SUSTAINABILITY

Integrating sustainable activities

How to maintain your sustainable ethos when planning and engaging in EYFS activities

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Children who discover the true meaning of material sufficiency and mutual care and concern during their early years will be at an advantage in a world that must prize social responsibility if it is to survive. They are the ones who, in the future, will be able to stand securely on the shoulders of their own early years experience.

To provide an effective and committed role model for the children, practitioners need to examine activities from the point of view of the children’s experience. The following questions will help you check that your activities are underpinned by the sustainable themes of fairness and sufficiency, resourced as responsibly as possible and designed to offer opportunities for self-regulation, creativity, critical thinking and mathematical skills.

Sufficiency
How can an activity be planned so that the resources it uses are enough, but not excessive? How can this be communicated to the children?

For example, mix up small quantities of paint for an art activity, talk to the children about the concept of sufficiency and explain that you can always mix a little more paint but only if it is truly needed.

How can an activity be resourced sustainably? Can natural substances be used instead of plastic?

Sharing and self-regulation
How can an activity be organised to enable each child to benefit, while learning about sharing and waiting their turn, controlling their impulses for the benefit of others?

For example, discuss and agree the number of children that can use a new role play farm shop setting at any one time. Jointly come up with a rota system so that everyone gets their turn.

Critical thinking
What opportunities does an activity offer for identifying obstacles, shared problem solving and reasoning?

How can opportunities for critical thinking be maximised? For example, analyse the steps in a ‘hand-washing reusable cloths’ activity. Identify potential obstacles such as using too much/not enough detergent or water dripping on the floor when the cloths are hung up to dry. Be ready to scaffold the children’s thinking about how to solve these problems should they occur.

Creative opportunities
What aspects of an activity, and associated continuous provision, are open-ended and allow children to develop their learning?

For example, prepare a loose parts collection based on natural items, including items of different shapes and sizes. Ensure the container is portable so that children can play with it outdoors as well as inside. Encourage them to add to the collection themselves.

Maths opportunities
Does an activity offer opportunities for counting, comparing quantities or measuring? If so, how can they be planned?

For example, plan a variety of maths opportunities as part of a cooking activity making healthy soup using vegetables and herbs grown in the garden. Count the number of carrots you pull up, weigh them, investigate how chopping a carrot into rounds makes it shorter, measure the volume of stock in a measuring jug and talk about ‘adding’ ingredients together to make the soup.

Sourcing and waste disposal
How can an activity be resourced sustainably? Can natural substances be used instead of plastic? Can it be resourced with items already owned by the setting? Can resources be bought secondhand rather than new?

For example, set up a button tin resource – great for exploring size, shape, colour, pattern, sorting, counting and creative play.

Source buttons sustainably by buying in charity shops, salvaging from old clothes being made into cleaning cloths, asking parents to donate spares and buying interesting vintage buttons.

Draw children’s attention to the envelopes and bags the buttons came in. Decide if they can be reused or recycled.


FREE Healthy and Active Lifestyles with Education Social Responsibility


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Educating Social Responsibility (Alliance 2021)
£8.95 members, £12.80 non-members

Educating Social Responsibility (online publication) looks at how each of the seven areas of learning and development link with sustainability and social responsibility, the role of critical thinking in making sustainable life choices, the practicalities of planning themes, approaches and activities and considers changes to make management of the setting more sustainable.

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Healthy and Active Lifestyles (Alliance 2012)
£9.55 members, 12.95 non-members

Healthy and Active Lifestyles for the Early Years aims to support practitioners with advice and guidance as to how they can actively support the children and families to live a healthier life. Largely written by practitioners, who share details of their initiatives on providing children with a balanced diet and planning energetic activities; all of which are fun and engaging for the children.