Tag Archives: kids

Eco-Friendly Sites Your Kids May Enjoy

Summer is coming right up, and with it is the potential for bored children. While it’s great to get the kids outside in the sunshine, sometimes it’s too hot or they’ve already spent plenty of time playing outside and want computer time. Here are some sites they may enjoy.

Green Games

PBS’s EekoWorld – Designed for kids ages 6-9 and can be used as an educational tool in grades K-4. Kids can design their own EekoCreature while learning about the environment. You can even print out a card game called Loco Cheeko that features your EekoCreature.

Kids R Green – Green games and activities you can do at home.

Kids Planet – Games and information for kids on how to help the environment.

WebRangers – The National Park Service’s site for kids. Games to play, activities to do, webcams and more.

Dizzywood – Geared at kids ages 8-12. Play games, dress up your avatar, meet friends and defeat the evil Emperor Withering.

Green Tips for Kids

Environmental Kids Club – A website created by the EPA, it has games and information for kids and teens.

Kids Saving Energy – An informational site by the U.S. Department of Energy to help kids learn how to save energy.

Sharing a Nest

My husband and daughter made a fun discovery on the walk to school last week – a huge crow’s nest that had blown down in the heavy winds the day before.

They took it to her class, to her classmates’ and teacher’s delight. It took my husband several minutes to get away. Something about bringing a nest that is about a foot and a half in diameter into a room full of first graders makes a man really popular. Maybe even more so than bringing a baby into the room.

That nest is still making the rounds at her school. We thought we’d be picking it up today, but it’s gone out to yet another teacher. We don’t mind, as all we want to do with it is drop it in the field to decompose as it would have if it hadn’t been discovered. It gets a bit smaller as it goes, just due to the wear and tear from being passed around. It’s been in at least 3 classrooms so far.

My daughter’s class had a lot of fun exploring the bits of eggshell that were still in the nest.

My one regret will be if we don’t get a picture of my daughter with the nest. That’s the one disadvantage to it being found on the way TO school. With a bit of luck we’ll see it again someday and it might still be in good enough condition to take a picture of my daughter holding it. She’s so proud of that find.

Healthy Child Healthy World Review

I was recently contacted by a publicist for Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home to see if I would like to review the book. What could I say except “yes”? Talk about a pet topic of mine!

They very kindly sent me out a copy to read, and I recently finished it. I very much so enjoyed the read.

The book is separated into sections of related things you can do, such as preparing for baby, natural body care, pet care and so forth. Each section has a range of tips on how you can do these things in a way that is better for your family and the environment.

Of course, some of the things suggested I do already, but there were some good ideas I hadn’t thought of either.

One of the things I really appreciated was the suggestion in the book that you do not need to try to do everything right away. You can work your way through the things you are ready for and make progress at your own pace. I think that’s a very important thing to remember. Going green doesn’t have to be an instant or frustrating solution.

It also got me thinking about things I hadn’t before, such as how lead gets into soil around older homes. We’re renting a home that I believe is of an age to have such a problem, so I know it is potentially relevant. As a renter I don’t know that I can do much about it aside from being aware of the potential for a problem. It’s a topic my husband and I have discussed before, because he didn’t see why kids would chew on paint chips, and now I can explain to him how it really works. See page 164 if you need to know.

The section on food (chapter 3) is one I think I need to bring up with a friend of mine who I had been discussing organic produce with the other day. She wasn’t sure what she needed to buy organic versus conventional to avoid pesticides (page 36). I’ve seen the same list online, but it’s nice to have a physical copy of the list.

There’s a great section at the back of the book on Healthy Resources. You can find out where to learn more on your favorite topics or learn about some of the products they recommend.

Of course, every parent reading this will have their own favorite sections, depending on what they need to learn. I do strongly recommend you get this book. Check your library if it’s not in the budget, but with all the resources it provides, you’re probably going to want to buy your own copy to keep referring back to.

My Kids Picked a Green Gift for Daddy

I love it when my kids pick something green out to give to someone. We try so hard to avoid an excess of plastic junk, and it’s great to see it rubbing off on my kids.

Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. I took the kids shopping to figure out what they wanted to get him. They of course first looked through the toys… we’re talking about kids, after all. But they couldn’t think of anything that Daddy didn’t have already that they thought he would like.

So we went to the garden center.

The kids weren’t too certain, until they came upon the strawberry plants. That did it! They each picked one out for him.

Then we passed some grape vines. Once again, they couldn’t resist.

I just love that the strawberries are in the peat pots so that we don’t have to figure out what to do with the pots once the strawberries are planted. We have too many of those already. I know my daughter is eying them for crafts, but we do not need more.

No, we didn’t wrap them. I rarely wrap birthday gifts for grown up family members. It’s really just not that necessary. They’ll be surprised one way or another. If I must, a gift bag from our reuse stash will do the job.

Teaching the Kids to Clean the Bathroom with Vinegar

Cleaning the bathroom with vinegar

Like most kids their age, my kids can make a rather horrendous mess in the bathroom. The biggest part of it lately has been due to their rediscovery of the process by which dirt becomes mud.

Lots and lots of mud. To dig in or even smear on their skin.

I’ve had to haul the hose out a few times to get them clean enough to even be allowed in the house. Yep, it’s pretty cute and the times I’ve taken the camera out for it has made for some great pictures.

But it sure leaves a mess in the bathroom when they’re washing up from being just slightly dirty.

This lead to a quick decision by my husband and I. They get to clean their own bathroom from now on.

It’s a nice help. They both make quite a mess in there, and my son creates the additional messes that little boys are prone to creating. They’re old enough to do it. And vinegar is so safe I don’t have to worry about their health as they clean.

It’s a pretty easy skill to teach if you don’t expect perfection. I presented my kids with paper towels and a spray bottle of vinegar. I plan on moving to microfiber towels one of these days, but haven’t quite made it yet.

Then I showed them what I wanted done, helping them figure out how to do it and how to notice where dirt was still clinging to surfaces. That was actually one of the bigger challenges. My kids aren’t much worried about dirt these days.

Results were pretty good. Sure, it took longer to supervise and help them than to do it myself, but it’s a way to help them learn to be responsible. And it’s nice to have them cleaning with something that they won’t be hurting themselves with.