Raising children for the planet

avatar

I have always thought that the true way to change the world is through parenting. And a blunt failure of today's society is the lack of an ecological conscience that conceives the planet not as a property but as a loan; a "matica" that must be sown, cared for and watered so that it can bring "fruits" to future generations.

image.png
Image: pexels

In this sense, I try to teach my children the importance of caring for and loving public and outdoor spaces as they belong to all the inhabitants of the planet and we all have the right to enjoy them in optimal conditions.
However, you cannot love what you do not know and that is why it is so important to me that my children spend enough time outdoors, running, playing with dirt, water, stones, shovels, flowers. For this reason, I share here some ideas of activities that we can do to "cultivate in them" that love for the environment and some "measures" to recycle at home and thus take care of the planet.

🍃Loving green
Once a week, or every fortnight, take a family walk to the mountains, the lake, the beach, an open park or any place where children can run freely and enjoy nature.
Introduce children to the games of our childhood: write with a stick in the wet earth, "fight with swords" using twigs from the trees, collect pebbles and paint them, make a "magic potion" with the flowers that have fallen to the ground. and water. Any alternative that helps them develop an affectionate relationship with the environment is valid.

image.png
Explain that flowers, trees, and plants are living beings that need our care and affection. For example, when my six-year-old daughter sees a beautiful flower and asks me if she can pluck it, I explain that not because the flower feels and when we pluck it we take its life.

🍃Do outdoor activities.
Beyond the fact of walking, let's look for activities that we like to do on a daily basis but taking advantage of the benefits that the environment offers us. For example, if our children like books, let's take some stories, a blanket and read in the park or in the mountains. We can also have a picnic, improvise a soccer game or ride a bike.

image.png

🍃Recycling at home
Create a corner to place ecological waste such as paper rolls, egg cartons, plastic containers, tetra pack containers, old clothes, cans. Later, some of these materials can be used to make crafts or give them a new use.
Create a garden or if you do not have the space, plant at least one matica to teach our children the value of responsibility: take care of it, water it, put it in the sun. Children have a greater sensitivity than adults and a much purer connection with nature. That is why they will enjoy these types of activities without problems.
We all remember when as children we made a germinator with beans and cotton grains in a container of compotes at school. Now that we are parents we can invite our children to make a simple “compost” with fruit and vegetable shells, fruit seeds and egg shells. When we make purchases we carry ecological bags (paper or cloth) to avoid plastic ones. When I lived in Europe this was the rule. I don't see why we can't incorporate it into our daily habits regardless of where we live.
For the children's lunch boxes, let's avoid buying juices or waters in plastic containers, making (if possible) our own juices and using the dishes we have at home.
Reading is undoubtedly a wonderful tool to support those teachings that we offer our children. Sometimes if they listen to, read or look at a story, it is easier for them to understand it. Thus, there are a wide variety of titles in which the protagonist is the environment or nature. "The generous tree", by Shel Silverstein, for example, is a great alternative because it tells the relationship of a child and his favorite tree and how it is generous even when it has nothing else to give (it is available as an audio story on YouTube) .
Another option is Margaret Wise Brown's "Sleep, My Angel" which, although it is a kind of lullaby, illustrates, both in words and images, the beautiful changes of the landscape through the four seasons.



0
0
0.000
7 comments
avatar

Some lovely ideas here for outdoor learning activities.

Are all your images from pexels? If so, it is good to mention that for each image or write a note at the end to say that this is where all the images are from.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Lots of beautiful ways to connect with our earth in you post thank you for sharing. We are lucky to leave close to the beach now and i always say it is a best playground ever. Infinite play opportunities, so many discoveries and the sea air is just magical😊

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for your engagement on this post, you have recieved ENGAGE tokens.

0
0
0.000
avatar
This post seems particularly beautiful to me, as it reminds me of my childhood and also my time as a mother. As children, Mom always instilled in us respect and love for nature. He taught us not to throw waste into public spaces and green areas, unless we were in the open field and the waste was biodegradable, (only fruit peels and seeds), otherwise the garbage was placed in bags that were later deposited in the trash can. He also taught us to love plants, animals and nature in general. Years later I passed this knowledge on to my only daughter, and she in turn did it with my granddaughters. On the other hand, you are doing an excellent educational job if you apply these techniques and recommendations that you indicate with your children, nothing better than a walk outdoors to learn Natural Sciences and at the same time love plants and animals; apply recycling and know about the decomposition cycle of matter and how to take advantage of it to generate compost or create useful articles through reuse. I really liked your post, how beautiful it is. Greetings and blessings.

Este post me parece particularmente hermoso, pues me recuerda mi infancia y también mi etapa como madre. De pequeños, mamá siempre nos inculcó el respeto y el amor por la naturaleza. Nos enseñó a no tirar desperdicios a los espacios públicos y en las áreas verdes, a menos que estuviésemos en campo abierto y los desechos fuesen biodegradables, (solamente cáscaras y semillas de frutas), de resto la basura era colocada en bolsas que luego se depositaban en el cesto de basura. También nos enseñó a amar mucho a las plantas, los animales y la naturaleza en general. Años después yo transmití este conocimiento a mi única hija, y ella a su vez lo hace con mis nietas. Por otra parte, estás haciendo un excelente trabajo educativo si aplicas estas técnicas y recomendaciones que señalas con tus hijos, nada mejor que un paseo al aire libre para aprender Ciencias Naturales y a la vez amar a las plantas y animales; aplicar reciclaje y saber del ciclo de descomposición de la materia y cómo aprovecharlo para generar compost o crear artículos útiles mediante la reutilización. Realmente me gustó tu post, que precioso es. Saludos y bendiciones.


Por aquí pasó El Comentador

Tarot911


@elcomentador es un Proyecto de Curación de Comentarios. Nuestra finalidad es recompensar aquellos comentarios que aporten valor a las publicaciones y fomentar el hábito de comentar en Hive.

Si quieres saber más sobre nuestra filosofía y cómo optar a un voto por parte de nuestra cuenta, lee nuestro post de introducción y únete a nuestro servidor de Discord donde podrás interactuar con otros comentadores, educarte sobre el arte de comentar, enterarte de iniciativas y mucho más.

¡Te esperamos!
¿Quieres aprender más sobre los comentarios y su importancia?

Visita la etiqueta #hivecomments (en la sección reciente) y vuélvete un experto.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you for your engagement on this post, you have recieved ENGAGE tokens.

0
0
0.000