Playtime Seychelles blog

Throughout history nature play has happened automatically during childhood. But today that kind of play that has been a cherished part of childhood for so many generations is endangered. Many more people live in cities and suburbs today, where access to wild spaces appropriate for children’s play often are very limited. A lot of children today spend more time indoors and are more or less disconnected from the natural world and it has a huge impact on their health, development and knowledge about nature. Frequent, unstructured childhood play in natural settings has shown to be the best influence to develop life-long conservation values.

.The world’s environmental problems are increasing and it is important to raise a future generation , who have positive views of nature and are willing to take action to protect it. But a lot of children today spend more time indoors and are more or less  disconnected  from the natural world and it has a huge impact on their health, development and knowledge about nature. The disconnection between children and nature is one of the most pressing and overlooked crises in our time.

To give children environmental education for sustainability at an early age, with hands-on experience in nature is more important than ever. Outdoor play promotes a relationship with the natural environment and provides an environmental knowledge and ecological understanding of the world. The future will need ecological literate adults who are able to recognize common plants, animals and interpret what they see in nature. Let children be active learners! Excerpt from” Knowledge about nature starts in nature!” A publication by Playtime Seychelles,

Playtime Seychelles has put together two publications and one story book on this subject that is free for downloading on the blog and can also be read on Calameo.

Content

1. Outdoor play needs to be restored!
2. Loose Parts
3.  Let’s plant
4.  Photosynthesis  
5. Composting with children
6. Make your own compost together with the children instructions 
7. Build a compost bin from pallets

Download Knowledge about nature starts in nature! for free

Read on Calameo https://www.calameo.com/read/004711587c4db20e6727b

In Knowledge about nature starts in nature Part 2 you find nature activities to do with children outdoors. Science, experiment, scavenger hunts, crafts, and some other stuff.

Download Knowledge about nature starts in nature! Part 2 for free

 Read on Calameohttps://www.calameo.com/read/004711587eba4585abc19

Let’s Plant!  In this storybook Jojo and Yxkull are gardening with their friends. They will teach us about plants, about what tools you need when you plant and what makes a seed grow.  

Download Let’s plant! for free

Read on Calameohttps://www.calameo.com/read/004711587c54dcfc4f4f7

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Bullying in childhood is a global phenomenon, a major public health problem, that increases the risk of poor health, social and educational outcomes in childhood and adolescence. These consequences will have an impact on all those who are involved in bullying (bullies, victims and bystanders) and can also affect adulthood.

Students who experience violence and bullying are more likely to have difficulty to develop basic democratic competences, such as empathy, respect for others, openness to other cultures, beliefs and self-efficacy. Bullying also increases the risk of school drop-out. Children who are perceived as being ‘different’ in any way are at a bigger risk of  being bullied. Physical appearance is the most frequent trigger of childhood bullying. Other triggers are

Bullying,” according to professor Dan Olweus, ”poisons the educational environment and affects the learning of every child.

Bullying can destroy 

• a child’s learning
• development and performance in school
• self esteem
• social life
•  emotional well-being

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behaviour mostly among school aged children and involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behaviour is repeated over time. Children who bully use their power, such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, to control or harm others.                                                                                          Definition by stopbullying.gov

School bullying can occur in different educational settings. 

•  inside and outside the classroom
• around school
• to and from school
•  online
• in places such as toilets,changing rooms, corridors
• playgrounds 

Bullying is a behaviour that includes a whole range of actions that cause physical or emotional pain, from spreading rumours, to intentional exclusion, to physical abuse.

• Verbal bullying is to say or write mean things  Verbal bullying includes                                                           
• Teasing
• Name-calling
• Inappropriate sexual comments
• Taunting
• Threatening to cause harm

• Social bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships Social bullying includes:
• Leaving someone out on purpose
• Telling other children not to be friends with someone
• Spreading rumours about someone
• Embarrassing someone in public

• Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:
• Hitting/kicking/pinching
• Spitting
• Tripping/pushing
• Taking or breaking someone’s things
• Making mean or rude hand gestures

• Cyberbullying takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. 
• Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. 
• Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else.
• The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok

Schools play a key role in tackling bullying.

Taking action on bullying is not only a matter of finding better ways of responding to bullying, after they have occurred, it is also about creating a school environment in which bullying is less likely to happen. Research clearly shows, that a positive school climate and culture. is an essential component to bullying prevention.

