Earth day is coming up and it is the perfect time to Teach your Kids to be More Environmentally Aware. The may be learning about it in school, too, so they will all ready be prepped.
The 1st part of teaching your children about the environment begins with getting them outdoors. Seeing trash on the ground or polluted water that can’t be swan in firsthand makes it easy for them to see why recycling and using less is important.
Sometimes getting outside is not an option for you or your children, but can still instill an appreciation for nature and educate your kids about the environment. Here are a few ideas to help you get started.
1.Go to the local library. Going to go to the library instead of buying books is a great way to save money, PLUS it also is great for the environment because it recycles books from borrower to borrower. So it can be a is a good place to start for environmental education. Some libraries even have an entire section dedicated to ecological concerns or even speakers or classes.
Make sure to look for books with very big, beautiful photos or illustrations with stories and information that discuss our place in nature, and/or discuss endangered species. It’s also a good idea to look for books that discuss local plant life. That will make nature seem closer, and once you are able to get outside you will be more likely to find things described in the books in your area.
2. Educational materials on the internet. There is a ton of online information and guidance that can help you teach your children about environmental awareness. Many of these sites suggest books, have free downloadable materials, and offer other educational resources. At World.org you can find the top 100 Environmental Sites.
3. Hands-on activities. One of the best ways to learn is to participate in something and really get your hands on it, and it’s fun, too. Here are a few ideas for earth-friendly activities that you can do with your child to raise his or her awareness about the environment. Make sure to talk about how re-using things is better than throwing them away. Play a game and see who can come up with the most ways to re-use something you just were going to throw away.
- Recycle household “trash” – go around you house and find items for you make into a music band. Fashion drums out of old paint cans, “guitars” out of tissue boxes and rubber bands and anything else you can thing of.. then do a “show”!! You can also make interesting artwork from recyclable materials. Have everyone in the family make a piece of recycled art and then have a gallery showing.
- Have a “green” birthday party for your child. If you child’s birthday is coming up have them gather natural materials to make decorations, make party hats out of newspaper, and buy re-usable tableware. You can either ask guests to wrap birthday gifts in their own creative, home-made wrapping paper made from household objects (such as paper bags). Or if you child is OK with the “using less” part of being environmentally aware ask the guests to forgo gives in lieu of supporting a local charity like the humane society or local environmental group. Have your child help deliver the donations so they can feel good about providing for others.
- Go to your local recycling center. Make sure to collect your own recycling before you go. Ten show them the different bins and the types of items in them. If you can try to arrange a tour of the inside of the center so your kids can see what goes into recycling. They probably will LOVE it. Plus knowing that they can get PAID to recycle can be very motivating for kids.
It’s important to Teach your Kids to be More Environmentally Aware, they will most likely be here after we are gone, and their children definitely will! Getting then excited about the environment means a better future for them all.
Teach your Kids to be More Environmentally Aware
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