Hi There!

Welcome to Kids Zone – full of stories, games, quizzes, ideas and eco activities for kids!

Games, Fun and Learning More:

Climate Change?  Want to know more?  Want to be part of the action?
There are lots of fun games which help us to explore and understand about climate change and learn what we can do about it.

Would you like to:

Play the Planet Change Card Game

Go on journeys to other countries and find out about climate change there! (PowerPoint)

Compare climate patterns between Bangladesh and the UK

Try the greenhouse gas animation!

Hear what Jemima (Kenya) eats for breakfast (video)

Find out where your food comes from (PowerPoint)

And many more activities Then go to Climate Choices – Children’s Voices

What about:

Making an eco house

Tipping some litter in your church!

Going wild in the Lakes

Creating Planet Earth

A wildlife word search

Planting a cross – of daffodils

Writing an eco poem

Writing a Beasty Bug Prayer

Stories and much more....

Try these as well:

CAFOD Kidzzone: full of real life stories, world photo album, games, things to do, hot topics and 'Go Green With CAFOD' screen saver.    Download the latest fun screen saver.

Picture My World

Planet Pulse Game: Take a planet health check with the climate doctor!

Tikki the Penguin! Make a kinder world for penguins… and others! A fun and action website for children at oneworldnet children’s channel:

Books

Churches Together in Cumbria has produced a reading guide with recommendations of good books for kids.

Sharing the Message with Others:

Posters:

See this intriguing poster. ‘A Conversation between Global North and South’ You could design your own conversation!

Write an eco song covering some of the issues of God, his creation, climate change, poverty and justice:

Go to Songs and Hymns to see a song written by young people.  It won a competition.

Play music, using ‘musical’ instruments made from recycled stuff. Ask your youth leaders to help you make the instruments and use them at church activities. You could also make up some new songs or hymns about God’s world and what he wants us to do with it.   More information here.

Show a DVD/power point presentation:
There are plenty on various sites: Arocha UK, Tearfund, etc. Here are just a few but you can find plenty of others:

Your Kingdom Come (CAFOD)

Operation Noah Video Page
Miniature Earth: If the world population was 100 people it would look something like this.
This is a short, attractive and compelling 4 mins. presentation, giving faces and statistics of who has what in our global village.

The Inconvenient Truth: Al Gore’s presentation
A Rocha: a variety of DVDs for children and adults

Make your own DVD or power point presentation: Involve others in the production (younger children, etc.)  It could be quite short, just  a ‘taster’.

Drama, Quizzes:
Use a drama or quiz in services and other church events to focus on the issue of climate change in a fresh and challenging way:
Change Greed to Green by Tom Hiscock.
Degrees of Change: A New Play for Teenagers:  This is a fast-paced, thought-provoking and entertaining play (40
mins.) which follows the lives of a group of sixth formers from Manchester.
Operation Noah Day Puppet Show by Ruth Jarman - Short simple play 
Tearfund Devotions and other activities
Dramas for Children

CAFOD interactive quiz, power point, games, etc.

Working with Young People for many ideas, games, quizzes, drama, etc.

The 'Eighth Day' Drama:

‘The Eighth Day’: God is pretty pleased with everything after the seven days of creation.  But things start to go wrong on the eighth day!  Find out more? ‘The Eighth Day’.  You could even write and perform your own drama!   
Photo: Operation Noah

Act out your own short eco drama: This could be a dramatised Bible story or a modern one.  You could even write your own short drama!   It could even be interactive and involve the audience.  It could even have different optional endings according to the eco ideas/choices made by the audience!  .

Action:

Get a 'Good Green Footprint:

This is a bright illustrated step-by-step guide, showing you how to make all sorts of simple things that link in with the reduce, reuse, recycle idea.

How about joining or forming an Eco Action Club?

See also Eco Schools

Look also at Schools Zone for some great ideas for schools.

Help your Church become more eco friendly:

Go to Eco Congregations Module 4 Acorns to Oaks

Think Globally and Act Locally:

Take a Look at the World:What we do here in Cumbria, the UK and Europe affects girls and boys and their families around the world.  Look at ‘If the World was a Village of 100 people’ and  'Miniature Earth'

Link with Kids in a Church in a Poorer Country: Ask your youth leader/s whether the children in your church could link with children in a church in a poorer country, affected by climate change.    They can find out how to make the link.  You could then write to each other, share your stories with each other, pray for each other and encourage each other in eco action in your own communities.

For further ideas see also:
Kids Zone (Cafod)
'Kidzone' at Christian Ecology

Campaigning:

Your voices can make a difference!  Children, here and around the world are speaking out and bringing about changes.

Photo: CEL

See also: Youth Zone, Schools Zone, Speaking Out (Campaigning)