Background information

Content information for educators: We all love having new stuff. But does it matter if it’s not new new? Isn’t it still new if it’s just new to you? How new does it need to be? What if you knew if wasn’t new? What are we talking about…? We’re talking about sharing or swapping! Swapping is a simple form of exchange, where people trade one item for another. Choosing to swap unwanted items, rather than throwing them away, is great for the environment (and your budget) because it saves:

Items from ending up in landfill and taking up valuable space
Energy and resources that would have been used to dispose of that item
Money because there is no need to buy new things

Switching our habits from shopping to swapping or buying second-hand can make a BIG difference to the amount of waste we create.

There are lots of opportunities for your service to get involved. You could set up swaps amongst your networks, particularly if you can tap in to resources through families or your local community. You might have enough recycled paper, but you might know someone else needs some, and they might have a heap of recycled boxes that you might desperately need for your next big project.

You can also mix things up if you have a few rooms in your child care centre or preschool. Swapping toys and books between rooms can bring excitement and ‘newness’ to your space. And next time you are tempted by the big fat shiny catalogue on the bookshelf, think about heading to your local op shop or asking families for things you might need, you never know what treasures you might come across.

You can also encourage families to get in on the action by providing a clothes, toys, books or magazine swapping area in your foyer, or run a swap party as a great fundraising event! You can also encourage families to join local toy libraries, visit the library, and link in to local charities collecting good quality preloved items for those in need.

Information for Parents: We all love having new stuff. But does it matter if it’s not new new? Isn’t it still new if it’s just new to you? How new does it need to be? What if you knew if wasn’t new? What are we talking about…? We’re talking about sharing or swapping! Swapping is a simple form of exchange, where people trade one item for another. Choosing to swap unwanted items, rather than throwing them away, is great for the environment (and your budget) because it saves:

Items from ending up in landfill and taking up valuable space
Energy and resources that would have been used to dispose of that item
Money because there is no need to buy new things

You can get involved by hosting your own swap party, donating your good quality, unwanted items to charity via your local op shop, you could ask friends or family if anyone could give them a new home, post a notice on the noticeboard at work, community noticeboard, or online. Think about whether you need to buy new new things or whether a preloved one will do the job.

Switching our habits from shopping to swapping or buying second-hand can make a BIG difference to the amount of waste we create.

Definitions:

Waste – no longer useful; unused or unproductive
Recycle – to treat or process used materials so that it can be reused.
Repurpose – to use something for a different purpose than it was originally intended or designed.
Reuse – to use again
Reduce – to contract or lessen
Swap – to trade or exchange one item for another

New words for children to learn:

Rethink
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Swap
Trade
Share
Landfill
Waste

Activity: Swap Party

Ages - 0 to 2

What to do:

Preparation: You will need a collection of toys, books or other items from around your room, or store room. Try and make sure there are lots of different types (inside / outside, different colours, shapes, from different areas within the room (home corner, construction area, etc.)

Talk with the children about the concept of sharing. Do we all need to have one of everything, or can we take turns? If you want something someone else has what do you do? What do you do with something when you have finished with it. Be sure to model sharing behaviours and language and narrate your behaviour so that children can begin to understand the concept of “ours” and “mine” sharing and taking turns.

The children can sort the items you have gathered and sort them, by colour, by area they come from, or by ‘popularity’ (most used).
If there are items they don’t play with or use as them if they would like to swap it for something else from one of the other rooms for a while.

Provocations:

I wonder how many ways we could sort these toys?
I wonder if your friend would like to swap toys with you for a while?
I wonder if there are any toys in here that we don’t play with anymore?
I wonder if they have some different toys in the other room?
I wonder if you have toys you don’t play with at home?
I wonder where we could get some different toys or books?
I think we have read all these books I wonder where we could get some different ones?

Possible lines of development:

Model behaviours that promote sharing, swapping and trading.
Ask children to contribute to a Swap Party or donate a toy for a charity.
Make a batch of play doh (or anything you like), have another group make the same thing but a different colour / flavour/ etc (or something different) and arrange your own swap party.
Have a progressive play party, where children play with a toy for a period of time then everyone swaps, then swaps again.

Ages - 2 to 3

What to do:

Preparation: Have a collection of toys, books, or other materials or items in the middle of a mat or in a basket. Make sure there are more items that there are children, and you might want more than one of the things you think might be popular.

Talk with the children about the concept of sharing. Do we all need to have one of everything, or can we take turns? If you want something someone else has what do you do? What do you do with something when you have finished with it? Be sure to model sharing behaviours and language and narrate your behaviour so that children can begin to understand the concept of “ours” and “mine” sharing and taking turns.

Ask the children to sort the toys you have collected (this can be any way they chose – colour, size, popularity, inside / outside, etc). They could create labels and displays and set out the items like a shop. Give each child a button, token or ticket. Play some fun party music. Ask them to swap their ticket for a toy before the song finishes. They now get to play with that toy for a period of time (you choose how long is appropriate for your children). Then, play the music again. They bring to toy back and swap another token for another toy. You can repeat this as many times as you like. You might need to provide some support where children might want the same toy as someone else, or hang on to the toy for more than one turn.

