Going Green: Fun Activities for Kids

Teaching kids to go green becomes a whole lot easier if you can make it fun. Given that kids love getting hands on with everything, you might want to consider getting them involved with green activities around the house.  It’s a great way to keep them busy as they learn and they can be a really great help to you!

There is a lot that kids can get involved with when it comes to going green at home.  Generally the more the activity resembles an art project or something they might do at school, the higher the chances are it will hold their interest.

photo credit: naturalmom

Kids Making a Green Smoothie

You might have your kids prepare non-toxic cleaning products for the house. Much like a simple cooking project, the kids can have fun putting it together in the kitchen before they actually start cleaning with it. You can also have them prepare a meal using healthy ingredients. Kids learn through their experience… you’ll soon see that they have a great time with it!

THIS WEEKS FEATURED ACTIVITY

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The secret behind the lamp’s “lava” is science. Oil is lighter, or less dense, than water, so it rises to the surface. Salt is heavier, or more dense, than water, and sinks to the bottom. When you add the salt, blobs of oil attach to the grains and sink. Then the salt dissolves, and the oil returns to the top. The result? A liquid show for the eyes.

YOU WILL NEED

• Clear jar with lid
• Water
• Food coloring
• Glitter
• Vegetable oil
• Salt
• Flashlight
  

INTERACTIVE:

Make Planetpals Dance Game You make the moves, fun!

Planetpals Mix and Match Game Make pairs of Pals!

Make Music Game Help Fluffy play the drums!

Planetpals Litterbug Game Learn Eco facts

Planetpals Peace Puzzle Game : Word Game

Make You Own Recycled Paper

Making paper is an art. When you make paper at home or at school, you do essentially the same thing as commercial paper manufacturing plants by mixing old paper with water (photo at right) to create recycled paper fiber. You can use a blender; they use gigantic hydropulpers.

Here's a basic "recipe" that's simple to do and  takes less than an hour:

Ingredients:

• Used paper
• Screen on a frame
• Tub or bucket
• Blender or hand mixer
• Magnifying glass
• Water
• Old newspapers
• Optional: rolling pin, cloth (two tea towels work well), dried flowers and leaves, bleach, liquid starch

• Tear paper into 1-inch squares. Soak in water several hours or overnight.
• Scoop out 1/2-cup of paper and put into blender, add about two cups water from the soaking container. Blend about 30 seconds.
• Blending breaks the paper into pulp. After blending, dip your fingers into the pulp and look at them with the magnifying glass. You'll be able to see the individual wood fibers that, when bonded together, make paper!
• Over a sink, pour the pulp onto the screen and let the water drain out. Place a layer of newspaper over the pulp and gently press out the excess water.
• Turn the screen and newspaper over (so the newspaper is at the bottom) and set it on a table (cover the table first!).
• Carefully lift the screen off the paper.
• Place another layer of newspaper onto the wet paper and gently press out more water. Turn it over and remove the layer of newspaper. Repeat this step a few times.
• Gently peel off the damp, recycled paper. Place it on a newspaper or table to dry overnight. You can also use a rolling pin to help flatten or press the paper. If you want, put the paper between two cloths (two kitchen tea towels work well) and gently iron on your iron's lowest setting until dry.

• Try using different types and colors of paper.
• Vary the amount of water you use. Less water makes thicker paper.
• Try de-inking the paper by adding a teaspoon of bleach (be careful not to get any bleach on your clothes!) after blending.
• Add a teaspoon of liquid starch after blending to create a finish on the paper surface.
• Put decorations, such as dried flowers or leaves, on your paper after you pour it onto the screen.
  

Some Easy Ways To Be Earth-Friendly

• Buy recycled paper and envelopes when you can.
• Buy products packaged in recycled materials.
• Buy products in bulk or those with the least amount of packaging.
• Recycle your own household paper and newspapers.
• Use cloth napkins and tea towels instead of paper ones.
• Recycle your junk mail and reduce the amount of junk mail you get by contacting the Mail Preference Service, c/o
• Direct Marketing Association, 6 East 43rd St., New York, NY 10017, and asking them to remove your name from mailing lists that are sold to companies.
• Don't waste paper. Use both sides before recycling it.
• Bring along a cloth or canvas tote bag when you shop.

