Daycare Earth Day Celebration

Daycare celebrated Earth Day a couple of days early thanks to my days off. I wasn't exactly sure what to do with the kiddos since the kids are all pretty young and it was raining. We did a lot of talking about our Earth, ways we can help keep our Earth clean, reading books, and of course, watching The Lorax.

Their favorite part of the day was playing "is it recyclable or not?" I had things on the table such as papers, toilet paper rolls, cans, bottles, an orange peel, and a dirty tissue (not really dirty but they thought it was). I held up each item one at a time and the kids had to guess if it belonged in recycling or garbage. By the end of the game they were pros!

They painted paper plate earth's with shaving cream paint.

The sensory activity for the day: shaving cream world. Animals, whales, fish, and Little People were all in the shaving cream world. We upped the game by adding our mini globe to the mix. The kids took turns spinning it while they played, pointed to a spot on the globe, and I'd tell them where they were points (ex: Spain, the Indian Ocean, the Equator--that one was not a fun one to explain). This was great for the two and three year old crowd and kept them interested in learning about earth for quite a while.

How can we not watch The Lorax on Earth Day? I love the message of this movie. We also read our Earth Day books: It's Earth Day!, How To Help The Earth, and Why Should I Recycle. 

The annual Earth Day cupcakes were a hit.

One thing that I loved from last year that we did was make things out of recyclable materials. The kids really got creative with what they made. This group of daycare kids are just a bit too young for that but I hope to add it back into the mix for next year. Another great activity for Earth Day is picking up trash around your neighborhood or even just your yard or street. It was raining heavily all day so we didn't get a chance to do this, but it's a great way to show kids what littering is and how it's not good for our world. Be sure to have kids wear gloves if they do this....you never know what they may decide to pick up and/or put their hands in!

                         

Keepin' it Green

While the other 364 days a year are just as important, Earth Day is a good day to reflect on how we protect our planet.  I'm not perfect - far from it, in fact.  My husband and I have a saying "If we can stop pursuing perfection, we can enjoy what's really great." That balance is what I strive for in my life.  While part of me would love our home to be as 'green' as humanly possible, I have to balance that with the demands of my careers, my family, and still make time for me.

Politics aside (and I can't believe this is a political conversation), our earth is really important (duh), and we aren't exactly leaving things in a better shape than we found them.  I quickly admit our house uses paper towels in the kitchen, I run the sink while brushing sometimes, and a slew of other crimes against our planet.  But I want to share some of the easy ways we help reduce, reuse, and recycle, all while retaining our sanity.

1. Personal Care products - December 2015, President Obama signed a law banning microbeads from our soaps, toothpastes, etc.  These tiny plastic beads might make your skin feel smooth, but they don't dissolve and end up finding their way into lakes and rivers.  But even before then, we had gotten rid of them after reading how they damage natural habitats. We also only use antibacterial soap in the kitchen, and use regular hand soap in the bathrooms after reading how overuse of antibacterial soap can contribute to resistant bacteria and the risks of triclosan.  In fact, we mostly rely on locally made Herbal Blis Soaps, instead of harsh soaps.  I've actually found my skin is softer and I use less lotion than when I was using other brands.  Same with deodorant, I switched from extra strength stuff to Tom's of Maine and find that I sweat less and don't expose myself to aluminium.  
2. We compost - Okay, we aren't experts at this, but we keep a bowl in our kitchen for scraps (no animal protein, only veggies, fruits, egg shells, etc,) and dump in the compost bin as the bowl fills.  I've been lazy and haven't kept up with it this winter, but have a renewed energy to help turn more of our waste into plant food.
3. Fuel efficiency - we drive our most efficient car any time we go somewhere as a family.  Sure, we'd have more leg room in the Jeep, but the Ford gets better mileage (not as good as my old Honda Insight...), and my husband takes his motorcycle to and from work when weather cooperates.  I'd love a Tesla, but I think that purchase is a few years off!
4. Food choices - I know I don't always make the best choices for meals, but I feel like we do a good job with some specific choices.  Hyvee stores make it easy to shop local, whether it is produce, meat department, bakery or dairy, there are local options that required less shipping to get to the store and like knowing I'm supporting my local economy.  I prefer Chipotle over Qdoba because Chipotle's meat sources don't use antibiotics unnecessarily, which many say is contributing to antibiotic resistant bacteria strains.  Basically anytime we have to choice and one is more natural (like Zarbee's vitamins!), we try to choose natural.
5. Recycling - this is another easy one for us.  Our city provides a large tote that we wheel to the curb every other Friday and the contents are hauled away to be sorted and recycled.  Plus our pop cans/bottles are recycled as part of Iowa's deposit program. 

I'm sure there's a few things I'm missing and our house is far from perfect.  But if each of us tries to do 10% better, I'm sure we can make a lasting impact for our kids and grandkids!