottles and using them as vases
13
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Creating Recycling Bins
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will conduct a
paper recycling audit of
their building.
➜➜Students will create paper
recycling bins.
Lesson
Read The Lorax and discuss how trees are being cut down
rapidly for making paper and how paper is wasted. Discuss
ways in which we can “save the trees.” Introduce the idea
of recycling paper.
Take a walk around the school and take note of which
classrooms and offices do not have a recycling bin for
just paper.
Duration: 45 minutes
Take Action
Materials:
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• Recycled cardboard boxes
• Markers
• Paint
Have children work in small groups to decorate boxes for the
places that they are needed. Children can paint, color, etc.
Boxes should be labeled stating that the recycling box is JUST
FOR PAPER. Note: If your students cannot write, they can use
letter stamps or trace the dotted letters. If the teacher prefers,
an adult can write the words.
After boxes are complete, take a class walk and deliver boxes
to the places that are in need. As children deliver boxes, they
will explain what the recycling bins should be used for.
Reflection
Ask students: How did people react when we told them about
recycling? Who else can you tell about paper recycling?
extension
Learn about other materials (plastic, aluminum, etc.) that can
be recycled.
Home-School Connection: Suggest that children make
recycling bins for their homes.
14
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Recycling Superheroes
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will understand
that recycling is the process
of reprocessing materials
into new items.
➜➜Students will learn ways
to make a difference in the
world through recycling.
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials:
• Michael Recycle
by Ellie Betehl
• Recyclable materials: plastic
soda bottle, aluminum cans,
foil, newspaper, cereal
boxes, glass jars, plastic
containers, etc.
• Cardboard boxes (4) and a
label for each box: paper,
plastic, metal, & glass
• Collect canvas bags
• Puffy paint and jewels
Lesson
To get the kids enthusiastic about becoming “Environmental
Superheroes,” make super hero eye masks with them. Help
students cut out a strip of lightly used paper or cardboard, cut
out eye areas and use a hole punch to make holes on either
side of the eye mask. Have the children decorate their masks.
Use the ribbon to tie the mask around the students’ heads
(tie the ribbons to the holes made on either side of the mask.)
Have students paint each of the cardboard boxes the following
colors: green (plastic), red (metal), blue (paper), and yellow (glass)
• Read the book Michael Recycle to discover why
recycling is important. Ask the children: Do you think
Michael was being a ‘Superhero’? Why?
• Brainstorm the variety of ways we can use our “super
human powers” to be more “green.”
• Use the 4 colored, labeled boxes to count, sort, and
classify the recyclable objects
Take Action
• Explain that we will be “Recycling Superheroes” who
collect and use recyclable goods to make projects.
• Have children each design a canvas bag to use to collect
future recyclable items and to transport projects home.
Extensions
Have students count, sort, and classify recyclable objects
each week.
Help students discover the variety of ways we can help out
the community, like cleaning a park, pulling out weeds, and
planting flowers and trees.
Explain how paper is made and have students make their
own paper through an experiment.
Sing songs about recycling and take a trip to a local
recycling center.
Collect cans to sell; donate money to a local organization.
Home-School Connection: have students make a recycling
poster to display at home using cardboard boxes or design
their own canvas bag for their family to use.
15
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Reducing Waste at Lunch
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will create canvas
lunch bags to be reused in
place of paper bags.
➜➜Student will observe how
much waste is reduced by
not using paper (or plastic)
bags at lunch time
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials:
• Canvas bags for each
student
• Fabric markers
Lesson
Introduce or continue a discussion about wasting paper.
Children will brainstorm ways to avoid using paper bags for
lunch. Ultimately the children will realize that reusing a bag or
a lunchbox is more eco-friendly and less wasteful.
Take Action
Give each child a canvas bag to decorate as a lunch bag. If
children can write their names, they can label their lunch bags.
Remind children that the canvas bags should be used for their
lunches. Lunch bags will be brought home and hopefully return
to school each day!
Reflection
Ask students: Why is using a reusable lunch bag important?
extension
After children have used the canvas bags, talk to them about
using containers that are less wasteful in their lunches as well.
