Workshop facilitated by Diane Boyd, Senior Lecturer in Early Years, Liverpool John Moores University to GWT's National Conference on 6th March 2019 in Glasgow.

1. Research around
intergenerational
sustainable skills.
THE EVERTON TRIAL, LIVERPOOL F C TRIAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS.

2. Early Childhood Education for
Sustainability
 Define education for sustainability .
 On your table discuss what you think it is and use the large paper to start a
mind-map.

3. Early Childhood Education for Sustainability
 There are three pillars of sustainability, which are economic, environmental and social,
and they are all interrelated (Brundtland, 1987).
 Add what you think the 3 pillars represent ?
 Why is early years important ?
Early childhood is seen as a transformative period where children’s attitudes and foundations
for life are laid. The principles of education for sustainability reflect a holistic and
interconnected approach, similar to the ecological context of early childhood.

4. The importance of the missing pillar -
agenda 21
 What do you think could be the missing from the three pillars ?
 This trial demonstrated the importance of sharing old traditions and new
beginnings.
 http://www.agenda21culture.net/sites/default/files/files/documents/en/zz_cultur
e4pillarsd_eng.pdf

5. Social – Cultural integrated model .
 The café implemented a social- cultural integrated model of early childhood,
bringing generations within communities together, to work towards a more
sustainable society in England recognising the ecological systems theory.
 Our culture is more fragmented now with fewer families living near to each other or
sharing experiences together .
 Children do not necessarily live near their grandparents and more elderly people
now live in care or residential homes, rather than within the family context.

6. Define Intergenerational
 What does it mean to you ? Add this to your mind map.
“Bales , Eklund and Siffin (2000:677 ) maintained that “Developing
positive attitudes towards elders has become increasingly difficult”
however there are many exciting projects and initiatives that critique
this view point.
 How are intergenerational learning and education for sustainability connected?
Make links on your mindmap.

7. Your intergenerational memories
 What do you remember from your childhood ?
 What do you think is different from your childhood and your parents – and
grandparents ?
 What traditions does your family pass down?
 What cultural or historical artefacts do you have at home?
 Discuss why you think it may be important .

9. Lets not separate the head from the
body…
 Gibson and Levine (2003, p 4) suggest that an important aspect of society is to
prepare people to “acquire and learn to use the skills, knowledge and attitudes that
will prepare them to be competent and responsive citizens throughout their lives.”
 Loris Malaguzzi -100 languages 100 ways of doing ,being, seeing, thinking, feeling
,moving…..
 Malaguzzi (n, d) argued that early childhood should not be a pedagogy of telling the
child “to think with no hands.”
 In Early childhood… key pioneers advocated a practical hands on approach… an
intuitive approach .

10. Steiner
 “handwork and crafts lead to the enhancement of judgement.”

11. Natural organic activities the
interconnectedness
 https://www.facebook.com/SanDiegoZoo/videos/231767900832223/

12. Montessori
 Montessori believed that between the ages of three and six children
consciously take in the world through their hands (Standing, 1998).
 Practical life skill- sewing a button on .
 Arts – embroidery .

13. Froebel
 The eighth gift was ‘the straight line’ advocating that “knowledge of the
linear lies at the foundation of the knowledge of each form...”
 Fröebel believed that “education in manual skills served to develop the whole
child, it was much more than merely a vocational concern.” (Blatchford, et al
2010, p23).

14. The provocations …

15. The host setting of the café - Everton Children and Nursery
School and Family centre .
 The Ecological context in practice- represents a true community cohesive unit with a diverse
range of participants.
 These included – Dr Lesley Curtis Head of Everton, Governors of the centre , parents,
Grandparents, residents of the Liverpool L 6 Sheltered accommodation, children from the
nursery at Everton , toddlers from Dukes and Duchess at Everton with practitioners, the
Children’s Centre Team and Liverpool John Moores University student intern Catherine
McNeill.

