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Seven ways to teach kids about energy
With the huge price increases, now is the time for your kids to understand where the power comes from to heat your home, or learn about the importance of reducing energy consumption.
Energy production and consumption, conservation and climate change are important topics, but it’s not always easy to know how to talk about them, or teach them, in an engaging and fun way.
Want your children to understand where the power comes from to heat up your home? Or learn about the importance of reducing energy consumption? Or maybe just understand why it is important to unplug their computer or phone? Here are some ideas how.
Link what they learn to issues they care about
Equipment needed: Internet connection and computer or phone device.
Duration: 10-15 minutes.
When talking to children about energy, try to link the subject to topics they are interested in. For example, David Attenborough, who many children will know as the voice from BBC’s Planet Earth series, has spoken publicly about the dangers of climate change and excessive consumption of resources.
Why not watch one of his videos together, and discuss what you and your family can do to be better stewards of our planet?
You can set your children challenges to complete to make sure they understand and remember what they watch and hear during the day. After watching the news, listening to the radio or seeing a poster or newspaper article, you can ask the children if they understood what was being discussed, pick key topics mentioned (like climate change, sustainability, or fossil fuels). If there are concepts the children are unfamiliar with, ask them to research online to find out what they mean.
Make a family plan
Equipment needed: Paper and a pen. You also need a place to display your plan, like on the fridge or mantelpiece.
Duration: 15-30 minutes.
The topic of energy naturally leads to discussions about consumption of finite resources, like fossil fuels, pollution and climate change. These subjects can be scary, or make children feel sad so try to make sure to frame the conversation in a positive way.
One way to do that is to discuss as a family what steps you can take to minimise the harm being done to the environment. For younger children, that might be making them responsible for turning off the light switches or unplugging unused electronic devices. You might commit to switching your energy supplier to a renewable energy company. A company like Love Energy Savings can help you make the switch.
Thermostat duty!
Equipment needed: A paper and pen to note down who is responsible and pin it on the fridge
Duration: Ongoing.
This is one idea that might come up in the family plan. Children love to be active and this can be a great way to help them learn responsibility.
Once you have explained the financial and environmental cost of energy is a great time to motivate them to take action around the house. For example, you could give each child a day of the week that they will be responsible for monitoring the thermostat. Explain how it works and agree at what temperature the thermostat should be, and that they will turn it down if the room is too warm.
You can also ask them to monitor your smart meter if you have one, so you know how much energy you are using per day.
Find informative online resources
Equipment needed: Internet connection and computer or phone device.
Duration: As long as your kids are interested!
There’s a lot of amazing information online that you can use to introduce children to energy topics. Some of the best resources we have found are NASA’s Climate Kids and BBC’s Bitesize which are both full of engaging content about energy and the climate for a range of age groups.
YouTubers!
Equipment needed: Internet connection and computer or phone device.
Duration: As long as your kids are interested!
Many parents know more about YouTubers than they might care to admit. A lot of us worry about the amount of time kids spend with their screens, but there is no shortage of educational and fun YouTube channels which can be watched guilt-free, perfect for car journeys or when you just need five minute’s peace.
There is the old classic National Geographic Kids which has lots of high quality science content, or for younger audiences Smart Learning for All which has a huge catalogue of short, engaging cartoons designed to answer science questions.
There’s also plenty of cool stand-alone videos, like this one on YouTube, which is a great child-friendly introduction to solar energy.
Energy Bingo
Equipment needed: Printer or paper and a pen to make your own.
Duration: 30 minutes.
Everybody loves bingo! Print out these bingo cards which are great fun to play on your next car journey or travelling by bus or train. It’s a great way for kids of all ages to learn and keep them occupied!
Alternatively, you could also run a family crafting session and make your own bingo cards on different environmental and energy topics.
Create a quiz
Equipment needed: Internet connection, printer OR paper and a pen to make your own.
Duration: 30 minutes.
Another way to test what your children have learnt is by getting them to complete a fun, interactive quiz. There are plenty online for all age groups, we like this one which is suitable for ages nine and up.
You can create your own quizzes for your family using a programme like Kahoot, each child can then play along like a gameshow on a phone, tablet or computer. Be warned though, they are highly addictive!
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