For example, instead of using plastic juice boxes, children
should bring drinks in reusable bottles (tempered aluminum,
e.g. Sigg bottles).
Discuss food waste and encourage children to only bring food
that they are going to eat. For example, a waste-free lunch
could be a sandwich, drink, fruit, and snack. A wasteful lunch
could be a sandwich, pasta, three different snacks and two
drink options.
Home-School Connection: encourage parents to purchase
recyclable containers for food. Remind parents to avoid using
paper, plastic, and Styrofoam plates, cups, etc. when they are
at home. Remind parents to make a conscious effort not to
waste food at home.
16
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Award-Winning Neighbors
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will define the
terms neighbors and
neighborhoods.
➜➜Students will brainstorm
ways to be good neighbors.
➜➜Students will make Good
Neighbor Badges with
plans to practice service by
assisting their neighbors.
Duration: Varies
(dependent upon
neighbor activity)
Lesson
Start a group discussion by asking the children what they think
neighborhoods are and ways that they can be good neighbors.
Through this discussion, explain neighbors are people that
live next to or near each other. Neighborhoods are the places
where they all live together (show visual to demonstrate this
point so that students do not confuse it with a house).
Discuss reasons why it is important for neighbors to all to get
along and how one way to get along is to be a good neighbor.
A good neighbor is someone who helps their neighbor when
they need it.
• Read the book Stone Soup aloud to students, pausing
when necessary to ask the following questions:
• What was the problem in the neighborhood?
Materials:
• In what ways did everyone try to become a good
• Stone Soup by
Marcia Brown
• What happened in the end? What did you learn from
• Copies of Good Neighbor
Badges for each student
• Pencils or crayons
neighbor to help with the problem?
the story?
Explain to students that there are different ways to help your
neighbors such as: walking their dog, helping them with yard
work, or bringing over soup when they are sick. Ask students to
think of other ways they can help or have helped their neighbor.
Take Action
• Inform students that today they will practice being
good neighbors. First, they must make a badge so that
people can identify them as such.
• Use the provided template to have students decorate
their badges and assist them with cutting it out.
Reflection
With students, brainstorm ways that they can help their
neighbors.
extension
Make plans for your students to wear their badges and help
their school neighbors (other classrooms) do something nice
such as tidying up a classroom, making cards or sharing snacks.
17
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Award-Winning Neighbor Badge
directions:
Photocopy the badge templates below and allow each student to decorate his or her own
Award Wining Neighbor Badge. Help students cut out the badge and pin to their shirt.
18
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Caring For Plants
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will demonstrate
an understanding of plant
stewardship.
➜➜Students will practice plant
stewardship.
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials:
• Planting a Rainbow by
Lois Ehlert
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
• Young potted plant
• Basket with each student’s
name on a slip of paper
inside
Lesson
• Read Planting A Rainbow and The Tiny Seed.
Discuss what a plant needs to grow healthy and
strong: water, sun and gentle love.
• Present the potted plant. Talk about parts of the plant
and how important it is to use gentle hands when
handling them.
• Pass plant around to each child for an opportunity to
smell, touch and practice using their gentle hands.
Take Action
Once every child has worked with the plant, surprise the class
by informing them that they will all take turns bringing the
class plant home.
Review what a plant needs while it will be in their care.
Allow each child to have 2 days with the plant in their home.
Select names out of the basket to determine the order in which
students may take the plant home.
Reflection
As each child brings back the plant, ask questions that
will prompt what the plant needed to grow. For example:
Where did your plant rest? Did you give your plant something
to drink? How did you carry it home?”
extension
After every child in the class has taken the plant home, create
a special place in the classroom for its permanent home. The
project will continue in the classroom. Students will be able to
observe its growth and continue to nurture the plant.
19
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Flowers as Gifts
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will identify the
different parts of a flower.
➜➜Students will plant their
own flower seed.
➜➜Students will practice pro-
social skills of taking turns.
➜➜Students will follow
one-step and two-step
directions.
Lesson
Show the students the different parts of a flower (root, stem,
leaves and the flower).
• Discuss what flowers need to grow.
• Explain to students that every one will have a turn
planting a flower seed.
