Raising Green Kids

I truly feel that we need to take care of this planet not just for ourselves, but for our kids and all other future generations. The thought that my kids might not experience the beauty of our planet because we are contributing to its destruction breaks my heart. So we are raising our kids to be good green kids! We constantly talk about recycling (what goes in the recycle bin and what doesn't) and we involve them in everything we do to make this a greener place. They helped construct our compost bin, they are involved in planting and harvesting our garden (and enjoying the fruits of our labors!!), they know to turn the water off when brushing teeth. They know that walking or riding scooters to school helps the planet because it doesn't use gas, they are the ones who constantly remind me to bring in our canvas bags to the grocery store. The reasons behind our decision are transparent to our kids and we constantly talk about taking care of our planet. Case in point...

Last year when Kevin was in kindergarten, they had a pizza party for some event. Kevin doesn't like pizza, so we sent him a yogurt and we always send a plastic spoon. He brings home the container and spoon so we can recycle and rewash the spoon to use again. When lunch was over, a parent was cleaning up the trash on the table and took Kevin's yogurt container and spoon. Kevin protested loudly, saying 'Are you going to recycle that?' The parent looked at him and said 'We don't have those recycle bins in the classroom'. And she proceeded to take his trash. He stood up and took it away from her and said 'I'll take it home so I can recycle it'. Now that makes a mom proud!!

Kayla loves arts and crafts. To the point where no paper is safe when she has scissors in her hand!! We emphasize not wasting the paper by just cutting it hastily and leaving scraps and paper parts all over the floor. So she wanted to have a scrap container so she could use the scraps. She took an oatmeal container out of the recycle bin and wanted to decorate it to use as a scrap container. Not bad for a 5 year old!!






We are not perfect recyclers by any means. And my kids sometimes take showers that are too long. And for that matter, so do I. But we do have a dialogue in our house that is important because knowledge is power!! Here are some cool sites you might want to check out with your kids!

Just For Kids:Recycling Home

Kids REcycle!

Earth Easy-Sustainable Living

Lighter Footstep

Thanks for stopping by! Have a very GREEN Sunday!!