16. Traditional skills …
 At the café the elderly willingly demonstrated for the families and children particular
cultural traditions and mentored them in these disappearing or lost skills.
 January café – Scouse and Sewing a button on .
 February café –Flap jacks and sewing /recycling old bears
 March café – Corn Beef Hash and introduction to Knitting Easter chicks
 April café- Short bread biscuits and Bicycle repair class.
 May café- Healthy pizza and salad with hemming and under web class
 June café – Fish pie and knitting for a purpose (scarf a gift for Christmas)

17. Community Stakeholder involvement
 Each café offered participants different opportunities to engage in learning or
refreshing new skills that would be sustainability beneficial to their community.
 Local stakeholders voluntarily provided resources , for example, free sewing and
knitting kits, the stuffing needed for old teddy bears that the children and families
could mend together and even free bicycle repair workshops that the retired elderly
residents are able to support.

18. Key themes emerged from the café
research ..
 Health and well being through shared experiences and making new
friends
 Learning new skills to be more sustainable
 Breaking down stereotypes

19. Health and well being through shared experiences and
making new friends
 Research by Hannon and Gueldner (2008) also demonstrated that sharing activities
together with young children promoted positive emotional benefits to elderly people’s
wellbeing.
 Weckstrom et al (2017) further highlighted that the elderly felt the children’s presence in
their lives was a welcome addition, especially when in society today many families are
fractured and separated.

20. Attracting targeted
families – mental
health and
worthlessness.

21. Shared experiences

22. Intergenerational-
The elderly as mentors
Scaffolding traditional
skills – an authentic
experience not
tokenistic.
Their legacies ..

23. Observations
 One particular little boy at Dukes and Duchess at Everton is Spanish and speaks
little English. But he sat and made flap jacks with Mary one of our elderly friends .
 The practitioner said – “I was just saying how fab it is . Enzo is not usually confident
but working with Mary he has really come out of his shell”.
 “He is Spanish and his understanding is not the best! But he has stayed with her
the whole time! “

24. Making new friends

25. Sharing cultural experiences
together .
Learning new skills .

26. Generations together –sharing
experiences and making memories.
Mending rather than throwing
away .

27. Observations
 The practitioner from Dukes and Duchess at Everton –
“This is really good! They don’t usually mix with older generations. They are in the nursery all
day , every day , so this is really good.”
“They have never sat for so long”
 Julie (Early Educator Everton) “It has been a great experience coming down here to the
café, baking with her mum and seeing Grandparents. They really enjoyed it “.
 Jamie (aged 3 ) “I am making flap jacks with my mummy ! I love flap jacks!”

28. Learning New Skills to be more sustainable
.
 Langlands (2018) likens this loss of traditional knowledge, to a ‘divorce’ from our
identity or cultural heritage.
 These shared crafts or skills at the café included cooking traditional recipes such as
scouse, learning how to sew a button on a shirt and simple knitting, whilst bridging the
inter-generational divide at the same time.

29. Observations
 Elderly residents from L6 – “the young cant be bothered to sew now. They just throw stuff
away and get a new one.”
 “We used to knit jumpers for them to wear at school , but now its sweats shirts so knitting
jumpers went out of fashion.”
 Mums – “I came to the café because I want to learn to make my own clothes, design them
and I have come here to learn new skills”.
 “I have a sewing machine at home but I do not know how to use it . I will bring it next time as
Ann said she will show me!”
“I am old fashioned I suppose. I used to do it at school and I want Jamie to grow up doing these
old fashioned things. I sew buttons on buttons on but I don’t think other mums do that anymore
do they ?”
“It has been really good as I have learnt how to thread a needle using a needle threader!”
Gerard Vice Chair of Governors of Everton – “I even learnt how to sew a button.”

30. Becoming sustainable

31. Breaking down stereotypes
 Education for sustainability reflects an inclusive fair and equal society . We need to challenge
stereotyping and any barriers to bias. Early childhood is seen as a transformative period
where attitudes and foundations for life are laid.
 4 year old girl from Everton Nursery – “Look at all the Grandmas sewing! Grandpas don’t sew
but Grandmas do. Daddy’s don’t sew either .”
 The café offers opportunities for boys and girls to do traditional skills without attaching
gender bias. By encouraging and inviting both male and female elderly residents also helps to
change fixed perceptions, attitudes and categories of roles.
 “Children learn how to become adults by participating through socialisation (observation,
imitation and participation) in family and related occupational activities.”Mbebeb (2009:24)
 A priority for any developments is to engage more male role models to participate .