• Talk about the importance of giving.
Take Action
Duration: 20–30 minutes
Help students plant a flower. They will fill the pot with soil and
plant the seeds about ¼ inch deep into the soil.
Materials:
Students will give their plants to someone special on a special
day (such as a birthday, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day).
• Flower Garden
by Eve Bunting
• Sunflower House
by Eve Bunting
• Soil
• Seeds
• Pots
Reflection
Ask students: How do you think a special person in your life
will feel when they receive the plant?
• Trowel
extension
• Water
Visit the school’s nursery and view the flowers in the garden.
Take a field trip to a local botanical garden or nursery.
20
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Recycled Bird Houses
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will realize their
ability to protect the earth
and animals.
➜➜Students will create safe
houses for local birds.
Duration: 45 minutes
Materials:
• Recycled paper, cardboard,
wood, plastic
• Lightly used ribbon
• Markers
• Camera
Lesson
Discuss with the students the powers they have to help our
earth. For example, their hands can be used for planting or
making signs; they can use their voices to spread the message
about protecting the earth; and they can use their minds to
think up ways we can help the earth.
Take Action
Look at pictures of bird houses and discuss the different
features of a bird house.
Discuss the materials needed to create our recycled bird houses.
Take a trip to the recycling closet to collect materials.
Construct the bird houses in the classroom. Use a milk carton
or cardboard box for the main frame of the birdhouse. Help
students cut a hole in the side of the house so that birds can
access it. Have students decorate the bird houses with markers
and attach other elements using recycled materials.
Bring the constructed bird houses to the park to hang using
the ribbon. Take pictures of the students throughout the
service project.
Reflection
Using the photos taken, talk to the students about what it was
like to do this project. Ask the students to describe what’s
happening in the photos.
extension
Revisit the bird houses from time to time to see what kinds
of birds have come to live in them. Have students draw their
observations and count the number of birds they see.
21
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Transportation & Pollution
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will define
transportation and pollution.
➜➜Students will list different
types of transportation.
➜➜Students will explain how
riding the bus or subway
decreases pollution.
➜➜Students will create Cut the
Pollution Cards.
➜➜Students will practice
volunteerism by vowing to
pass out Cut the Pollution
Cards to various people.
Duration: 50 minutes
Materials:
• The Wheels on the Bus
Go Round and Round
by Annie Kubler
• Copies of the Cut the
Pollution Card template
• Crayons
Lesson
Explain to students that there are many ways of getting from
one place to another. The way that people get from one place
to another is called transportation. Discuss the different types of
transportation and help students generate a list. Examples may
include subway or train, bus, car or van, walking, and trolley.
Read the book, The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round,
aloud to the class, pausing on occasion to ask the following
comprehension questions:
• What are the different types of transportation?
• What types of transportation do they use?
• What makes each type of transportation different?
Explain that with each type of transportation, a lot, a little, or
no pollution is created. Pollution is harmful things that we put
into the air, land or water.
Using the list that the class previously created, write beside
each word if it uses a lot, a little, or no pollution. For example,
“Subway/train a little pollution; Walking–no pollution; Car/vana lot of pollution.”
Point out to students which examples of transportation generate
little or no pollution and how these methods are what we all
should try to do to help keep people and our planet healthy.
Show students a chart that outlines how using the subway
is the same as removing 40 cars from the street, which
decreases pollution.
Take Action
Empower students to help others see that changing from using
transportation that causes a lot of pollution to transportation
that causes little to no pollution is how we can volunteer to help
our planet. Explain that students will practice volunteerism by
making Cut the Pollution Cards and passing them out to people
they know.
Use the provided template to have students complete and color
their cards.
A recycled spaceship
Once students are done, ask every student to take the card(s)
that they made and pass them out to people that they know to
help our planet.
(continued on next page)
22
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Transportation & Pollution
(continued from previous page)
Reflection
Gather all students in a circle and review the definitions
of transportation and pollution. Remind students that it
is important to help others and help our planet by using
transportation that generates little or no pollution.
Thank students for doing a great job helping others.
