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From time to time, our Educators attend workshops and participate in professional development opportunities to keep up to date with leading practices and research in Early Childhood.
Recently, our Educators at Story House Aberglasslyn participated in ‘Pallet Play’ as part of their team building and professional development workshop. They were inspired to create upcycled learning environments through loose parts and recycled resources to further establish, promote and teach sustainable practices within the setting. With a huge amount of enthusiasm and inspiration, educators took what they learned back to the service and interest from both children and educators has continued to grow into some amazing projects in and around the centre.
Through intentional teaching and guidance, educators allow children to discover and learn about sustainability concepts and encourage children to explore ways to recycle and reuse something old to create something new. Children love to build, create, construct, and exercise their independence by being given opportunities to try and do things for themselves.
Through loose parts play we provide these wonderful hands on opportunities for the children to enjoy the benefits of reusing recyclable items including pallets, boxes and pvc pipes to help them achieve this and bring their imagination to life, while also doing our part environmentally to help promote a sustainable future.
In the photos below, you can see just some of the many resourceful and creative activities that the children at Story House Aberglasslyn have been engaged in using sustainable materials. As an example, fallen tree branches have been cut into pieces and used for building blocks, counting and letter recognition experiences. Children are encouraged to use their imaginations and were encouraged to construct a home for a dinosaur.
Following on from the children’s interest in making things using a variety of recycled materials, their creativity and know-how took them out into the community where they made scarecrows for the local ‘Taste Festival’ and they are now in the process of making vertical gardens out of recycled bottles for the outdoor verandah.
Educators have also been busy using their newfound skills and creativity with one of them creating a car out of a recycled pallet and old chairs which is now used by the children in their dramatic play. And finally, the service is also using the stumps from fallen down trees as outdoor seating for children.
Learning about and practicing sustainability empowers children to construct knowledge, explore values and develop an appreciation of the environment and its relationship to their worlds. This lays the foundations for an environmentally responsible adulthood. Everyone has a role to play in keeping our earth healthy.
- If you have any questions in relation to this, please contact our Service Manager, Amy Kearney.
- For information regarding our childcare and kindergarten service go to: Story House Early Learning Aberglasslyn.
