The WMEA Program Manager, Becky Suvar, introduced all the Kindergarteners of Paulding County to good conservation practices using an Earth Cookie. She explained that our Earth is our environment and we need to be good stewards by helping to conserve our land. This activity provided a visual demonstration that illustrates the limits on farmland, making the importance of conservation and recycling important. Using a globe to show what our earth looks like, Mrs. Suvar introduced the concept that the earth is made up of both water and land. But only a small part of the earth’s land is able to grow food to feed the earth’s people. The subjects covered were science, social studies and math. The kindergarteners used skills such as observation and math to divide the earth into segments. This led them to understanding fractions and then categorizing the earth into specific geographic parts. Using a large sugar cookie, the kindergarteners learned that approximately ¾ of the earth is water. What is left is ¼ of the earth. Half of this land people cannot survive on because of the icy regions, deserts, and rocky mountains. The rest of the land we have to share with all the earth’s population, animals, trees, landfills, and land to grow crops. One observation was, if we recycle, we would not have as many landfills and would then have more land to conserve for growing food. The Kindergarteners were excited to share their ideas on how to help conserve our land and therefore help be good stewards of their environment. They were also excited to learn that after decorating the earth cookie with edible food items as gold fish, marshmallows, and chocolate sprinkles they were able to keep the cookie for a snack. The students were given an EARTH COOKIE worksheet to color to remind them of the activity. Oakwood Elementary kindergarteners were the final participants for the Earth Cookie presentation.