Extension
Have students keep a log of their transportation use,
counting the number of times they use each form of
transportation during the week.
23
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Rocket Ship
o bjecti ve
➜➜Use recycled materials
to make a “life-sized”
rocket ship for the student’s
dramatic play.
Duration: 30–45 minutes
Materials:
• Metallic paint
• X-acto knife
• Large refrigerator box
Lesson
In a large group discuss methods of space travel. What are the
components of a rocket ship? Explain that the children will be
making a real rocket ship for the class to share.
take action
Cut and paint a large refrigerator box and decorate as a rocket
ship. Children can use this large rocket for dramatic play. Cut
triangle from one side to make a pointed roof. Scraps can be
used as rocket boosters. A door and circular windows can be
cut so children can enter and exit the rocket. Students can
paint the rocket with metallic paint and then decorate with
sequins as buttons and a control panel.
• Tape
• Sequins
extensions
Write a book as a class on a trip to space in their rocket ship.
Create a moral of the story to help teach a lesson to others.
Collect bottle caps from the school community and sort them
by color. Use them to make a mosaic representing the earth,
moon and sun.
Cut various shapes of stars from discarded cardboard boxes
and hang them from the ceiling to create a galactic classroom.
Creating a sun and moon mural
with recycled bottle caps and tops
24
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Oil Spill Experiment
o bjecti ves
Lesson
➜➜Students will learn about
On the rug, read aloud the story Oil Spill! Allow students to
ask questions or make comments after the reading.
➜➜Students will understand
Ask the class: What are some things we see everyday that use
oil? Explain that oil is used in fueling cars, trucks, buses, trains,
and in making fertilizers, garbage bags, fabrics, and wax.
the environmental crisis of
oil spills.
that oil and water do
not mix.
Explain that oil must travel through the oceans, which are
made of what? Water!
Duration: 30–40 minutes
Take Action
Materials:
• Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger
• Clear plastic 2-Liter bottle
with lid (and tape to seal it)
• Oil (any kind of non-toxic
cooking oil)
• Water (add a few drops of
food coloring to make the
separation more apparent)
• Small clear cups labeled
with each student’s name
With students still on the rug, fill a 2-liter bottle with colored
water. Have them imagine that this is like the ocean.
Pour oil into the bottle. Say “Oh no! A tanker crashed and oil
spilled into the ocean.” Ask the children what they think will
happen. Will the oil mix with the water?
Seal the top of the bottle and allow each of the children to try
to “mix” in the oil by shaking the bottle. After each child has
tried, make observations on what happened. Leave the bottle
in the room for the rest of the week. Allow the children to
periodically “mix” it and make observations.
Transition to tables. Give each student a small clear cup labeled
with his or her name. Supply each table with a container of oil
and a container of water.
With supervision, have each child pour ½ the cup full of water
and add a small amount of oil (some may just want a drop,
while others may want to fill it). Record observations of what
they thought would happen, what they saw, and if they think it
will change.
Reflection
Student investigating the
properties of water
Discuss ways in which we can make a difference to try and
avoid oil spills. We can minimize our use of oil by buying
products made of and packaged in earth-friendly ways, like
recycled paper. We can carpool and take public transportation.
We can write letters to our government requesting this issue
be prioritized.
(continued on next page)
25
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Oil Spill Experiment
(continued from previous page)
extensions
Set the cups aside after the activity. The following day, have
the children check their cups for any change and record
responses. Are they surprised the oil isn’t mixing? If they
want to see if it takes longer, set some aside until the end of
the day and have children make observations again. Draw
attention to the 2-liter oil spill for observations for the rest of
the week.
Write a shared letter to your local member of Congress on an
issue surrounding oil spills. Take a theme from the children
and try to suggest an appropriate request. Examples may
include higher maintenance required on ships, better sonar/
tracking for ships, more oil transferred over land, emergency
teams for animal rescue, research teams to find better
ways to clean up oil spills, or whatever the children seem
particularly interested in.
Have students brainstorm and illustrate an invention to help
clean up or prevent oil spills.
26
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Recycled Sculptures
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will become aware
of why and how we recycle.
➜➜Students will learn about
materials that can be reused
for projects in school.
