Kids are never too young to learn about our planet and the importance of honoring mother Earth. Helping them learn with hands-on activities and snacks is a great idea to highlight Earth day, which falls on April 22nd this year.
Many pre-school age children will enjoy placing dot stickers, dot markers or some type of other objects to complete do-a-dot worksheets. These are simple worksheets that can be used for following directions as well as a more creative approach with color matching, sorting and counting activities. Here is one link I found to a website, www.giftofcuriosity.com that has a 21 page Earth day printable set of do-a-dot worksheets. The website even includes a link to purchase dot stickers or dot markers. I really like the ideas to incorporate more or less fine motor skill into the activity based on your child’s specific abilities.
There are so many other websites with great ideas for activities and snacks to celebrate Earth day. Here is one in particular I found at www.meetthedubiens.com.
One small part of making a difference in conservation is re-using. If you are re-use conscious, you may have already heard of the website www.reuseit.com. This website has many alternative ideas for packing lunches such as bento boxes. Click the picture to see many ideas for this concept for your kids. This trendy solution provides an eco-friendly approach which makes it easy to cater to food sensitivities, allergies and promote clean eating. Oh the creative masterpieces that moms could produce! Even picky eaters would love to eat a lunch this imaginitive.
Anyone else want to eliminate their use of disposable plastic bags and subscribe to the concept of re-using? By having re-usable bags on hand for lunches, toting groceries and other items will make this goal more attainable. Re-using water bottles is yet another goal that I have set and 
want to be able to succeed at. This goal needs kid and adult cooperation which can be difficult for kids who are in the habit of easy disposable bottles. The kids need to be able to remember to bring home their water bottle, and the adult needs to be able to wash it out at night and refill for the next day.
Many families visit and buy from consignment and thrift stores to clothe their children. So many items are like-new and truly make a huge positive difference in your family’s financial budget. The concept really does make sense especially when your kids grow through sizes and need the next size clothes every 6 months or so. I guess the idea is catching on since there are more and more thrift stores popping up.
There are many ways to incorporate re-using into your philosophy and still keep your family very happy. Kid’s lunches and clothing are just a few examples. Try thinking of some other ways your family can re-use or re-purpose items. There is no better time than now to start. Happy Earth day!
