Early adolescence or those pre-teens might find activities they enjoyed before now becomes boring. This includes nature. This stage that spurts in physical, social, emotional, and mental development come with the onset of puberty.. It is a very challenging stage for children at this age as they are developing their own sense of self.
Most of them are less family-oriented and seek out their peers. They love talking on the phone, using their gadgets, changing from one best friend to another, and their natural tendency is to band together.
With this, how can a teacher get the attention of these children to green school projects without feeling bored? Making it fun and using the imagination seem not to work at this age. The best strategy a teacher can use is relationships. Here are some doable tips you can use so that your students can have a lasting relationship with nature and have fun with it:
- Make the green project the venue for the social scene
- Take lots of pictures
- Vary the activities
Initiate the project as a team or group work where friends can group together. Allow them to come up with their own green theme and ideas on how to go about their project. Let the project be an avenue for them to be together instead of communing with nature. Of course, there are students who love to be with nature but there are those who just do not feel they fit. Let these students just enjoy the chore together and do not stress them out by emphasizing the nature aspect of the project.
This age group just loves pictures and taking lots of them while doing the activity not only lessens the boredom but they may also get inspired doing their chores better to come with more beautiful gardens that are good to look at in photographs.
Offer many kinds of gardening activities they can do or let them create their own greening activities.
References:
S.E. Hamkins and R. Schultz (2006). Mother-Daughter Project. How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds, and Thrive Through Adolescence.
T. Grant and G. Litttlejohn, editors (2009). Teaching Green, The Middle Years. Hands-on Learning in Grades 6-8.
This We Believe. The 14 Characteristics. National Middle Schools Association. Retrieved from
http://www.nmsa.org/AboutNMSA/ThisWeBelieve/The14Characteristics/tabid/1274/Default.aspx on September 15, 2014.
By: Lilibeth G. Navoa | Teacher I | Alauli Elementary School | Pilar, Bataan
