Kindergarten Design T-shirt for Global Giving Project

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By WISS Admin | June 11, 2009

Last week WISS Kindergarten children were engaged in fundraising for the Global Giving Project, which helps provide clean water to children’s hospitals in

China.

The fundraising is part of the “Water Conservation” drive initiated by Kindergarten students, during their exploration of how water is an essential resource and how it is shared by all living things in their Unit of Inquiry within the framework of IB Primary Years Program (PYP). During the Unit, students inquired into the uses of water at home and throughout the school and made connections to water consumption and the availability of water around the world. From their inquiry they identified that water is a resource that is scarce in certain areas of the world and some people in the world are not as fortunate as they are to have access to clean and sufficient water.

The children related this information to how they can “take action”, an essential element in the PYP, to promote an awareness of the way people use water. By doing this the children were thinking about the part they can play in water conservation and what can be done to inform others in an attempt to increase water saving opportunities. They researched possible charities and really wanted to support something locally as well as something relating to water. In consultation with the teachers, the students decided to design a “Water Conservation” t-shirt that details ways to limit their water consumption and effectively save water within their home environments and wider community.

With help and support from their teachers and parents, the students were proactively involved in designing a t-shirt and their inspiration was warmly welcomed by the WISS community which has been exploring opportunities to support charity since its foundation. To date, money collected from t-shirt sales and additional donations totals approximately RMB 6,000.

Early Childhood Coordinator and Kindergarten teacher Fiona Morris applauds the students’ efforts to address the water issue. “Some of the children are taking action in their homes and encouraging their parents to save water. One child has just asked his mother to get a leaking tap fixed in their house,” she said.” By taking this action further, the children are demonstrating their understanding of the issue and their need to act as responsible global citizens.”