Duration: 45 minutes
Materials:
• Why Should I Recycle
by Jen Green
• Various materials from
recycling closet
• Glue
• Bins
Lesson
Have a full-group discussion about what the children think
recycling is. Write down their ideas on chart paper or on
the board.
• Ask children why they think we should recycle.
• Read Why Should I Recycle by Jen Green.
• Review story and ask what would happen if everybody
threw away old bottles and newspapers instead of reusing
them to make new products.
• Ask students how they could reuse items that are
normally considered trash. What are things they could
create with them?
Take Action
Take a trip (like the teacher and students did in the story) to your
school’s recycling closet with bins to collect items the children can
reuse for projects.
Gather all students on the rug and have students help you
create a sculpture using the materials.
After the whole group model, place various materials on each
table with glue and paint and have children create fun
sculptures independently.
Reflection
Bring children back to the rug for a share. Have each child
explain what materials they used when making their sculpture
and the different ways they were able to use the materials.
extensionS
Have children create a story about a world where no
one recycles.
Use recycled materials to create props for the dress up area
(ex: cradle for baby).
Have children use recycled materials to make people, signs,
transportation, and various other items for the block area.
Home-School Connection: encourage children to
sort their trash at home.
A student creating an imaginary sculpture
27
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Recycled Jewelry
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will use recycled
materials to create jewelry
to donate or sell for a
“green” cause.
➜➜Students will understand
that recycling is the process
of reprocessing materials
into new items, and the
essence and importance of
reusing trash.
➜➜Students will make recycled
bangle bracelets and
explore how trash can
be beautiful.
Duration: 30–40 minutes
Materials:
• A variety of small items from
the Recycling Room (bottle
caps, buttons, coins, can
tabs, tiles, stones, shells, etc)
• Empty tape rolls (masking or
packing is more practical,
but some smaller rolls fit
children). Request from
school “Green Team” and
parents prior to activity.
• Art supplies: sequins,
small jewels, glitter, colored
sand, glue
• Recycled newspaper to
cover the tables
Lesson
Display empty tape rolls. Brainstorm with children the variety
of ways we can use the rolls. Introduce the idea of using them
as a bracelet if a child does not.
Discuss ways to make the bracelets more beautiful. Explain
how they will be going on a hunt to find recycled treasures
to use. Allow children to collect a variety of small materials
from the recycling closet. Add those items to art materials and
previously collected items (except glitter and sand).
Take Action
Present each child with a glue-covered roll and allow them to
decorate it however they wish. Use glitter or colored sand to
cover glue that has been left exposed. Allow to dry.
Contact local organizations and donate jewelry to support
their cause. Students could also sell the jewelry throughout the
school/building for funds to support “green” initiatives, like
flowers for rooftop playground.
Reflection
Discuss how it feels to make something beautiful out of trash.
Can you believe these were just going to be thrown away?
Were they surprised by what they could make? Do you have
more ideas?
Extensions
Have students make patterns on their bracelets or count their
found treasures.
Experiment with making colored paper using recycled napkins
and paper scraps.
Sings songs about recycling and take a trip to a local
recycling center.
Recycled necklace creations
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An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Recycled Books
o bjecti ves
➜➜Develop literacy skills by
teaching how words have
meaning.
➜➜Students will create a piece
of literature, sharing their
knowledge about caring for
the environment.
➜➜A shared writing will be
illustrated by the students to
convey their message.
Duration: 30–45 minutes
Materials:
• 10 Things I Can Do to Help
My World by Melanie Walsh
• Cereal boxes
• Paper scraps
• Glue, scissors
Lesson
Read together 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by
Melanie Walsh. Discuss ways that the children can show they
care about the earth, ways they can practice reducing, reusing,
and recycling. Have each child contribute a way to help the
environment. Each child will then illustrate what they have
said by making a collage using paper scraps on recycled
cereal boxes.
take action
Using recycled materials, children can tear or cut materials to
convey a message. They will be translating their words into an
image that they will glue together.
Make a book from all the students’ collage by binding them
together with twist ties or string.
extensions
The students can share the book with other classrooms.
