Celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
Native American Proverb

Did you know that the first Earth Day was celebrated by the United States on April 22, 1970 to promote the preservation of the environment? Today, people in over 140 countries celebrate Earth Day.

Earth Day Network estimates that 500 million people from 4,500 organizations in 180 countries will participate in Earth Day events during the month of April.

You can teach your kids how important it is to care for our planet with some simple strategies. The book, Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin, 1990) is a great story to use as a springboard for ideas. The main character has a dream about the future in a world where littering and pollution have become commonplace. Give your kids a copy of the Recycle reproducible and ask them to create environmental posters that promote respect for our Earth. Then, proudly display them in and around the house.

You can also brainstorm different ways to help the environment at home such as conserving energy by turning off the lights when you leave the room, recycling newspapers and soda cans, or composting. Share the Brainstorm House reproducible with kids, then give them time to draw pictures of different things they can do at home to help the environment.

Take small steps:
There are dozens of small things your kids can do every day to save energy and keep the world cleaner and greener. Here are some ways you can encourage your kids to go green during Earth Day and if your child develops good habits now, they’ll endure as he/she grows.
- Switch off the light when leaving a room and turn off the TV when no longer watching.
- Shut off the water when brushing teeth
- Walk, ride a bike or take the bus instead of traveling by car
- Take faster showers or baths in just a small amount of water
- Help hang clothes on the line instead of putting them in the dryer
- Choose products that are not over packaged

Recycle:
Explain to your kids that every bottle and can they use is waste that just sits in a big pile at the local dump if we don’t recycle. Get them involved by making it their job to sort recyclables and take them out for pickup.

Should any of my readers be homeschooling their kids, please click on this link by Carson-Dellosa Publishing about Earth Day which makes for a great lesson.

Another fascinating link is Earth Science enterprise: for kids only! NASA studies the earth, not just outer space, and has created this earth science site for kids and their teachers and filled it to the brim with information, lesson plans, and games.

If you are looking for a grooving Earth Day site to share with your kids, check out: Kaboose globe-rider link.

So tell me, what is your contribution to Earth Day?