Topic

My community

What Stimulates: Imagination, Curiosity Wisdom Preparation and materials:

  • 3 small objects (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green)
  • Paper or your regular notebook
  • Crayons or pencils

OR A collection of small pieces from the house, for example:

  • caps and straws
  • small stones
  • nuts and bolts
  • Pencil
  • Cartridges
  • Toilet paper rolls (inside)
  • big buttons
  • Anything else that is small and can be easily moved to create an image

Recommended ages:

3-5 years - 5-8 years

Why is this activity important?

Allowing children to get to know their neighborhood develops their sense of belonging, relating who they are to the world around them. Children have a keen sense of justice that guides their reality, especially when playing with peers – that's their wisdom. Children question injustice and everything they see that helps them understand the world. It allows children to understand justice and equality, nurture their ethical and moral development, and recognize and imagine the role they can play in positively impacting the lives of others.


How you can do it:

FOR AGES 3-5 AND 5-8 YEARS:

1 - With your child, take a walk around where you live with a curious look. Pay attention to everything you see and everything that is happening – people, buildings, situations, objects. Create time and space to explore what your child can see, touch, hear, taste and smell.

2 - When you get home, find a quiet and comfortable space for your child to represent the neighborhood as he imagines it. You can do this with your child. You can do this in two ways: drawing with pencil and paper or creating an image on a flat surface with the small objects collected in the materials section. Some questions to guide your creation:

- What kind of houses do we go through? What form do they have?

- Did you see anything interesting or new?

- What do you like/dislike in this area? Because?

If you are doing this activity with a 5-8 year old, go to step 3. If you are doing this activity with a 3-5 year old, you can skip step 3 and go to step 4.

3 - When you are done to create your neighborhood, use the 3 colored objects (1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green) for the discussion below. When asking these questions, ask your child to place the colored objects in their creation or drawing. These represent the answers to the questions. For example, if they feel safe at home, ask them to place the green object in the picture of their home in the community.

Green: Where do you feel safe? Who makes you feel safe? Because?

Red: What are the types of violence and things that are not fair (eg when people are not treated properly, when people do not have enough food or housing, etc.) in your community? Why do you think this happens?

Yellow: What places make you feel calm/happy? Because? As you see fit, you can talk about the invisible things in your community: conflicts, situations, or injustices that divide us and that are sometimes present in communities, or even in the home, that differentiate people.

4 - Talk and reflect on what kind of community you would like to live in and what kind of transformation your child would like to see in their communities.

For younger children, you can ask:

  • What kinds of things would you like to see in the community?
  • What things can make people happier?

For older children, you can ask:

  • What would you like to see in our community?
  • What do you think could make people happier, calmer, or safer?
  • How do you think we can help?

Child safety and protection

Depending on your context, take the necessary precautions where you walk. Asking your child about violence and who makes them feel safe/unsafe can start difficult conversations about abuse and violence. Participate in these conversations as an active listener and be open-minded to everything your child has to share. This is an opportunity for them to explore your community and for you to open your heart to hear their perspective.

Tip on how to do this group activity

Prepare to take a tour of your local area with the group, make sure you have enough adults with you to help take care of the kids. Also make sure you have enough materials for the group. If you are working with a group of older children, you can create a large community wall. Afterwards, sit down together to discuss where to place the green, red, and yellow objects . Each child can have their own objects.

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