Reception has been exploring ‘What is Happening to our Planet’ through the book ’10 Things I can do to Help my World’ this past week, which has included looking at the impact of pollution, deforestation and poaching/hunting.
We looked at this through the eyes of the class sea otter – Winnie. Winnie was introduced to the class on Tuesday and rehomed in our class jungle. Each day the children discovered something bad had happened to Winnie! On Tuesday, her home was a complete mess with rubbish and recycling everywhere. On Wednesday, her entire home had been cleared and moved away due to deforestation! And on Friday, Winnie was found caught up in a net made up hunters and poachers.
The children have shown a lot of empathy and compassion for Winnie this week, particularly in caring for her and looking after her home. When Winnie’s original home was destroyed due to deforestation, the children quickly built her a new one. What impressed me most was not the quality of their building, but their teamwork. Some of the children were collecting blocks outside, others were transporting the blocks using wheelbarrows and finally, some children were building Winnie’s new home! You can see the children in action below: