Let me say a few words about this preschool program I have been jointly managing with my colleague Eszter Koródi. We called it the ’Son to Father’ program. For my part, I write and illustrate environmental protection and fictional books. Besides that, I take care of the nursery school teacher training programs in Hungary, where we show nursery school teachers how they could educate their pupils about the environment in the most comprehensive and fun way. The program, which is currently available entirely in Hungarian and partially in English, contains a lot of useful materials but it could very easily be adapted to other languages as well. The materials include textbooks for kindergarten teachers, publications for parents, and workbooks for kindergarten students. We also have a "magic box" with more than 90 colouring pages and 80 worksheets on the topic, these materials are marked by age. In this box, among many other things, you will find a planet memory game. With help of this game, children can learn the planets of the solar system and their order. According to our experience, the protection of life on earth can already be taught in kindergarten. Such a positive approach to education can be measurably effective to reduce climate anxiety and encourage kindergarten teachers to have an enthusiastic attitude. Moreover, we can effectively involve parents in the given topic. In addition, after reading our booklets written for parents, adults can also learn several important pieces of information. Then, they can talk about it in an even more logical and simple way. They can explain to their children what is happening in the world around them and how we humans can cooperate more sensitively with nature.
Our most important topics include the introduction of the Solar system, the special nature of the Earth as a water-based planet in the Universe, telling about the importance of bees and providing practical knowledge to protect bees, the importance of cleaning waters, introducing more important concepts: microplastics, the importance of racial diversity, renewable energies, e.g. getting to know geothermal energy on a wider scale, learning how to think in relation to everything, the interconnectedness of the world and the importance of farmland.
I believe that this environmental protection kindergarten program can shape our attitude and view of the world. It also works well on an international level, since we live on the same Earth and facing the same challenges.