Follow up with a conversation about whether all the toys were played with. Why do we not play with some toys anymore? What could we do with toys that we don’t play with anymore? You can then introduce to concept of the Swap Party or toy drive for charity! Get the children to choose one of their toys from home that they don’t play with anymore to swap (maybe enlist the help of families here) or donate to a local charity.

Provocations:

I wonder how we could sort these toys?
I wonder if your friend would like to swap toys with you for a while?
I wonder if there are any toys in here that we don’t play with anymore?
I wonder if they have some different toys in the other room?
I wonder if you have toys you don’t play with at home?
I wonder where we could get some different toys or books?
I think we have read all these books I wonder where we could get some different ones?

Possible lines of development:

Model behaviours that promote sharing, swapping and trading.
Ask children to contribute to a Swap Party or donate a toy for a charity.
Make a batch of play doh (or anything you like), have another group make the same thing but a different colour / flavour/ etc (or something different) and arrange your own swap party with another room in your service.
Visit your local op shop, library or toy library.

Ages - 3 to 5

What to do:

Preparation: Have a collection of toys, books, or other materials or items in the middle of a mat or in a basket. Make sure there are more items that there are children, and you might want more than one of the things you think might be popular.

Talk with the children about the concept of sharing. Do we all need to have one of everything, or can we take turns? If you want something someone else has what do you do? What do you do with something when you have finished with it? Be sure to model sharing behaviours and language and narrate your behaviour so that children can begin to understand the concept of “ours” and “mine” sharing and taking turns.

Ask the children to sort the toys you have collected (this can be any way they chose – colour, size, popularity, inside / outside, etc). They could create labels and displays and set out the items like a shop. Give each child a button, token or ticket. Play some fun party music. Ask them to swap their ticket for a toy before the song finishes. They now get to play with that toy for a period of time (you choose how long is appropriate for your children). Then, play the music again. They bring to toy back and swap another token for another toy. You can repeat this as many times as you like. You might need to provide some support where children might want the same toy as someone else, or hang on to the toy for more than one turn. Maybe you could invite children from another room to bring some items from their room and join the swapping!

Follow up with a conversation about whether all the toys were played with. Why do we not play with some toys anymore? What could we do with toys that we don’t play with anymore? You can then introduce to concept of the Swap Party or toy drive for charity!

Get the children involved in a Service Swap Party. Ask families to donate their unwanted items (you can chose whether you want to limit the contribution to just toys, clothes, books, or other household items; or you could swap them all. A clothes and accessories swap is a great fundraiser or social gathering for mother’s day; you might find a seedlings, plants or veggie swaps might be useful if you are keen to do a bit of work in the outside space. There are loads or ways you can make it work, use your imagination and have fun!

Here’s some tips for making your Swap Party work well:

Be clear about the types of items you want and what is “swap worthy” (good working order, clean, batteries / no batteries) etc.
Group the items you collect logically (by size, gender, age, or room (kitchen, living room, garden) – you might need to provide a bit of guidance if the children are helping with this part!
Work out a system for swapping such as taking turns to shop or use tokens (one token for each item you bring).
Decide what you will do with anything left over at the end (maybe do a little research on local children’s charities or op shops).

Once the items have been collected, the children can sort them and create a ‘shop display’ of the items. They can create signs and posters to promote the event and decorate the space for the Swap Party.

What you will need will depend on what type of swap party you decide to have but these might be a good start:

Tables for items to be displayed (maybe some table cloths if you want to go a bit fancy!)
Full-length mirror and an area for trying things on (especially if you’re having “grown up clothes and accessories”)
Clothes racks and hangers
Spare batteries in case you need to test toys and ensure they work (or ask for battery-free toys)
Tokens or buttons to act as ‘money’
Signage and labels for different item types see here for some templates

The children can help to collect tokens or they can go ‘shopping’. Don’t forget the party food, drinks and music to create a bit of atmosphere! A Swap Party is a great way to get families together and meeting each other, building community and empowering children to actively participate builds skills in advocacy, resilience, problem solving and agency.

Take what you have left to your chosen local charity, take the children with you if you can (or ask if they will come and receive their donation from the children). It is great for them to see where it goes!

Provocations

I wonder how we should sort these items for our swap party?
I wonder if your friend would like to swap toys with you for a while?
I wonder if there are any toys in here that we don’t play with anymore?
I wonder if they have some different toys in the other room?
I wonder if you have toys you don’t play with at home?
I wonder where we could get some different toys or books?
I think we have read all these books I wonder where we could get some different ones?

Possible lines of development:

Model behaviours that promote sharing, swapping and trading.
Toy drive for charity at Christmas time.
Visit your local op shop, library or toy library.
Other ways to reduce waste to landfill.
How does recycling work.
Litter.
Reducing consumption.

Evaluation

Complete an analysis of learning listing evidence about:

Belonging	Find something of interest
Communication	Express an idea or feeling
Exploration	Engage with challenges and persist when difficulties arise
Well being	Being involved

Embedding into daily practice

Swap Party

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