- Key idea: There are better ways to deal with things that you no longer need – e.g. Involve the children in Recycling, Upcycling, Reuse, Repair, Giving, and Sharing activities (UC5.2).
Title: The House Full of Stuff
Author: Emily Rand
Illustrator: Emily Rand
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Publication Date: 2019
ISBN: 978-1849766623
A boy befriends a neighbour who loves collecting useful junk that he uses to fix and mend things with.
Emergent learning:
Sustainable consumption requires the use and purchase of products and services that minimise the impact on the environment. As we make these decisions as adults we can share our successes and frustrations with our children so that they become critical sustainable consumers themselves in the future. To do this we need to share and review product information.
One of the things we are up against is ‘planned obsolescence’. As informed consumers we can exert our purchase power to discourage manufacturers building in early obsolescence, and we can campaign for more sustainable alternatives. Products are sometimes deliberately designed to have a limited lifespan to encourage us to make repeat purchases, but this can only increase a producers profits if we continue to buy the products. Examples include the design of products that make repairs difficult or impossible, the release of software updates that reduce the speed or functionality of older devices, and the ‘smart chips’ introduced into ink cartridges to prevent their use after a certain period or page count.
Activity recommendation:
In our preschools and at home we can share the task of making repairs – to our story books , toys and resources with the children, and we can draw their attention to the work of caretakers and other maintenance staff who care for our shared buildings, furnishings and fittings.
Popular TV series such as The Repair Shop have encouraged the development of a wide range of community repair ‘cafes’ networks and services where volunteers take pride in bringing things back to life. Community repair projects are increasingly creating welcoming spaces to bring people together, share skills and do something positive and practical together that feels really worthwhile and good!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08l581p
Other Book Recommendations:
Recommendation reason:
Involve Me 