'Be Turtle Safe'

The toddler children watching the DVD.

With the current situation in Christchurch we have been putting a stronger emphasis on earthquake safety and ensuring all our children in the toddler room fully understand what to do in an earthquake. For the past couple of mornings the children have been reminding me to get out the earthquake whistle and test them. Once they hear the whistle they have learnt the procedure in an event of an earthquake by very quickly making their way to the nearest table and getting under it. They also have learnt what to do if there is not enough space under the table for all the children to fit. Giving the children a backup plan allows them to have an alternative when in a situation like an earthquake. Children develop “an appreciation of the ways in which they can make contributions to groups and to group well-being” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.70).

Child’s Voice

Jody – “What do you do when you hear the whistle in an earthquake?”

PS – “Get under the table”

Jody – “What do you do if there is no room under the table?”

PS – “You have to be a turtle”

KG – “And put your hands over your head”

KB – “Like this, see” (putting his hands over his face covering his eyes)

Jody – “What do you do when you are playing outside and you hear the whistle?”

TT – “Be a turtle on the ground”

The awesome Turtle Safe DVD.

To inform the children in a different way about earthquake safety I acquired the ‘Turtle Safe” DVD which allowed the children to watch on the TV exactly what to do. The children enjoy watching television so getting a DVD which provides children with knowledge to keep them safe in a natural disaster was very influential to their learning and development. This turtle safe DVD reiterated what we as educators were teaching the children but in a different visual form. Technology can be used to inform, share and communicate knowledge from one person to another. “Most children now experience a range of technologies as part of everyday life. Television, video, DVD (digital video disc), computer games and the Internet are part of many children’s social worlds” (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2005, p. 10).

The children practising the 'Turtle Safe' position.

Throughout the DVD the children were very focused and listened very carefully. When it was time to do the demonstration the children were very involved and all joined in. They knew exactly what to do and they were each helping their younger friends in the room. The older toddler children have taken on a huge responsibility in regards to earthquake safety as they are modelling the appropriate behaviour in a situation like an earthquake and encouraging the younger toddlers to follow them. This also relates to tuakana-teina relationships as the older child would support the younger children. “It is the responsibility of the tuakana to assist the teina in their learning and development (Drewery & Bird, 2004, p.103). This ‘Turtle Safe’ DVD is a great piece of technology which influences the lives of young children encouraging them to gain knowledge about earthquake safety.