Treehugger Babysitting: Episode 1

Let's redirect Calvin's
energy to socially
productive uses

Hi everyone! This is GEEKs cofounder Katie M-T, and I'm bringing you the first episode in our new series "Treehugger Babysitting". This series will follow my adventures in getting unsuspecting children who I'm babysitting interested in environmental stewardship.
As usual, if you don't have time for this whole post, skip to the bottom to see what I learned, summed up in a single uplifting paragraph.
Also, if you have a story related to this post to share, please let us know! Send us an email at get.geeky28@gmail.com, or leave a post on our Facebook page here.

Why Babysitters?

The author with a young
artist

If you are a babysitter, or have ever been babysat, you
know that babysitters have the ultimate environmental education opportunity: lots of space and resources, a
time set aside that needs to be filled with productive activity, a captive and impressionable audience, and even a paycheck. There's a lot of potential in babysitters and the babysat that treehugger babysitters can put to good use.

First Attempt 

As I started out my nannying job this summer, I knew I wanted to work environmental education into my time babysitting, but I had no idea where to start. I came armed with a few ideas that I thought might work out: some citizen science projects where we would observe the animals in our neighborhood, and another involving taking lots of pictures of trees. 

In hindsight, I guess I should have seen it coming when the kids politely declined these project ideas- after all, there aren't many grade school kids who are as excited about counting the wild turkeys on the sidewalk as I am.

Fortunately, the kids didn't actually have a problem with environmental stewardship projects- I had just picked the wrong ones to start out with.

Ninjas are also sneaky

Sneaky Education

After difficulties with the direct let's-do-some-citizen-science approach (which I'm sure will work for some kids, by the way!), I switched my educational tactics to an age-old, time-tested and more stealthy method: arts and crafts.
The project idea was for the kids to make collages out of magazine clippings and brown bag paper (ooh, recycling...) that would represent what "living green" looks like to them. I expected some flowers, green grass, and a smiley face- but the kids were really into the project and came up with some impressive work and ideas when I asked them why they were adding certain things to their collage.

A view of what 
environmental 
stewardship
means to a ten-year-old

One artist focused on clean water in his collage, and used a tiny Smurf riding on a bluejay to show that different species can live together in harmony. Another collage featured the words "World Peace" and focused on how people from many different cultures and places can work together.
I had no idea beforehand that the kids would come up with such different ideas and explanations for their work. The best part was how much energy and enthusiasm they put into the project- a true victory for sneaky education.

What I Learned

As a high school student, I've spent a lot of time feeling a little underestimated by my teachers. So it's surprising that I so easily turn around and underestimate little kids- I treat grade schoolers like they're people who should be taught, rather than learned from. But in this episode I handed old magazines and scissors to some little kids and watched them come up with art projects that actually made me think about environmental issues from a different perspective. It won't end up in any museums, but I think kids' artwork deserves to be looked at and their opinions listened to- gradeschool kids are really just the youngest part of the youth environmentalism movement.

Calvin must have an
awesome Treehugger
Babysitter.

Join Us!

If you or any small children you know would like to send your pictures about what "living green" looks like to you, please join in our GEEKs Collaborative Art Project and send us a picture of your art! More info here.
Have any of your own GEEKs-related stories you'd like to share? Send us an email at get.geeky28@gmail.com, or leave a post on our Facebook page here. 

Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for the next action-packed episode of "Treehugger Babysitting"!