ACTIVITIES
Impromptu Holiday Decorations
As the holidays arrive my kids are constantly drawing either hand print turkeys or Christmas trees. While I cherish all this artwork, saving every scrap of it is a bit unrealistic. When I suggest placing some drawings in the recycling bin, I am met with sad faces and tears. The solution I have come up with is to make seasonal garlands. I have my children cut out the drawing either in a circle or the actual shape of whatever they have drawn. I use a single hole punch at the top of each cut-out and then I just thread them all together on a piece of twine. We hang the garlands in the windows or on the Christmas tree. After having used the pictures for the whole holiday month, my kids are much happier about recycling the paper.
BOOKS
If you plan to choose the New Year as an opportunity to motivate your family to go green, here are four great books that you can read with your children that explain the need for recycling and the potential harms of pollution.
- The Three R’s: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle — We liked this book because it was easy to understand for young children, it stresses the need to reuse and even gives ideas and activities to stimulate some ideas on how kids can reuse everyday items.
- Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids — A great resource to help explain how recycled paper, aluminum, and plastic gets collected and broken back down into other items.
- The Great Trash Bash — A funny story that illustrates the need to cut back on trash with tips at the end on how kids can help to reduce trash in their home and community.
- All The Way to the Ocean — Two children learn what happens to trash that is left on the street or thrown in the storm drain. Inspired to avoid harm to marine wildlife, they organize a school clean-up.
MEDIA
Visit http://earth911.org/for-students/students/ to find educational information on the environment for students of all ages.
Visit http://protectourwinters.org/2008/06 to learn about reversing the global warming crisis by uniting the winter sports community and focusing collective efforts toward a common goal. Protect our Winters (POW) is a non-profit organization that directs 100% of contributions towards educational initiatives and renewable energy proects.