They can take their collages home to teach their families.
Construct an I Spy book from recycled cereal boxes. Each
student chooses a box and then finds a word located in the
text. They should write their names and their words to direct
their peers in what to search for. This is a fun activity to help
develop letter recognition and pre-reading skills.
Examples of recycled books that were created
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An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Piggy Banks
o bjecti ves
➜➜Students will work together
to create large pigs from
recycled materials.
➜➜Students will discuss
character traits such as
bravery, strength, fear, and
cooperation.
Lesson
Read The Three Little Pigs. Discuss the way the characters
in the story treat each other. Define with the children what
treating someone with respect is, and how the class may work
together the way the pigs did.
take action
Collect gallon jugs (from glue, paint, milk) to use for the pigs.
Duration: 30 minutes
Have children mix various amounts of red and white paint
to paint their pigs, paint egg cartons to use as feet (2 eggs
per foot).
Materials:
Tape the egg carton feet onto the side of the jugs.
• The Three Little Pigs
• Gallon Jugs
• Paint
• Egg cartons
Children can create facial features and a tail from paper
scraps and cut a hole in the tops for coins.
• Paper scraps
extensions
• Masking tape
Hold a penny drive using the pigs as storage. Donate the
proceeds to a local cause.
Recycle materials to create the three houses of the three
little pigs.
Read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf
by Jon Scieszka to teach the children about point of view.
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An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Musical Instruments
o bjecti ve
➜➜Make a variety of musical
instruments from recycled
materials.
Lesson
Look at images of various musical instruments and discuss
the elements that make sound. Think of ways to make music
by banging, shaking, blowing or strumming to make sound.
Present a variety of materials from which the children can
construct their own original instruments. It is very important
that the items used are hollow and can be cut or filled.
Duration: 30 minutes
take action
Materials:
• Paper towel rolls
• Tissue boxes
• Wax paper
• Rubber bands
• Glass jars
Allow the students to choose their materials and construct their
instruments. Assist with assembly and give suggestions to help
their instruments make noise (ex, cut a hole in the box and
wrap rubber bands to make a recycled guitar) Make guitars,
kazoos, maracas, xylophones, or even a conductor's wand.
The children can personalize their instruments by using paint
and markers to decorate their creations.
• Beans
• Noodles
• Buttons
extensions
Use the instruments to perform for others.
Attend a musical performance to support local musicians
Bash the Trash.
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An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Crafts Page
Using recycled items, children can find fun ways to give new purpose to old materials.
Our recycling closet inspired the children and wild and wonderful project ideas jumped
out at them from deep within recycle bins and throwaway boxes. Below are a few of our
craft project favorites.
Food & Nutrution Crafts (ages 3–5)
While working on a food and nutrition unit, students learned about each of the food groups
and identified which group their favorite foods belong to. The students used a cardboard
box cut into a triangle to make a large replica of the food pyramid. During a sorting activity
students glued small pictures from recycled magazines of various kinds of food into its
corresponding food group. To culminate the unit on food and nutrition, students visited the
recycling closet to select materials to be used in the replication of their favorite dishes.
City Unit (ages 4–5)
Students selected city images from their favorite books that they wanted to re-create. After
visiting our recycling closet, they chose a variety of materials to use in their city creation.
The children worked together and each added different contributions. The sculptures were
first painted and then the materials were assembled with glue and tape to create the city.
(continued on next page)
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An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Crafts Page
(continued from previous page)
Animals & Imaginary Creatures (ages 2–5)
Our older students used their imaginations to create unique robots using small recycled boxes,
cups, popsicle sticks, etc. Children designed and assembled their creatures themselves using
glue and tape. First, they painted their creatures and then they added details like eyes and
buttons using various materials they found in the recycling closet.
Our younger students worked together to color and decorate a cardboard box to make a lion
dancer's mask for Chinese New Year. Using oil pastels, they first colored the head and mouth.
Then they taped strips of yarn and old collage materials to make the lion's mane. Finally, to
make the lion’s eyes, they painted an old apple container white.
