One of the five Early Years Learning Outcomes we aim to foster in all children at our centre is a sense of being connected with and contributing to the world. Currently, our senior children are building on this through a project to re-plant some old, abandoned planter boxes in the back corner of our outdoor learning environment.
This project began with discussions, considering what should we plant in the boxes and why. The educators brainstormed some possibilities then shared a selection of the most viable ideas with the children, asking them to choose which idea they liked the best and raise their hand to vote for their favourite. We counted which idea had the most hands and we had chosen to create a bush tucker garden. Some of the reasons for this were because ……….
“The bees need more flowers from us to eat so they can make honey”. F
“Some trees you can eat and some that are poison”. P
“My Mummy, Daddy are in Australia” T
The educators shared information about the plants which were purchased and explained the areas these were grown in around Australia using a Map as reference, they also explained what some of the traditional uses might have been. Was it for eating, cooking, soaking in water to make tea or heal a wound etc. When our plants grow, we plan to do all these things and can’t wait.
When the day came for the plants to finally be placed into their new homes, the children were very excited. We gathered our garden forks and spades then began to dig.
This project allowed for a meaningful and relevant educational experience which developed the children’s understanding of sustainability practices and broadened an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander perspectives. Through the stages of this project the children were able to develop an understanding of their citizenship, and rights and responsibilities as members of local and global communities.