There is no single method that will suit all schools, but there are some measures for preventing bullying, that are supported by intervention research. The whole-school anti-bullying programmes are fundamental for effective bullying prevention. The program promotes peer support systems and involves active and well-trained teachers and parents, to  create a safe learning environment in which bullying not is allowed. It is essential that the voices of all school stakeholders(all school staff, students and parents/guardians are heard in the process of policy-development.

By equipping everyone in the school with the skills and the framework to identify and manage bullying behaviour, schools can create a supportive and positive environment where bullying has no place.

Many victims of school bullying do not tell anyone that they are beeing bullyied. Depending on lack of trust in adults, including teachers, fear of repercussions or reprisals, shame or concerns that they will not be taken seriously or not knowing where to seek help.

• Some warning signs that a child is bullied
• unexplained cuts or bruises
• damaged or missing clothing, books, school supplies, or other belongings
• loss of appetite
• trouble sleeping
• emotionally reticent
• sudden poor performance or loss of interest in school work
• no longer wanting to be with friends
• asking to stay home sick because of frequent complaints of headaches, stomachaches
• social anxiety or low self-esteem
• feeling moody or depressed

If  schools  do not take action against degrading treatment , the students will set the standards.  

Bully behaviour that is not intervened can lead to 

• attitudes that bullying and violence is positive
• a more disrespectful approach towards others
• hurting behaviours as fully accepted
•  learning to master social situations by bullying others
• learning that bullying can be rewarding

Schools and everyone working within education must ensure that a tolerant, respectful and friendly atmosphere  is spread  in schools and they must set a good example themselves. Under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, schools have a formal duty to  actively stop all forms of degrading treatment.

Article 19 UNCRC states that all children have the right to be safe from “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.”

Bullying prevention programs are vital to implement in schools to ensure that children have safe, supportive and caring learning environments without fear of being bullied and for the achievement of all the SDGs Goals in particular Goal 4.

Dan Olweus, research professor of psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway, was a world-leading expert on bullying problems. Olweus conducted the first systematic intervention study against bullying in the world, which documented positive effects of what is now the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.

Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do

Bullying at School is the definitive book on bullying/victim problems in school and on effective ways of counteracting and preventing such problems.

By Dan Olweus

Click on the link and read about

Bullying prevention program Dan Olweus

When we adults see a cardboard box, we see something that needs to be broken down and taken out, to the recycling bin. I also believe that many of us adults have had that disillusioning experience of buying a toy as a gift for a child and then finding the child prefered to play with the box instead of the toy. 

When children see  a cardboard box, they see the opportunity of the box, like a blank canvas, that is just waiting to be transferred into a space rocket, a car, a doll house, a ship, only limited by their imagination.

For younger children it is a shape and texture to explore, a space to climb into, something to poke, crush or bang. 

Turning a cardboard box into a plaything is an eco-friendly waste-not lesson, we are not only repurposing, but also facilitating a play based learning opportunity. Play-based learning helps children develop social skills, motivation to learn, and even language and numeracy skills. Taking initiative, focused attention, and curiosity about the world, are all a part of play.

Cardboard boxes inspire creativity and imagination as children transform and reinvent them into something else. Cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes are one of the most popular open ended play materials for children and they certainly don’t require an activity sheet or expensive additional materials. What has been found through research and various studies is that open-ended material is the most educational material.

Open ended materials means material, that is not finished and that can have several uses. These materials are the ones that contribute most to interaction and dialogue and also to development. Open-ended materials have multiple uses and limitless possibilities, there are no rules to follow, no expectations, no specific problems to solve and no pressure to produce a finished product. Children can create a purpose for open ended toys and use it as they wish.

As an open ended resource, a box has endless potential!

Provide materials for children to expand their cardboard box play

Provide cardboard box play with natural or manmade objects (Loose Parts), like nature based-wood, plastic-metal, ceramic, fabric-ribbon and packaging.  but also with crayons, tape. glue, water based painting colour,brushes etc.                                                                     

Children can have fun with cardboard boxes of any size.

 Remember to remove any staples or other sharp objects from the box!

Let the cardboard box play grow over time. Don’t throw the project away, try instead to find a place where the children can revisit and add to it. This will increase both the complexity of the construction and their play.

Technology, books and toys can all be effective ways of helping children to learn and explore the world, but sometimes all they really need is a cardboard box.

Low-tech and unpretentious it may be, but the cardboard box has fostered learning and creativity for multiple generations.

The humble cardboard box was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame in 2005.