32. Breaking down stereotypes

33. Observations
Mums at Everton – “I will mend my own clothes but I wont mend my sons who is 3
because people look down on you if you do.”
 “I buy a new shirt if the button comes off . Round here everything has to be new.”
 “You can’t be seen going near a charity shop . You are seen as poor even if you are
giving stuff .”
 Julie Early Educator Everton- “They cook in the centre but they never see anyone
sewing.”

34. Celebrating our success !
 Julie Early Educator Everton – “They have made flap jacks and they cant
stop eating them! “
 Ann Elderly resident L6 – “I taught her how to hem and do back stitch”
 Mum – “Its my first time and Ann has taught me a new technique to sew
!”
 Mum – “Did nt realise making scouse was so easy and this meat is so soft
!”

35. Celebrating our success !

36. Intergenerational sustainable skill café
 https://www.facebook.com/BBCFamilyNews/videos/1858192130910512/
 The story behind it ..

37. Second trial Liverpool FC Foundation
 A second trial was organised for September 2018 for again 6 sessions.
 The community of learners ranged from early childhood- primary –
parents- grandparents and local elderly from the neighbourhood.
 The focus/culture reflected football with an emphasis upon Liverpool FC
Anfield and its history .

38. Opportunities
To share a local
historical
intergenerational
narrative that reflects
Social justice and political
activism.
Young and old sharing skills and
learning together

39. Pride in ones own
achievement regardless
Of age
Kathleen was 70 and
was very proud of her
tee- shirt she created.
Recycling or
upcycling

40. International/National connections
 England (Dorset) – A kids love Nature/Montessori nursery with its own
greenhouses, allotments and linked to sustainable food.
 Australia (Tasmania )- intergenerational sustainable skills cafes – links to
Aboriginal culture and practices .
 Liverpool Toxteth – developing a new project Intergenerational Connected
Communities.
 Finland (Larsmo) – developing sustainable skill cafes – with an audit identifying
boat building, net mending, knitting and foraging as key .
 USA (Boulder Colorado) – a gardening/cooking club with the key skills identified
to enhance as drumming, basket weaving and share cropping.

41. Finland (Larsmo)

42. USA (Boulder Colorado)

43. Lets have a think ?
 What was the last item you threw away ?
 Is the throw away culture reflective of younger generations?
 Why did you throw it away and where did you throw it ?
 What do you think happens to it now?

44. How long do you think it would take for 6 tons of “fast
fashion” to be donated to charity shops?

45. Lets think again ..
 What was the last item you mended ?
 How did you mend it ?
 Did you need help/scaffolding ?
 Again is this cultural and generational ?

46. Ethical question
 How many tee shirts do you own ?
 How often do you buy tee shirts ?
 How often do you throw them away ?

47. An environmental statistic..
Here's something you probably didn't know about your favourite T-shirt: Cotton needs a lot of water,
requiring up to2,700 litres (713 gallons) to grow enough for just one T-shirt.
That’s 2,700 Litres Of Water To Make One T-Shirt.
Mend NOT throw away !
Be like your grandparents !
http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-04-03/fashion-environmental-impact-of-your-
favourite-textiles/9382382

48. A last think ..
 What was the last thing you made ?
 What was it ?
 Was there a history or significance to it ?
 How did you make it ?
 Is this generational ?

