Kermit the frog once sang, It’s Not Easy Being Green. Well, in this day and age, being green is what it’s all about. All you ever hear about is living green, driving a green vehicle or using green cleaning products. To me, the term “green” refers to a certain type of lifestyle where you live thinking about how your actions will affect other people.
For instance, we do a lot of reusing and recycling in our house, so we can do our part to keep a lot of waste out of landfills. I also try to use mostly natural or green cleaners in my house, so I don’t have any toxic fumes lingering. I also try to buy a lot of organic products, so I’m not supporting the use of pesticides in the environment, plus there’s no telling what these pesticides are doing to our insides. I’m also very energy conscious, I’m always unplugging my electronic items that aren’t in use. It is very important to me that I pass along these important messages about living green to my children, so they have a safe environment to live in when they grow up. I have found a few different green activities that I plan on sharing with my kids, to help them get a better handle on what the “green” movement is all about.
Make Recycled Paper
If you have kids, I’m sure you go through a lot of paper at your house too. I’m constantly telling my kids that it’s okay to write on the back of the sheet of paper and they don’t need to throw it out just because there’s one tiny little mark on it. I’ve found a great “recipe” to make your own recycled paper and I plan on doing this with my kids. This recycled paper is made out of old newspapers, which most people have around their house. Normally, we just take our old papers and put them in the recycle bin. Here’s a link to childrenoftheearth.org where you can find this cool recipe to make recycled paper: http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/Kid’s%20Entries/Make_Paper.htm
Grow a Garden
This is the perfect time of year to start thinking about growing a garden. This is a wonderful green activity for kids to be involved in. They can be involved in almost every phase of the garden, from deciding what to plant, where to plant, and then the picking. My kids love to get right down and dirty in the soil and help plant seeds, water them, and then watch our garden grow. Last year, we actually had a pumpkin and gourd farm, sort of by accident, in our front yard. It was an incredible site. As we only have limited space, we usually only grow a couple of things, last year we had basil and several varieties of tomatoes. My kids loved picking the fresh basil and then I’d make a homemade pesto sauce.
It’s very important to educate our children today about what being green means. Also, how important it is to take care of our Mother Earth, so she’ll be here to take care of them in the future.
sources:
personal experience