A Merry Christmas wish Playtime Seychelles all readers and subscribers.

The Christmas season shopping is in full swing and Playtime Seychelles Safety Corner like to put out some reminders to parents and family members to keep toy safety in mind while picking out gifts for young children.

It’s always important to look at age recommendations and any warnings on the packaging. One of the most important reminders when looking for toys is to look for a potential choking hazard

There are a lot of things to consider, when you buy a Christmus Gift for a child. 

Things to consider

Choose sturdy and well made toys, that can stand up against being bitten, tugged, sucked, jumped on and thrown around without falling apart.

Pick age-appropriate toys. Choose toys suitable for your child’s age, abilities and skill level.

 Be sure to follow the age recommendation – particularly the 0 to 3 symbol and the words ‘not suitable for children under 36 months’. Do not buy toys with small detachable parts for children under 3 years of age. Small children tend to put toys in their mouths; they may choke on the small parts.

Look for Toys marked with CE –Label. The CE mark is a commitment from the toy maker, that the toy complies with all EU safety rules, which are amongst the strictest in the world.

 

Eyes and buttons can be a choking hazard.

Small parts such as eyes, buttons and other small parts should be securely fixed to dolls and  toy animals, so they can’t be removed, by pulling or chewing. For children up to three years, ensure, that the doll’s limb or head is not removable, because if the parts are too small they can also become a choking hazard.

 

Rattles or teething rings

Toys that children have in or near their mouth like rattles or teething rings, shall have round forms, which must be large enough, that they do not fit completely into a child’s mouth and not have long narrow shafts. The shafts can get too far in the mouth and harm a child’s throat or block the windpipe. The last warning is especially for children that cannot sit up by themselves.

Filling

Avoid soft toys, that contain filling that is dangerous for your child like plastic beads. If the toy breaks, children under three years old can suffer serious injuries or illness. They can choke on small parts or filling, that they have put in their mouths or inhaled. They can also swallow small parts or fillings. If you feel uncertain ask the shop sales assistant, about what kind of filling, that is used. Look also for for a label that the toy is washable.

Ribbons

Ribbons attached to toys, shall not be longer than 22cm, otherwise there is a risk that the child can get the ribbon around her/his neck and get strangled.

 

Toys With an elastic cord

Toys with an elastic cord, to be attached across a cradle, cot or pram the maximum stretched length of the elastic, should be no more than 75 cm and the length of the elastic, when relaxed should be no longer than 56 cm. The elastic should be enclosed in a tube. It should be removed from the cradle, cot, playpen, pram, stroller etc. when the child is able to sit up unaided, because there is a possibility, that the child could fall forward onto the toy, in a way that would cause a restriction to breathing.

Sounds

Make sure a toy isn’t too loud for your child. The noise of some rattles, squeak toys and musical toys can be as loud as a car horn, even louder if a child holds it directly to the ears and can contribute to hearing damage. The International Standards Organization (ISO) technical committee recommends, that close-to-the-ear toys, should not exceed 65 dB when measured in the free field and all other toys should not exceed 85 dB.

Button batteries

Button batteries can be swallowed or placed in the nose or ears and can cause serious injury or death. Most pass through the body and are eliminated, but sometimes they get hung up in the esophagus. An electrical current can form in the body and hydroxide, an alkaline chemical, can cause tissue burns that can be fatal.

Battery-operated toys should have battery cases, that secure with screws so that kids cannot pry them open.

• When checking a toy for a baby or toddler, make sure it’s unbreakable and strong enough to withstand chewing so batteries can’t fall out.
• Check toys regularly to make sure that they aren’t broken or unusable.
• Throw away broken toys or repair them right away.

Before wrapping a gift 

Remove packaging, prize tags and other things and discard packaging immediately, before giving the toy to a small child. Make sure your child does not play with plastic packaging, as there could be a risk of suffocation.

 Read and follow the instructions for proper toy assembly and use. Keep the instructions and information, that are packaged with the toy in a safe place.

Ribbons and wrapping paper

Bright colors make these attractive to children but these items can pose suffocation and choking hazards to a small child. After gifts are opened, remove all wrapping papers, bags, paper,  ribbons and bows ,put them into a garbage sack right away. Even stray pieces of gift wrap or plastic ties from packaging can pose a choking hazard 

Do not let children play with gift wrappings. 

You can read Playtime Seychelles Publication “Safe to play with!”

https://www.calameo.com/read/004711587c68025042c50

or download it as PDF for free

safe to play with!

