Lorelli Mojica –  18/09/2022

How will you teach Sustainability in the early years?

How can we help young children’s journeys as active citizens and support their understanding of sustainability?

What is Sustainable Development?

Sustainable development is concerned with meeting the needs of the present generations without having to compromise the ability for future generations to meet their own needs. The Sustainable Development goals form part of the global agenda in which all UN member countries aim to have completed all of the 17 goals by 2030. This article will explore:

• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) handbook designed for early years
• Why is it important to teach about sustainability in the early years
• What you can do in the early years classroom to teach about sustainability 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Handbook for The Early Years

In the lead up to COP26, the Flourish Project is offering a free handbook for practitioners to help them begin to introduce the concept of sustainability to young children. It was designed in partnership with Montessori Europe specifically for young children. In a press release, the Montessori group refer to their role in education as ‘facilitating the preparation of today’s children for tomorrow’s world’.

All 17 of the UN Sustainable Development goals are included in the handbook. The handbook invites practitioners to explore the goals through young children’s eyes. The Flourish project has a set of topics that can be explored with young children, which include: No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education, Gender Equality and Clean Water and Sanitation.

The handbook provides starting points of discussion for each of the 17 topics and then makes suggestions of possible activities that can expand on each of the topics. For example, topics like Poverty can be explored by thinking about sharing and why it matters and encouraging children to think about their own lives. Zero Hunger can be explored by encouraging the children to think about the food that they eat, where it comes from and why some children don’t have enough to eat. A follow-up activity about learning about money and paying for food can be done through role-play to build upon the topic of Zero Hunger. All of the activities are manageable for little ones to inspire them to make the biggest changes. 

Why is it important to teach about Sustainability in the early years? 

Sustainable development begins with education, and it is the most powerful tool to make changes for sustainable development. The children in your class are some of the youngest in society. They have a chance to shape the world in which they live, so they mustn’t be overlooked. Opportunities must be provided for children to understand and experience the meaning of SDG’S to become part of their lives in reality. The first roots of empathy are formed between the ages of 2-3 years of childhood; the general human concept of values is developed by the age of 5; if values are instilled within them in early childhood, the children can make a difference to their  own future. By doing this, you embrace their rights as children to be part of and influence the processes that affect their lives now and in the future.

Picture: Pixabay CC0

What can you do in the early years classroom to teach about Sustainability?

Working with children’s natural love to explore, create, and be curious is very much part of young children’s thinking. This global agenda is important for their future, but it is possible to begin to explore this big issue with small steps. Plant and grow food like tomatoes or cress and make a compost heap in your outdoor area. Activities like this will invite children to get involved hands-on!

Invite children to explore the SDG’s by doing things that are meaningful to them. Through your questioning, you can evoke thoughts and ideas. Ask questions like what is the place where we live like? Where does our water come from? Where does our food come from? The SDG early years handbook is perfect for thinking about this through the eyes of young children. Collect rainwater with recycled containers, and then use them to fill their water tray, or water the plants. This will all make them more aware of the process of how they can help.

Use stories and opportunities to explore as ways to learn about the SDG’s and why they matter.

Make children aware that they have rights and make a difference to the world in which they live in. 

Support children’s abilities to convey thoughts and express opinions, which they can utilise when you look together at each of the different SDG goals.

Be the role model for these young children: When you instil confidence in children to express their opinions, this will help them to become confident influencers of change.

Think about the practical ways which children can learn about the goals that are purposeful and meaningful. In your daily routines you can recycle together. Point out what recycling is and why we need to do it. Separate the rubbish together, sort them into recyclable and non-recyclable piles. Through sensory exploration, invite the children to look and feel the differences in the materials in our rubbish. Talk about where (paper) or other things you find came from. 

Teach them about the SDG’s not only as part of a one-off teaching session but as part of the routines that children are experiencing everyday. Simple things like teaching children how to appreciate the outdoors contribute to teaching them how to love the world they live in. When they go home, telling their parents about what they have done, will be part of the children’s first steps to spread the message.

Understand the importance of these global goals being taught in early childhood. This will plant the seed that will help them grow into active citizens, who make that difference to the world they live in. All of what you teach them will eventually become second nature.