When my kids were younger, they used to listen to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George CD on repeat. They loved the 3 Rs song (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), but listened to it so often that even my guitar playing, surfer hubby started to twitch every time it came on. Fast forward several years, and my oldest now asks me which can (trash or recycle) to use if he’s not sure when throwing something away, so apparently all that twitching was worth it.
With so many ways to involve young children in “going green,” including them in helping the planet can be relatively simple and twitch free:
Reduce:
Reduce waste. Does your child get a juice box or single serving bag of crackers sent to school? Stop buying drinks and food packaged in individual serving sizes and buy the family size. Involve your child in purchasing a fun, reusable bottle and snack container, then fill those with juice and crackers. If you use plastic bags to send sandwiches to school, opt for a reusable sandwich container.
Reuse:
Reuse “trash.” Instead of throwing out toilet paper rolls, save them to reuse for crafts. Let your child lightly coat one in peanut butter, roll in bird seed, and hang outside for a fast and easy bird feeder. Play pirate! Paint the rolls black and use them as spyglasses. Save them for the holidays and decorate them to look like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
Recycle:
Recycle extras. Are there too many toys in your house? You have kids. Of course there are too many toys in your house! Help your child decide which ones they’ve outgrown and then join our local freecycle and give and take used items for free.
Other ways help introduce your child to going green:
Take advantage of the libraries in town and check out children’s books instead of buying them. Let your child select which books they own that they no longer want, and sell them at Half Price Books so another child can enjoy them.
Buy fun, reusable grocery bags for your children to use when grocery shopping. Put your child in charge of carrying their bag in from the car. (Putting them to work AND teaching them how to care for the planet.)
Start a garden and a compost pile.
Take your child to Earth Day Bay Day at Heritage Park on Saturday April 9th and Party for the Planet at the Texas State Aquarium on Saturday, April 23rd.
