How Do We Teach Young Children About Climate Change?

I was lucky enough to attend the Aura Conference: There is No Path with keynote speaker Tiziana Fillipini on October 5 & 6, 2019. Something she said really resonated with my struggle to bring the issues of climate change into my toddler room.

She began by explaining that the child is not an isolated entity: they are made up of many things such as their relationships, biology, culture, feelings, etc. Tiziana went on to explain that we are all part of a collective relational structure. This is how i broke this phrase down into simple bullet points:

• We are not detached

• We all belong to the same planet

• We are responsible

• We are interconnected

If we believe that we are all interconnected because we share the same planet, we are all living things, etc...then we must also recognize that if the oceans far away are being filled with garbage- this means our water is also contaminated. If the air in Asia is being polluted- our air is also polluted as well.

So how do we bring these HUGE issues to very young children? We ask ourselves some questions: What does it mean to be respectful? What does it mean to be interconnected? What does it mean to be passionate about something? If we encourage the mindset that will help solve issues, such as climate change, then together we can make a difference. What is important in resolving climate change is not only the result, but also how we decide to get there.

I thought it was really eye opening and it is helping me begin to understand how to bring social justice issues to very young children in a way that will have a positive impact on the future of the world.

I hope this post helps you in your interactions with children in your care. If you'd like to have a conversation, or have any questions feel free to reach me through the contact form on the main page of my blog. Thanks for reading!