Hospital Crafts (ages 4–5)
The students constructed a hospital using recycled materials. Creating the main building with
a large cardboard box, they then used Styrofoam packing materials to make hospital beds,
machines and tables. By placing one small milk carton into one larger one, the children
created a working elevator! Finally, they decided they wanted to add a restaurant to the
hospital, so they found a smaller box that complemented the main building and added tables,
a counter, a kitchen, and even created small menus with old scraps of paper. Students created
their own “patients,” “nurses” and “doctors” from old clothes pins and other materials, such
as fabric scraps, from the recycled craft closet.
33
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Activity
Cut the Pollution Card
Take the (subway or bus) instand of driving to help our planet!
Cut the Pollution Card
Take the (subway or bus) instand of driving to help our planet!
34
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
Earth Day
April 22nd
As part of our ongoing efforts to cultivate a “green” curriculum and
community, there were some exciting pre-Earth Day celebrations and activities
at BSNSGH this year. Each class had its own special activity and lessons in
the classroom. The various activities ranged from seed planting to recycling
projects to making earth day murals. We also worked on a school-wide
“recycled tree” activity that will be located on the 2nd floor. Each class added
branches and vines to the tree made from different recycled materials. Parents
also contributed to the tree by adding family projects to the branches and vines
using recycled materials.
On May 20th, 2010, Barrow Street Nursery School at Greenwich House held
our first Earth Day Fair with the help of some volunteers from the senior class
of the Chapin School. The fair was organized by generationOn, and was set up
so each child at Barrow Street Nursery School at Greenwich House was able
to participate in an earth-saving craft. We made light switch covers to remind
others to turn off the lights, bottles of sand for toilets to reduce the water used
in each flush, canvas bags to reduce the use of disposable plastic shopping
bags, and flower pots! The crafts were well organized and set up prior to the
event. The children arrived in shifts to participate in the activities. We had a
blast and it was such a success, we all look forward to more in the future!
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An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
The Green 100:
One Hundred Service and
Service-Learning Projects and Ideas
1. Practice the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle
2. Use generationOn’s Relight USA curriculum
www.childrenforchildren.org
3. Conduct a Recycling Relay race to learn
how to sort recyclables
4. Participate in National Trails Day in June
5. Investigate current air quality
www.airnow.gov
19. Become and IPM Super Sleuth http://www.
ipminstitute.org/supersleuth.htm
20. Learn about Coral Reefs and their
preservation http://www.epa.gov/owow/
oceans/coral/
6. Send away for an Indoor Air Quality Action
Kit from the EPA
21. Visit the Darby Duck and Aquatic Crusaders
site http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/kids/
darbyduck.html
7. Use lessons presented in Project A.I.R.E.
http://www.cln.org/themes/air.html
22. Take an E-Field trip to a local (or not so
local) park http://www.efieldtrips.org/
8. Use the EPA’s Tools for Schools
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/
23. Calculate your carbon footprint
http://earthday.net/footprint2/index.html
9. Use math to learn about the ozone layer
http://www.ucar.edu/learn/index.htm
24. Teach students about the
coastal wetlands
http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/
10. Discuss global warming with students
and ways to alleviate it
http://www.climateclassroom.org
11. Read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and have a
discussion about it
12. Visit the Energy Star for Kids website
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?
