Green Flag

Green Flag

Green Flag 

Our work: 

This year our school will work to earn our Green Flag through Håll Sverige Rent http://www.hsr.se/. Through this work we aim to help the children develop a respect for nature, an understanding that the relationship between humans is reciprocal and the survival of both is dependent on each other.  We also strive to develop the children's understanding of ways humans impact the environment and what types of things we, as humans, can do to help sustain our environment for the future.  We have chosen the following themes this year: garbage and waste (skrap och avfall), animals and nature (djur och natur) and global participation (global samverkan).  Below you can follow our journey to help make the world a better place! Enjoy!

Theme: Garbage and Waste (Skrap och Avfall)

Paper Free Day Project

Our Goal: 

We will collectively work to reduce the amount of paper used by staff and children in the school by educating the children on the importance of trees and participating in a “paper free” day once a month.  Each group will take their children into the woods and talk about the trees.  The children will learn about the different parts of trees, types of trees and the life cycle of a tree.  We will also learn how to tell the age of a tree.  Each group will choose a tree in the forest and follow it as it changes during the seasons and record the changes using the iPad and other types of technology. We will also talk about the air cycle and the important role of trees.  We will also talk about how trees can be the homes to many animals.  We will also discuss how humans use trees to build homes, make paper and magazines, manufacture things from the syrup and bark and provide food.  This learning will be carried out through the year and projects and activities will be steered by the children’s interests and inquiry. Once a month we will have a “paper free day” day at school.  We will place waste baskets for paper around the school.  At the end of the first month, we will weigh the bags to determine our usual paper waste per month.  We will then have a “paper free” day the first day of the following month. This means no photocopies, no printing, no worksheets, no paper towels, etc.  We will weigh paper at the end of the month and have a “paper free” day every month throughout the year, recording the weight to see how much we reduce our paper waste from month to month.

The children and staff will work together to identify ways we can reduce our paper use within the preschool. We will develop a plan based on the children’s and staff’s suggestions.  

Purpose:

1.  to develop the children's understanding of the parts of a tree and it's life cycle
2. to develop the children's important role trees play in the environment
3. to develop the children's understanding of seasons
4. to develop the children's awareness how trees are needed for life and the impact humans can have on trees. 
5. to develop the children's use and understanding of technology to investigate, explore and create
6. to develop the children understanding of how we can positively impact our environment and awareness of conservation

Connection to the Lpfö-98 revised 2016

The preschool should stress the importance of the environment and conservation.  An ecological approach and positive belief in the future should be characterise with in the school environment and embodied in the pedagogical approach of the preschool.  The preschool should help the children develop a respectful approach to the environment and natur as well as an understanding of his/her role in the cycles of nature. The preschool should also help the children develop an understanding how everyday life and work can be developed sto that it contributes to a better environment for today and the future. 

Choosing Our Tree

Choosing Our Tree

Tagging Our Tree "The Peacocks Tree"

Picking our leaves so we can identify they type of tree

Identifying Our Tree

Activity: 

The children took the leaves from the tree we chose.  Using the i pad they visited the website https://www.skogssverige.se/skog/svenska-trad to identify the type of tree we will be following through out the year. 

Purpose: 

• to use technology to investigate, explore and answer questions
• to learn that there are different types of trees and how leaves and parts of trees can be used to help identify them

Connection to the Lpfö 98- revised 2016: 

The preschool should strive to ensure that each child....

• develop their understanding of science and raltionships to nature, as well as knowledge of plants, animals and also simple chemical processes and physical phenomena

Pressing Leaves

Identifying Our Tree

Identifying Our Tree

Documenting Our Experience

Activity: 

The children started to doucment our Green Flag project, a Paper Free Day, by sequencing the events of our journey thus far and creating books, using the App Book Creator.  First, they used pictures from each step of their experience and sequenced them focusing on language such as beginning, middle, end and first, next, last.  They then told the teacher what they wanted the text to say on each page and recorded their voices for an interactive book.  

Purpose: 

• To develop the children's sequencing and story comprehension skills
• To provide the opportunity for reflection and the opportunity for the children to engage in their own documentation

Connection to the Lpfö-98 Revised 2016

• The preschool shall place emphasis on stimulating each child's language development and encourage take advantage of the childrens curiosity and interest in written langauge. 
• Multimedia and ICT can be used in the preschool in the application of creative processes. 

Drawing Our Tree As It Looks Today

Sequencing The Storyline

Using Book Creator

Chemistry Day:

Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Cycles

Activity: 

Every year, one of our traditions is Chemistry Day.  The children explore different aspects of chemistry and participate in activities and lots of fun projects.  This year, in line with our Green Flag theme: "A Paper Free Day", the children continued to learn about the important role of trees by investigating the oxygen and carbon dioxide cycles.  They participated in experiments to see how oxygen plays a role in combustion (fire), the rusting process and decomposition. The children had a great time testing how long they could hold a cup over a candle before the fire would extinguish. They also had fun seeing who could make it go lowest. 

Child 1: "whoa, it was next to gone!"

They also learned how oxygen plays a role in the rusting process and made predictions about what objects would rust when left in water.  

Teacher: "Now, you guys choose two objects.  One you think will rust and one you think will not, and tell me why."

Child 2: (choosing a paper clip and uno card), "This one will rust (paper clip) and this one will not (uno card)."

Teacher: "Why"

Child 2: "Because this one is metal (paper clip) and this one is paper (uno card)" 

We also talked about how oxygen is needed for decomposition.  The children filled bags with soil and placed a pieces of fruit inside the zip-lock bags.  In the first bag the fruit when directly into the soil and in the second bag the children placed the fruit into another bag, squeezing all of the air out, before placing it into the bag with soil.  Next, they hung the bags in the window so they can visit them periodically in the following weeks and discuss any changes they might see.

Lägg till bildtext

Oxygen and Fire

Oxygen and Rusting

Oxygen and Decomposition

Purpose: 

• To demonstrate ways oxygen plays a role in our everyday life
• To demonstrate how oxygen impacts certain chemical processes 
• To demonstrate the important role of trees 
• Engage the children in hypothesizing 

Connection to the Lpfö-98, Revised 2016: 

The preschool should strive to ensure that each child develops an understanding of science and nature, as well as his/her knowledge of plants, animals, simple chemical processes and physical phenomenon.