Playtime Seychelles wrote a blog some time ago, with the title was “Let litter into education”, The blog inspired us to initiate a small project with the same name. This project could give all children the opportunity to acquire an ecological and caring approach to their surrounding environment and to nature and society. An understanding of how people, nature and society affect each other, and also of how different choices people make in everyday life can contribute to  sustainable development. The project is also in line with Playtimes’ beliefs that education should be defined as a belief in the future. 

This project also addresses a real world issue, gives the opportunity for students and adults to work together, a hands on experience, that teaches respect for the environment responsibilities, recycling, sustainable development etc.

We like to give you the opportunity to use this project, you can use parts of it, rewrite, use it as an inspiration source.

This project does not need to cost a lot of money, but more of voluntary work. There is a lot of material both for adults and students, that you can download for free from the internet. Contact the local waste management  company and ask them for help with garbage bins, recycling bins, gears to pick litter with etc. They will surely help out. Involve the parents but also other adults that live in the neighbourhood, local governments, media etc.

If you start the project, please email us about your progress, project description etc. and please send some photos. We will publish the material on the blog. This can inspire others to follow your example.You find our email in the sidebar

 Let us share our knowledge with each other for the benefit of our children’s future.

You can read the project below and download it as a PDF for free.

Project name: Let Litter into Education

Preface:

Littering is a huge environmental threat one can witness in all urban areas. Streets, sidewalks, parking lots, roads and highways are mostly covered with food wrappers, soft drink and water bottles, plastic bags, handbills, cigarette butts, tissues, papers etc. Litter affects the environment negatively and the major impacts involve the danger to public health,endangering, or killing wildlife and serious damage to waterways, oceans and marine life. Based on recent data, 7 billion tons of debris enter the world’s oceans annually and most of it is long-lasting plastic. 

Background

As an educator I know that education is one of the most effective tools when it comes to shaping the future. Our youngest generation is the future, so it is extremely important that we encourage good habits in children from a young age and educate children on the importance of reducing litter and waste from an early age.

Target Groups 

Students in school, preschool and creche

Purpose 

To put litter into the curreclicum will give children the opportunity to learn about the environment and the role they can play in improving it. A  concrete and important environmental issue such as littering is a good pedagogical starting point in learning for sustainable development. To educate students about the effects of litter and influencing attitudes are key steps towards behaviour change and litter reduction in the community as a whole.

Project  Goals

To keep the schools-preschool and neighbourhood litter-free. To give students a hands-on experience that teaches them responsibility skills and gives a respect for the environment and their surroundings.  To encourage children to take pride in their school and neighbourhood.

Activity Goals

Here are some  ideas that could be done in schools. preschool and creche, anywhere to prevent littering.

Set up a Clean School, Preschool or Creche  program together with the students, to change the littering behaviour.

• Children can be encouraged to create posters which they can put up around school or preschool also in corridors, classrooms, staff rooms and in the local community. The posters could encourage everybody to dispose of their litter correctly.
  
• Children can come up with their own litter slogans.
  
• Raise public awareness regarding litter, by letting the students making a ”This is a Litter Free Zone” sign to be displayed outside the school.
  
• Plan litter picking activities in and outside of the School-Preschool frequently.
  
• Have recycling bins in every room, including staff rooms, kitchen and also outside on the yard. Recycling will introduce students to the three environmental R’s recycle, reuse and reduce and also to a circular economy. The recycling and waste bins should be labeled clearly to avoid that the waste gets mixed up. The students can help to make labels to the bins.
  
• Let all students become Litter-Free Ambassadors to take the message home to their siblings, parents and grandparents.
  
• The school /preschool can initiate programmes like” Adopt a place, a park or street” in the neighbourhood and the staff and the students can spend some compulsory hours every week doing community work to clean up the area.
•  Involve parents to take action in the preschool/school/creche/ neighbourhood litter free programmes.
• Pedagogical material for different ages
• Fact material for teachers
• Media involvement
• Emigrate the ideas to neighbouring schools, preschools and creches
• Study visits for students to landfills
• Study visits for students to recycling centers
• safety aspects and risk assessment.

Accident happens!

The website went down and sadly we were not able to save and restore it.

We had to start from scratch and rebuild it. It took some time, but we are back on track again! We are working on restoring the old blogs. Hopefully we will be able to upload them on this new site. Keeping our fingers crossed!