{"id":4407,"date":"2022-12-16T05:09:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T05:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourlearningjourney.sg\/?p=4407"},"modified":"2023-03-29T02:46:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T02:46:41","slug":"turning-trash-into-toys-upcycling-for-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourlearningjourney.sg\/index.php\/2022\/12\/16\/turning-trash-into-toys-upcycling-for-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning trash into toys: Upcycling for kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Serene Leong<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A boy and a rabbit went to play in the forest. They met a tiger who wanted to eat them up! Luckily, a hunter came and shot down the tiger. He told the boy and the rabbit to return home. The boy and the rabbit thanked the hunter for saving them and left. The end.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When we give our children free reign to tell their own stories, the sky is the limit for their imagination! But storytelling can be a useful tool to teach important real-life lessons too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This simple story was created and presented by K1 ad K2 children at Little Seeds Preschool (St Andrew\u2019s)<\/a>. But they didn\u2019t just make up a story, they also created 3D characters made entirely out of upcycled products and role played the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of a \u201cProject Upcycling 123\u201d contest organized by social enterprise Preschool Market<\/a> and Republic Polytechnic, preschools were given a box of craft materials for the kids to come up with their own innovative upcycling creations and were required to document the process in photos and videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The objective of this contest was to promote sustainability and the habit of upcycling among children, which is the activity of making new objects out of discarded objects or material \u2013 essentially giving them a second life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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LSP (St Andrew’s children telling stories with cardboard animals they created from upcycled material. Photo by Little Seeds Preschool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Centre Leader of LSP St Andrew\u2019s Candice Koh said: \u201cThis project was also a collaboration with Singapore Kindness Movement where we took the opportunity to teach the children values of kindness through storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe children really enjoyed the drama segment where they could imagine and create their own stories and act it out. They enjoyed adding voices to each of the different characters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcycling is as easy as 123<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The project required five easy stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Firstly, the children decided as a group on what animal sculptures they wanted to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Next, the teachers showed the children how to soften the cardboard materials to make it easier for rolling and bending into 3D art sculptures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Little Seeds Preschool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. With guidance from the teachers, the children rolled the cardboard tightly to ensure the pieces are firm enough, before joining the different parts of the body together with masking tape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The pieces were painted to enhance its aesthetic and make the characters come alive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Little artists at work painting the animal art sculptures. Photo by Little Seeds Preschool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Lastly, the class came up with their own unique stories using the sculptures to tell a story on kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n