It is hard to read the newspaper or listen to the radio without hearing about the importance of recycling, conserving energy, and employing measures to save fuel. From Presidential debates to the nightly newscast, everyone is talking about the need to "go green." Although many parents struggle with the proper way to teach children about the environment, experts agree that a good mixture of creative and concrete methods for exposing children to environmental awareness is most effective.
Consider these 5 Easy Ways to Help Children Go Green:
1. Talk about Conservation: The first step to any good plan is a solid explanation of why conservation helps people and the planet. Many parents skip this step because they don't think that kids will understand. Some parents are concerned of the effects of their children not feeling secure about their environment; however, there are some very good children's books and coloring books about helping the environment that will give simple, non-threatening details.
2. Hide and Seek Saving: Your home, car, and surroundings are full of places and ways to save the environment. Once you have explained the reasons for saving the environment and the methods, engage your children in an environmental game of hide-n-seek. From energy saving light bulbs to recycling old newspapers, children get both a sense of pride from finding ways to help and a sense of investment in the results.
3. Group Planning: By involving your children in your plans to recycle, reuse, and "go green," everything from planting a garden to turning off electricity can become a family activity. With input from every member of the family, children get buy in for the method and ownership of the results. As an extra step, assigning children to certain tasks as part of their chores or their responsibilities to the earth might help to elevate participation in "going green."
4. Give a Cause: In the cases where conservation equals savings in money, let children pick out a charity of their choice to donate the money. From saving the whales or polar bears to giving the savings to the local humane society, donation gives children a real way to become involved in saving the planet or serving a living cause.
5. Creative Gifts: For holidays to birthdays and every season in between, teach children fun and creative ways to make their own gifts. Ideas for useful gifts include making soaps, candles, stationary, and picture frames. With recycled grocery bags colored, painted, and decorated for the event, gifts can teach children to value personalized and practical items instead of store bought presents.
By taking the opportunity to give children an understanding of the importance of the environment and steps that they can take to help save energy, recycle, and create a green environment, parents get the chance to build consciousness and awareness of surroundings in children of all ages.
About Kidz-Planet: As a foremost, private provider of preschool education and day care for children, Kidz-Planet offers a unique program that combines academic excellence with individual nurturing and an extensive extracurricular program that addresses health, the arts, foreign languages, and social activities for young children, 6 weeks to 5 years old. Kidz-Planet is the only California preschool that offers more than babysitting services. From entertaining adventures for children to learn about cultural diversity to educational after school programs aimed at helping children succeed in school, Kidz-Planet creates opportunities for children to learn and grow every day. With free newsletters full of information to help parents guide children through growing pains and special community speaking events offered to area PTAs, Kidz-Planet support parents in promoting superior academic achievement, extraordinary intellectual growth, and physical activities to encourage healthy bodies. by Irina Grinshpan |
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