Children

Children who discover and learn to love nature early will develop motivations that last a lifetime. The International Environment Forum is therefore collecting educational materials on the environment for children starting with some below, largely prepared by the American Bahá'í community.

To the Children’s Class Teachers: Every child is a noble being with latent gifts and capacities that are valuable to all humanity. For a new generation to create a better world, however, those children require spiritual education to develop the beliefs, habits and behaviors that are conducive to the advancement of civilization. The curriculum used in Baha’i children’s classes around the world places emphasis on learning to think, to reflect and to apply spiritual laws to the life of the individual and society. To build on the groundwork laid by the curriculum, the following materials are offered as a resource for children’s class teachers seeking to plant the seeds of environmental stewardship and justice in the fertile soil of their pupils’ young hearts. One suggestion is to integrate themes that relate to climate change, nature and the environment with lessons from the Ruhi Institute curriculum. When possible, teachers may wish to accompany the lessons with an outdoor activity for hands-on exploration of the beauty and wonder of the natural world.

Objective: To integrate awareness about nature, the environment, and Earth’s changing climate into virtues lessons carried out by classes promoting Baha’i spiritual education of children, and to share ideas with children’s class teachers for earth-friendly activities and learning materials.

Included below are:
• Reference to four selected lessons in Teaching Children's Classes - Grade 1, the Ruhi curriculum for Baha’i spiritual education of children: each lesson covers a spiritual principle that relates to how children can help protect the environment.
• Selected pages from an award-winning environmental issue of Brilliant Star Magazine, a Baha’i publication for children. (Links to PDFs of these pages are provided.)

Children's Classes Grade 1 - Selected Lessons:
The following citations of lesson materials refer to the book—titled Children’s Classes, Grade 1*—used to offer Baha’i spiritual education to all children of that grade level in the community. Based on the belief that the education of children is essential to the transformation of society, the materials seek to start small children on the path towards developing the spiritual qualities needed to draw closer to God.

• “Humility,” Lesson 9, pp. 34-36
• “Justice,” Lesson 2, pp. 15-18
• “Equity and Compassion,” Lesson 13, pp. 45-48
• “Kindness,” Lesson 16 pp. 53-55

* Note: Lesson and page numbers could vary depending upon the version of the book being used, since the contents are constantly evolving. Children’s Classes, Grade 1, Prepublication Edition (Version 1.2.1.PE.IN, Ruhi Institute) was used to create the above references.

Many Bahá'í communities have trained teachers using this book and classes are open to all children. If you are interested in joining with others using this book, please find a Bahá'í community near you and ask about children’s classes.

The United Kingdom published a special issue of its children's magazine in 2023, Our Amazing World

The American Bahá'í community children's magazine Brilliant Star has published special issues and articles, such as
Harmony with Nature
The Beauty and Importance of Wild Plants and Animals
and for Parents: Talking with Kids About Climate Change
Activities That Empower Kids to Save the Earth
ANSWERS to Brilliant Star magazine activities

Brilliant Star activities:
We have extracted the following activities from Brilliant Star, which can be used with the lessons above or other children's class materials. The first was the March/April 2009 issue of Brilliant Star titled “Caring for Our Planet” which won the 2010 APEX Award of Excellence for Green Writing. The issue was produced in observance of the “UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014.”

“Caring for Our Planet” March/April 2009 (Download pdf files)
p. 4 Happy Earth Day song (Pair with the lesson on Humility)
p. 5 How Big is Your Footprint (Pair with the lesson on Justice)
p. 7 Spring Fling Fun (Pair with the lesson on Equity and Compassion)
p. 10 Message in a Bottle (Pair with the lesson on Kindness)
p. 20-21 Forest Photo Expedition (Pair with the lesson on Equity and Compassion)
p. 28 Living in a Green House (Pair with any of the four lessons!)

Learning About Climate Change
Global Warming Isn’t Cool – Article with diagram
Maya’s Mysteries: How Earth Heats Up – Science Experiment
Climate Change: Myth or Fact? – Online Interactive Quiz OR PDF Quiz
Stuart and Gabriella: Curious about Climate Change - Quiz
Polar Pals – Animal matching
Developing Virtues and Skills
Stuart and Gabriella Tree-mendous Teamwork – Word puzzle
Positivity for Our Planet – Reframe negative thoughts
Well-Wishers of Humanity – Explore a Bahá’í quote about service
Taking Action to Help the Planet
Maya’s Mysteries—Mission: Planet Earth – Checklist of actions
Stuart and Gabriella’s Earth Challenge – Challenge list of actions
What Shade of Green are You? – Quiz to find your path of service
My Path to Going Green – Word search about environmental careers
Recycling and Upcycling
An Urgent Message – Word scramble about plastic
Your Actions Add Up – Math activity
Robot Recyclers – Word scramble
Nur’s Nook: Turn Trash into Treasure – Upcycle a garbage bag into a kite
Nur's Nook: Feathered Friends – Make a bird feeder from recyclable materials
Maya's Mysteries: Precious Paper – Make your own recycled paper
Being a Moderate Consumer
Are You a Shopping ZOMBIE? – Picture find
Stellar Shoppers – Complete the tips
Riley’s Rainforest: Moderation Is Magic – Article
Materialistic Monster Mayhem – Word search
Appreciating Nature through the Arts
Building a Green Future – Imagine and Draw
Green City of the Future – Drawing page
Your Outdoor Expedition – Draw and investigate
Your Nature Journal – Write and draw
Maya’s Mysteries: Art of Science – Exploring art and science together
Stuart and Gabriella: Nature Detectives – Color and find
Stuart and Gabriella’s Coral Reef Clean-Up – Color and find
Treble Chef’s Music Café: Can You See the Connection? – Sheet Music
Treble Chef’s Music Café: Through the Woods – Sheet Music
Maya’s Mysteries: The Gift of Nature – Creative outdoor activities
Learn and Play: Puzzles and Activities
Wetland Wonders – Maze
Exploring a World of Wonder – Five outdoor activities
Stuart and Gabriella: Rivers Rock – Word puzzle
Maya’s Mysteries: The Great Outdoors – Nature activity checklist
Earth-Friendly Heroes
Shining Lamp: Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum – She traveled the world and promoted love for Mother Earth
Shining Lamp: Richard St. Barbe Baker, Man of the Trees – He started tree-planting programs and other environmental initiatives
Shining Lamp: Vinson Brown – He founded a publishing company focused on nature
Stargazer: Interview with Peter Adriance – Working with others to save our planet
Stargazer: Interview with Dingo Brown – Helping kids explore nature
Wonders of Wildlife
Stuart and Gabriella: A Delicate Balance – Hidden letters
Stuart and Gabriella: Wondrous Wildlife - Matching
Maya’s Mysteries: Now Hear This – Match each animal with its hearing superpower
Fin, Fur, and Feather Families – Matching
Diversity Down Under – Matching
Sanctuary in the Sea – Picture Find
aMAZEing Adventure: Eager Beavers – Maze
The Lost City – Bird Picture Find
Spot the Cheetahs – Picture Find
Chimpanzee Chatter – Picture Find
Cooperative Crocs – Word Fragments
Fox Families – Picture Find
Treetop Community – Great Blue Heron Picture Find
Cooperative Colonies – Penguin word scramble
Jungle Generosity – Monkey Picture Find
Octopus Adventure – Picture Find
Panda-monium – Missing Letters
Surprising Squid – Picture Find
Get a Jump on the Future – Squirrel Picture Find
Stuart and Gabriella: Turtle Troubles – Picture find
ANSWERS to magazine activities