Goddard School Goes Green with Fashion Flair

Students at in Chesterfield have dug into gardening, sorted recyclables, made slime and crafted costumes from newspaper. It's all part of a month of curriculum designed to teach them about going green.

"It's fun and it's great for them to learn about the environment, recycling and how to take care of the earth," Sheila Rinaberger, owner of The Goddard School, said. Even shopping was incorporated into the lessons. The kids brought toys they no longer played with one day and other students purchased them with play money. 

The month of lessons was capped off with two events Friday: a fashion show of costumes crafted from recyclable materials and a celebration of Earth Hour, an event that encourages people to switch off their lights for an hour. Earth Hour was held across the world at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Since they wouldn't be in school on the weekend, students celebrated the event at 10 a.m. Friday.

Rinaberger said they went about their normal day while the lights were off. Teachers and students had been talking about the event all week, so the students were very excited, she said.

For the fashion show, students made costumes from newspapers, plastic bags, paper bags, bubble wrap and more. They brainstormed with their teachers about what they could create. Then they designed and crafted poodle skirts from plastic grocery bags, jet packs from paper bags and two-liter bottles, go-go boots from bubble wrap and more. 

The students have also learned about amphibians and their habitats. Collin, a kindergartner, explained that some tree frogs become poisonous because of their diet of ants. "It's on their skin, so you don't want to touch them," he said.  

Alex, a kindergartner who wore a jet pack in the fashion show, said the best lesson he learned all month was "reduce, reuse, recycle." Myra, also in kindergarten, added that she learned that you can save electricity by turning off the lights. She said she's helped her mom and dad at home by flipping the light switch as she leaves a room, she said.