Nothing brings a concept home to a kid like a movie. That’s why during Earth Week, we sent the entire 4th and 5th grades at San Francisco’s McKinley Elementary School to a screening of the Disney documentary “Earth.” Part of our Purple Acts of Kindness program, which aims to surprise and delight our local communities with random acts of generosity, this field trip was designed to do one thing – transport children from their urban environment to various corners of our fragile planet.

Before boarding buses wearing Yahoo! hats, the students spent the morning studying the movie’s instructional materials and concepts like animal families, habitats, migration, and hibernation.

With its stunning cinematography, the film’s message is clear. According to the teachers, “After the movie, some students expressed their sadness about the cycle of life, especially when the polar bear had a very hard time walking on almost melted ice, the elephants couldn't find water for weeks, and the whale almost got eaten by the shark.”

As you can see from the video below, McKinley Elementary kids are already conscious of how their actions impact the Earth, but you can bet that recycling and conservation by nine- and ten-year-olds got a little boost. And parents are probably getting schooled, too.

Nicki Dugan
Blog Editor

Photo from wablao