The Environment
Simple Actions Kids Can Take to Go Green At All Ages1
Go Green Tips for Preschoolers
Young children just want to be a part of everything so why not let them?
* Digging for Worms- There’s nothing better than digging in the mud and being allowed to do it. Have your child help you dig in the dirt to plant container gardens for family herbs or veggies or even to dig a hole in the yard for a new tree (in their honor for good “green” behavior).
* Blue Bin It-Encourage even the smallest of children to put plastic items and newspapers/magazines into the blue recycle bins. Make it a like a basketball game, trying to see how many plastic bottles or wads of paper they can “score” in the bin.
* Water Wizzards-Encourage children to turn off the water and “plug the sink” to wash their hands with a basin full of water. Playing in water is fun but the constant flow of water isn’t for the planet. Scrub, dip and rinse (repeat for extra fun).
* Pick Up Treasures-One’s man’s trash is another man’s gold, or so they say. One fun way to get little ones involved with earth preservation is to go out on a trash hunt and collect as many wrappers, papers, etc. as possible, but remember to wash your hands when you’re through!
* Plant a Tree, Bush or Flower-Kids love to play in the dirt, so let them. Include little ones in on the planting fun. They love to get close to nature and squish around in the mud and they like to help out.
* Lo-Cal Motion-Children are never too young to get involved and help pick out food items at the local farmer’s market. They get to interact with all of the adults and they get to pick out their favorite fruit and veggies for the week. Let your child even hand the money over to the farmers for transactions, learning how to interact with adults and to learn about coins and paper money
Grade School-aged children are very helpful and love to find ways to get involved and feel important.
* Fill the Bowl-Have your child place a bowl of water underneath the water stream while he brushes his teeth. Time how long it takes to fill the bowl. Then, have him brush his teeth without having the water running (but still have a small cup filled with water next to the sink). Explain to him that every time you brush your teeth for XX seconds, he uses up a full bowl full of clean, pure water that could be used during his bath or next teeth brushing. Then, make it a rewarded task for your child to brush each day without running the faucet.
* Eyeglass Savers-Have your children search around the house or ask friends for old eyeglasses to donate to the Lions Clubs International, in partnership with Airwear® eyeglass lenses to help put the world in focus for more people. Elementary-aged children will feel wonderful knowing that their efforts were put to worldly-good use.
* Re-Bag It-Sometimes it difficult to NOT use plastic bags for school lunches, at times. Instead, offer points to your children when they bring the plastic bags back home to be rinsed and re-used later in the week. You’ll save money and keep unwanted plastic out of landfills! Point systems work well with grade-schoolers because they like to keep track of things. When the desired amount of points