Earth Day is widely celebrated as a
day on which we work towards becoming more aware of things we can do to
maintain or even improve the quality the home upon which the human race is
collectively dependent. For this reason,
I decide to volunteer at the Earth Day event at the Museum of Natural
Science. I worked at a recycling table
where we showed people things they could make out of recycled newspaper. My partner, Megan, worked on making gift bows
out of newspaper comics and a newspaper flower wreath. It was my job to make origami planters out of
the newspaper and fill them with potting soil.
When kids walked by, I asked them if they wanted to plant sunflowers and
showed how to bury seeds and explained the things they needed to do for their
plant to help it grow. I couldn’t help
throwing in some fun facts about photosynthesis when older kids came to the
table. I thought the planter were an
awesome idea; because the newspaper is biodegradable, when they get home, the
kids can put the whole planter in the ground.
I think that, like in Nano Days, the hardest
part of the experience relaying the appropriate information to kids without
being overcomplicated and losing their interest as well as without sounding condescending
when I talk to them. I imagine finding
that balance as full time teacher is extremely difficult, but there’s not much
that could be more rewarding than teaching a kid more than they expected they
could learn.
No comments:
Post a Comment