15: What If Everybody Did That?

 Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

-Vincent Van Gogh

Small acts of kindness have the remarkable power to create a ripple effect that extends beyond the awareness of the giver. A simple hug, offering a smile to a stranger, or helping a friend in need can set off a wave of positivity that could multiply when the act of kindness is paid forward by the receiver.

Conversely, a single poor choice, when multiplied by many, can have a big impact on the world.

This week, we began our inquiry on trash and how our actions affect our environment by reading a book called What If Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernick.

Through a simple question, the book underscores valuable lessons about the consequences of our actions, regardless of how small we think they are. For every poor choice -- such as wasting water, playing with our food, or throwing trash on the street -- the children reflected on what would happen if everybody copied that choice. They all agreed that it will be a messy, messy world, indeed.

To tune in on the concept of trash, I read another book called How Garbage Gets From Trash Cans to Landfills.

In inquiry-based learning, finding out the children's prior knowledge builds a foundation for how we navigate the inquiry. It also helps to frame a more relevant and meaningful process of learning for the children. As we read through the book, the children shared what they know about trash and the process of disposing them.

"Trash is stinky!"

"A garbage truck gets the trash!"

"Trash cans have different colors for different kinds of trash."

"If people throw a banana peel on the floor and someone steps on it, they might slip."

"When you bury trash in the ground, it will turn into soil." ("What if it's plastic?" I asked)

"Some trash are in the ocean."

"We can use old bottles to make art."

"We can recycle!"

"We can give our old toys and clothes to others."

We also discovered that there are other words we can use apart from trash such as rubbish, garbage, and waste. It was quite impressive to see the many connections that the children were able to make based on what they already know and what they learned from the book.

After unlocking the word, I asked the children,

"What if someone doesn't throw their trash properly...

...and everybody did that, too?"

"There will be trash everywhere!" the children said.

Unfortunately, this is a sad reality. Not everybody does it, but there are more than enough to make a big impact on the world. We looked at different photos of places where trash is in abundance, and not disposed of properly.

Each child picked one photo to zoom into. We used a visible thinking routine called See-Think-Wonder to allow the children to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations of what they see.

It was the first time we tried this thinking tool as a class and we sat down with the children individually to help them express their ideas better. I was amazed at all the insights the children shared. I truly am so proud of how much they are growing into thinking, inquisitive, and reflective students.

Now that we know that this is happening, what is our next step?

"What if one by one, we make kinder choices everyday...

...and everybody did that too?"

Can you imagine what our world will be like?

We already make kind choices in Kindergarten 2 but now, we are also trying to plant small but intentional acts of kindness. After all, the little seeds that we sow grow into bigger and beautiful things...

...like a field of tulips, perhaps? 😀

Here's an idea:

What if instead of throwing trash, we throw kindness around like confetti?

What do you think will happen if everybody did that? 😊

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Your Kindergarten teacher,

Pam

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