Father with little son are planting tree yard

Growing up with a more preserved nature

Every parent wants their children to grow into responsible and good people. Also to develop into a man of strong character. Research has shown that children who grow up with strong, positive values ​​are happier and do better in school. They can also balance their desires and needs with the needs of others and make a positive contribution to society. As a child grows up, he accepts patterns of behavior from adults in his environment. Family relations with society, nature itself is the basic model for a child. The relationship that a child builds with nature is based on family roots.

 

Little kid putting plastic bottle in a trash bag
Little kid putting plastic bottle in a trash bag

What does “strong character” mean?

Character is a set of qualities or values ​​that shape our thoughts, actions, reactions, and feelings. And those are:

  •  Compassion,
  •  Honesty and correctness,
  •  Self-discipline,
  •  Good assessment,
  •  Self-respect,
  •  Courage,
  •  Liability, and
  •  Maintain self-esteem.

 

Character strengthening activities:

  1.  Getting to know others; children need to be shown and taught that other people feel, have beliefs and hopes, just like them.
  2.  Gifts from the heart; a gift that shows effort and attention is usually made and not bought in a store.
  3.  Honesty; the benefit of manipulating or lying to others is an unfair trait and can destroy trust.
  4.  Keep trying, be persistent; being a person of good character often requires patience and adherence to something.
  5.  Decision making; you need to think carefully before making a decision.
  6.  Magic words, caring deeds; good manners are part of showing respect for others.
  7.  There is a monster in my room; for children, fears are real and they must find ways to overcome them.
  8.  Help; children need to learn that as they get older, they can help the elderly more.
  9.  Housework; the child should know that showing these qualities is a good sign to grow up and that he can be given more responsibilities.
  10.  Our heroes; heroes are everywhere and telling stories about them can help children understand what qualities are needed to be a hero and what heroism means.
  11.  Be of use; from an early age, children benefit from their time and effort to help others.
  12.  Coping; they must learn, acquire skills and qualities that will help them survive difficult situations.
  13.  Are you my friend; children need to learn to choose their friends wisely.
  14.  Listen to your feelings; children need to learn to notice their feelings and take them into account when making decisions

 

Connecting with nature
Connecting with nature

Building relationships with nature

If children do not learn the correct values ​​and behavior when they are very young, problems can develop. A very important thing we can do for our children is to help them acquire values ​​and skills that they can rely on throughout their lives. Children’s attitude towards environmental protection is built at an early age, and the main role in this is played by the family. The parent needs to show the child the right attitude towards his environment through his example.

There are more and more parents who are aware of the importance of their behavior in front of their children and the influence in developing positive behavioral habits, but there are fewer who have time to spend it with their children. Children who are more focused on TV and computer games do not have the opportunity to gain their own experiences, and they can gain that most in direct contact with other people and things. Adequate information from adults encourages children to think and ask questions. This, of course, leads to the cognitive (cognitive) development of children in all areas, and as far as environmental protection is concerned, it prepares them to understand this important and very complex issue.

 

Young family exploring countryside
Young family exploring countryside

 

Take care of nature

In addition to staying in nature and adequate activities, where children get to know the living nature that surrounds them through experiments, there are also stories, famous fairy tales, songs, and stories in pictures with certain problem situations (children suggest solutions and choose the best, with explanation).
We have activities where flowers, trees, and vegetables are planted. These are activities within which children follow the process of development of a plant, everything that is needed for it to grow and develop. Later, they take care of these plants, from seed to fruit. They also discover why the animal world is important, such as earthworm, spider, ladybug, bird … What is the role of these animals in nature, and why each animal has a specific behavior related to climate change (the earthworm comes to the surface when it falls rain)?

 

Children collect garbage
Children collect garbage

 

Activity proposal

If people changed some habits and the way they behave towards nature, we could save our planet. And those habits are:

  •  By using less electricity by making sure the lights and appliances are turned off when not in use.
  •  Walking, bus ride, or parking instead of driving.
  •  Maintenance of well-adapted cars and/or purchase of low-emission vehicles.
  •  Recycling.
  •  Use refillable water bottles instead of disposable ones.

Important activity

One of the important activities for you and your child in nature conservation is to join one of the environmental organizations. Find one that is near you, which includes maintaining cleanliness in the woods, maintaining the plants, maybe some volunteer place to take care of the animals.Through creative activities and experiments, you can describe to children the process of the creation of the earth. By studying the characteristics, different types of soil, and their properties, it awakens in the child a natural curiosity for knowledge about nature. Through videos, encyclopedias, going to the natural sources of the earth’s origin, we can bring children closer and realize the importance of preserving our nature on the planet earth.

Every child deserves a relationship with nature that provides us with the conditions for life. In this way you feed the child’s soul. Let’s connect the family with nature, with its charms and try to keep it clean and healthy.

 

Source: Helping Your Child, U.S. Department of Education

Written by

Irena Canji

I am a teacher in kindergarten. I have been working with children aged from three to seven since 2000. Also, I am a mother of two kids. My son is a teenager and my daughter is going to kindergarten. My main goal through the website is to show that the process is more important than the product. In childhood, kids need to play, have fun, learn through their experience.

The content of this website is an interesting activity for children. You don't need special skills, lots of money or too much preparing.

Just smile, only positive energy, and goodwill!