49. The use of the hands creatively
“The creative person moves the world forward”. (Suciu,2014: 151)
“It is the work of the hand that leads the child forward.” (Ludick,2013:93)
“Montessori notes the child as the ‘constructor of civilisation’, which resonates with the idea of a
strong capable child in contrast to a passive model of a child who listens ‘attentively’ and
‘responds appropriately” (Boyd,2018)

50. The SDG s?
Do you recognise these initials ?
Can you think of any relevance to intergenerational learning ?

51. Sustainable Development goals

52. The Early Childhood Education for Sustainability
framework (ECEfS)
 The framework links directly to, the English Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE, 2017),
the 10 themes of Eco Schools England, the idea of Place based learning and rights of
children.
 It won an award at the 69th World OMEP conference in Croatia (June 2017).
http://eceresourcebank.org/index.php?hCode=PROJECT_04_02
Early Childhood Education for sustainability Framework (Boyd, Hirst, and McNeill, 2016)
Foundation Years/ Action for Children website;
 https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/2017/09/early-childhood-education-for-
sustainability/

53. A key aspect that I developed in the framework was using locality
and communities through place based learning- not one or two visits
but clearly embedded into the practice.

54. Your sustainable tasks for today !
 By the end of this workshop you need to
 Sew on a button (or two !)
 Share how to sew with a friend.
 Make a pom pom .
 Master the knitting fork and sew a doily !
 Decorate a group collaborative tee shirt!

55. Lets play …and work towards the
Sustainable Development Goals.
 Sewing – Can you sew a button on ? If not do it now !
 Choose some buttons and thread and sew!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mIGGn3AS1E

56. Make a pom pom!

57. Lets play …and work towards the
Sustainable Development Goals.
 Knitting forks – a nice gentle start to anyone who can’t knit… give it a try
in pairs ????
 Scaffold each other – co construct this process.
 It is a learning process …
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh3l85F9LAE

58. Lets reflect….
“Working on a creative hobby, are both causes and effects of positive functioning.”
( :Conner et al, 2018:187)
“Tool use required planning and complex problem solving, integral neuroanatomical bonds emerged between
our hands and our higher functioning areas of the brain.” (Lambert,2006:503)
“ESD calls for a re-orientation of ECE approaches, from didactic teaching to facilitating children’s active
learning and exploration; from emphasizing academic knowledge and skills to valuing decision-making, critical
thinking, problem solving, communication and co-operative skills” (Liu Yan and Liu Fengfeng, 2008:47)
The need for a “continued element of all intergenerational projects, illuminating anti-bias and opening up
equal opportunities for all, breaking down stereotyping organically and authentically in the early years, when
fundamental values and attitudes are developed.” Boyd,2018b .

59. References
 Boyd, D (2018a) Early childhood education for sustainability and the legacies of two pioneering giants, Early Years, 38:2, 227-239
 Boyd, D (2018b) The Legacy Café - A trial of intergenerational and sustainable learning in an early childhood centre in Liverpool. Springer
World Series .Social Responsibility
 Conner, T., DeYoung, C., and Silvia, P. (2018) Everyday creative activity as a path to Flourishing. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13; 2
pp 181-189
 Gibson, C., & Levine, P. (2003). The civic mission of schools. New York and Washington, DC: The Carnegie Corporation of New York
and the Center for Information and
 Research on Civic Learning.
 Lambert, K. (2006) Rising rates of depression in today’s society: Consideration of the roles of effort based rewards and enhanced resilience
in day to day functioning. Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews, 30, pp 497-510.
 Langlands, A. (2018) Craft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts. New York: W.W Norton and Company.
 Malagguzi, L. (n.d.) One Hundred Languages Poem [online]
 Available at - https://reggioemilia2015.weebly.com/the-100-languages.html
 Mbebeb, F. 2009. “Developing Productive Life Skills in Children: Priming Entrepreneurial Mind Sets through Socialisation in Family
Occupations.” International Journal of Early Childhood 41 (2): 23–34.
 Siraj-Blatchford, J., Smith, K. and Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2010) Education for Sustainable Development in the Early Years. OMEP: Paris
 Standing, E. (1998) Maria Montessori. Her Life and Work. New York: Plume.
 Weckström, E., Jääskeläinen, B., Ruokonen, I., Karlsson, L., and Ruismäki, H. (2017) Steps together: Children’s Experiences of Participation in
Club Activities with the Elderly, Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 15, 3, 273-289.