How long does decomposing take?

Age: 3-6 years
Materials:

• leftovers from the lunchboxes. ex. an empty yoghurt carton, a banana peal, a piece of tin foil etc.
• a shovel
• a marked piece of soil where it's okay to dig down some garbage and you will be able to find it again.
• a journal to write down the children's observations
• if possible a camera to take pictures of the process.

Process:

1. Have the children select some garbage from their lunchboxes and have a talk with them on what they think will happen to it if we dig it into the ground. Make sure to write down their thoughts in the journal. If possible take a picture of the selected items.
2. Bring the items to the selected piece of soil and have the children dig them down. If they want to, the children can make a sign for their "garbage garden".
3. Every week bring the children back and dig up the garbage to see what have happened to it. Talk about the children's observations and write them in the journal. If possible take pictures every time to eater glue into the journal or make a poster in the classroom where the children can look at them and follow the process.
4. Keep the journal somewhere the children can get to it to show their parents.

Retelling

Age: 3-5

Group: 5-7 kids

Let us say that when you were out walking with the children today, you saw a squirrel. You also fed some sheep, you picked some flowers and you made oatmeal over the fire.

All we do is excellent starting points for retelling and describing stories. Gather the group, for example in a circle. Start by writing for example:

"What did we do today?"

Let everyone say one thing they did this day, taking turns. Take everything the children are saying seriously, and write down what they say. Examples of what you might get is: "We walked" or "we saw a squirrel" or maybe "we saw a dead mouse". 

The next round you could ask: "Where did we walk" or "what color did the squirrel have".  Keep asking questions, challenging the kids to explain and use their words. Put the complete story at the door or in the children's boxes, so that the parent can read it.

Storytelling

Age: All

Group: Unlimited

Materials: Story, specification materiall

What could be more magical than listening to a story about trolls when you are out in the forest? Trolls, superheroes, magical animals and listening to these out in the nature. Gather the children in a circle so that all faces are facing you, and use specification material. This way you make sure all the children know what you are talking about, and you help expand their conceptual understanding. 

Try to make the story time as magical as possible, maybe you could make a fire and gather the children around it? And maybe you could use the sounds in the forrest?

Moose Hunt

Age: 4 – 6 yrs.

Group: small group

Materials: wooden “guns”

Many families in Norway go hunting. An activity that exposes children to the hunting tradition while reinforcing safety and team work is a mock moose hunt. Preface the activity with pictures and talk about different large animals’ characteristics, where to find and how to identify a moose. Give the children simple wooden “guns” and demonstrate proper safe handling (of course to never point them at other people). Then together in a small group go on a hike through the forest, practice waiting quietly and radio to the rest of the “team” when you get a “shot”. As a teacher, you have the opportunity to teach and reinforce the safety involved in a real hunt and you get to have fun playing along. 

Open questions

Who made flowers? And how?

Ages: 3-6 years old

Group: 3-5

Materials: non

Gather a group of 3-5 children, and sit them down at the ground. Ask them open questions an what we see: flowers, birds, sticks, and so on. Who made that flower? How was it made? Who made that bird? Maybe ask them the popular question of the "chicken and the egg". It is important that we do not present any answers, mainly because the children are allowed to use their own belief to find the answers.

What Time Is It Mr. Wolf? An Animal Version.

This Mr Wolf measures time by steps of an animal. It is a great way to make the children reflect upon the size and movements of deferent species.

Age: 3-6
Group: 5-14
Materials: non

One player is chosen to be Mr Wolf. Mr Wolf stands at the opposite end of the playing field from the other players, facing away from them. The other players stand on a row.

Now the group yells: What time is it Mr Wolf?
 and Mr Wolf answers: (insert number) steps of a (insert animal name)

now the players can take the amount of steps mentioned in the size of the animal. Ex. "two steps of a mouse" equals two tiny steps.

When Mr Wolf thinks that the group are close enough he changes his answer to: LUNSHTIME!!!

And now Mr Wolf has to catch one of the others. The one he catches becomes the new Mr Wolf.

Recycling garbage

Age: All

Materials: Disposable gloves or antibacterial gel, and plastic bags, string, paint, glue

Children often notice garbage along the road or in the forest. By always having plastic bags and disposable gloves or antibacterial gel in you pocket or backpack, the children is able to help keep our nature clean.

When you arrive back in your kindergarten, all could go through the garbage and find things to use in the making of a "Uro". Include the children in this, they might have other and better ideas then us. The rest of the garbage you recycle in the trashcan.

Give the children paint, glue, string and maybe a hanger or some sticks you found on the road. Let them make the "Uro" they would like, and for example hang them up in a tree.

Examples