Suggested activities for children

There are lots of ways you can engage your child and help her or him understand climate change better. Here are just some ideas from the team at Operation Noah of how you can include children in local acts of relection, worship and action on climate change.

1. Decorate a paper dove, or other bird. The idea is that children can decorate a bird and then pin them on a board or hang them by thread somewhere in the church. Resources: good quality paper for template bird shapes, crayons, felt-tips, feathers, glitter etc.
2. Write and draw your favourite thing about the current season. The idea is that children can write as much or as little as they like and draw pictures about aspects of the current season they enjoy or are looking forward to apart from shopping, receiving presents or going abroad on holiday, eg: if it is near Easter, then encourage children to write/draw about aspects of Easter other than receiving Easter eggs, such as making decorations; if it is summer, then children might write/draw about going to the park after school. The aim is to reinforce the message that many of the good things in life do not involve consuming. The stories and pictures can be posted on a notice board. We would encourage some of these to be sent to us so we can post them on our website. Resources: different rainbow-coloured paper and pencils for children to write/draw their thoughts. If there were enough they could be pinned up in a rainbow shape in the church.
3. Write and draw your favourite thing about Christmas apart from presents. Similar to the previous activity, the idea is that children can write as much or as little as they like and draw pictures about aspects of Christmas they are looking forward to apart from receiving presents, eg: singing carols, making Christmas biscuits, decorating the tree, visits from relatives etc.. To reinforce the idea that Christmas is not just about shopping and receiving the latest toys or gadgets. Again these stories and pictures can be posted on a notice board. And we would love some of these to be sent to us so we can post them on our website. Resources: different rainbow-coloured paper and pencils for children to write/draw their thoughts.
4. Complete a map of the world with endangered animals. The idea is that children can draw/trace and colour an animal that is endangered, eg: polar bear, tiger, parrot, whale etc and pin them on a large map of the world hanging in the church. Resources: a comprehensive list of animals and where they live, a large, at least A1 scale map (can be hand drawn on card), animal shape templates, paper, scissors, colouring crayons and pens.