c=kids.kids_index
13. Watch the movie An Inconvenient Truth
25. Visit the Glob program
http://www.globe.gov/
26. Learn how you can reduce waste in your
school http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/
education/toolkit.htm
27. Find out more ways to help the
environment through PBS http://pbskids.org/
zoom/activities/action/way04.html
14. Learn about the International Polar
Foundation http://educapoles.org
28. More from An Inconvenient Truth
http://www.climatecrisis.net/take_action/
curriculum.php
15. Visit HippoWorks to learn about global
warming for younger students
http://www.hippoworks.com/hippoHELP.html
29. Make preparations for Earth Day
http://www.theteachersguide.com/
earthdaylessonplans.htm
16. Visit PBS’ The Greens
http://meetthegreens.pbskids.org/
30. Resources for ESL classrooms
http://www.eslflow.com/
environmentlessonplans.html/
17. Learn about climate change in various
subject areas
http://www.climatechangeeducation.org/
36
18. Watch Adventures of the Garbage
Gremlin http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/
education/kids/gremlin/coverb.htm
(continued on next page)
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
The Green 100
(continued from previous page)
31. Vacant lot cleanup
32. Begin a Conserve Water Campaign at
school and home
33. Adopt a watershed
34. Start a compost
35. Clean gutters and drains
36. Beach clean up
55. Start a butterfly garden
56. Sponsor an environmental slogan contest
57. Encourage students and parents to buy
products made from recycled materials
58. Make conservation posters for the school
59. Monitor indoor air quality
60. Host an anti-smoking campaign
61. Adopt an acre of a rainforest
37. Recycling program
62. Plant a tree to commemorate the life of
someone
38. Plant a tree
63. Adopt a community garden
39. Plant flowers or a garden
64. Practice tree stewardship and pick up litter,
water trees
40. Deliver flowers to someone to brighten their
day and encourage environmentalism
41. Reuse campaign (clothes, toys, school
supplies, etc)
42. Collect cans, redeem money and donate to
a cause
65. Start an Anti-Toxic Waste campaign
encouraging parents to dispose of
waste properly
66. Host a recycling fair
43. Recycle telephone books
67. Host a science fair made up of all
recycled goods
44. Encourage carpooling
68. Use lunch boxes instead of paper bags
45. Set up a seed or plant exchange in your
community
69. Use canvas bags instead of plastic bags
at the grocery store
46. Make bird feeders out of recycled goods
70. Ask the school to use recycled paper
47. Change regular light bulbs to CFL bulbs
71. Start an environmental club
48. Make light switch covers
72. Host a recycling contest
49. Adopt an acre of a park or a mile of
roadside and clean it up
73. Use water filtration systems instead
of plastic water bottles
50. Host an Hour Lights Out session in school
or at home
51. Adopt a block and pick up litter and trash
52. Create a habitat for wildlife
53. Design a campaign to promote biking or
walking instead of driving
54. Test the health of water in a local lake
or stream
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(continued on next page)
An Early Childhood Service-Learning Curriculum for The Environment and Earth Day
The Green 100
(continued from previous page)
74. Educate people on the harms of acid rain
75. Make a song/poem/rap/chant about
appreciating the environment and teach it
to the school
76. Decorate canvas bags and give them to
local supermarkets
77. Take the Cool School Challenge
http://www.coolschoolchallenge.org/
78. Make an instructional video about tree
stewardship
79. Create a earth awareness coloring book and
donate it to local youth
80. Make piggy banks for youth using recycled
goods
81. Find local places to donate computers
where they can be refurbished and advertise
to parents and the community
82. Make recycled paper
83. Start a campaign that links the environment
to individual health
www.epa.gov/teachers/health.htm
84. Have every student in the school make
a pledge of how they will help the
environment
85. Organize a prom dress/tux swap
86. Go on a mission to find any water leaks
in the building and give your school a Seal
of Security if there are none (report any
leaks that you do see and ensure that they
are fixed)
87. Encourage community members to buy
used furniture and make a list of local stores
that sell antiques or gently used furniture to
pass out to others
88. Unplug seldom used appliances
89. Make your school Paper-Less!
90. Collect non-reusable batteries, safely recycle
them, and encourage people to purchase
reusable batteries
91. Grow herbs out of tin cans and donate
them to seniors
92. Make brochures about energy conservation
93. Host an Environmental Fun Fair at
your school
94. Make bracelets that remind students to
recycle every day and pass them out
95. Paint a mural about the earth and the
importance of helping the environment
96. Make posters of tips to help save the
environment such as cutting up 6-pack rings
before placing them in the trash to prevent
harming animals
97. Create a Get Outside Campaign to
encourage youth to turn off their televisions
and play less video games
98. Host a Green-a-Thon (walk, dance, or
jogging marathon) and donate funds to
a green organization
99. Write to your local politicians encouraging
them to make green Legislation their
priority
100. Make recycled jewelry, crayons, or a purse
and donate http://www.make-stuff.com/
recycling/ or http://www.allfreecrafts.com/
recycling-crafts/index.shtml
38