Check Out The GUIDE Now

1. Eco Kids, the Sustainable Generation
2. Green Media for Kids
3. Eco Reads for Kids
4. Green Gifting Guide: Natural Toys for Eco Kids
5. Using All Natural Household Products in Green Kitchens
6. Spring Cleaning Checklist
7. Use Natural Products to Clean Your Home
8. Using Green Living Products

How to Avoid Mosquito Bites Naturally

• cardboard shoeboxes
• thumbtacks or push pins
• string
• straws
• scissors
• stuff from around your house to make your tent, like...
• wrapping paper tubes
• broomsticks
• tape
• rope
• sheets
• shower curtain

Instructions

1. What if you didn't have a tent to sleep in when you went camping? You can make your own tent using materials you find around the house.
2. First you'll need to make sure you have a good tent design. Start by building a tent model on top of a cardboard shoebox. The ZOOMers used straws as tent poles. Then they stretched string over the poles and used thumbtacks to anchor the string to the box.
3. Test out a few different designs on your shoeboxes. Think about the size and shape you want your tent to be, how complicated it would be to set up, how portable it would be, and if it would have enough room to sleep in. As you test different designs, remember that the tension on the string keeps the poles from falling and holds the tent together.
4. Once you've chosen the best design, find the materials you need to build a full-scale tent based on your design model. If you're building your tent indoors, your materials don't need to be waterproof. We've listed a bunch of household items above that you might use for your tent.
5. If you build your tent outside, you might want to use different materials. Like, you might want to have plastic on the floor so your sleeping bags don't get damp - or you could use stakes instead of tape to hold the ropes in place.

Sites We Recommend

If you’re looking for ways to help your child understand the importance of green living habits, consider bookmarking some of these instructive Websites designed especially for kids:

A Walk in the Woods, created by the University of Illinois Extension Service, aims to help third- through fifth-graders students “gain an appreciation of nature.”

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/woods/

Adventures with Bobbie Bigfoot provides an interactive quiz to help kids understand how food choices, transportation choices and more affect a person's ecological footprint.

http://www.kidsfootprint.org/index.html

AIRNow for Kids is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index pages. It features two sections to help kindergarteners and first-graders, as well as 7- to 10-year-olds, learn more about pollution and their local air quality.

http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqikids_new.main

Be Different, Live Different, Buy Different, Make a Difference is a youth-targeted site created by the World Wildlife Fund and the Center for a New American Dream. Its aim is to “to help young people learn how they can make a difference by buying differently.”

http://www.ibuydifferent.org/about_us.asp

Biodiversity: Everything Counts!, part of the American Museum of Natural History's Website, offers a guide to close-to-home biodiversity, even for kids who live in cities.

http://ology.amnh.org/biodiversity/index.html

EcoKids is Earth Day Canada's environmental Website for kids. It features online games, links for homework help and contests, as well as printable resources for parents and teachers.

http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/index.cfm

EEK!, created by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, offers information to help youngsters recycle, conserve water, plant trees and learn about nature.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/index.htm

EERE Kids, part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web pages, links kids to information about solar energy, alternative fuels, energy efficiency tips and more.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids

The EPA's Environmental Kids Club, while not the most appealing or user-friendly site, includes lots of features: games about recycling, information about endangered species, a guide to reducing greenhouse gases, an Earth Day activity book and more.

http://www.epa.gov/kids/

Green Teacher, though not specifically directed at children, offers resources for teachers who want to improve their students' environmental awareness.

http://www.greenteacher.com

KidsHealth, a site run by the The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, provides extensive information for kids on eating well, staying healthy, exercise, illnesses and the challenges of growing up.

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Kids' Pages offers a wide selection of nature- and science-oriented games, brainteasers, stories and downloadable coloring books about the environment, jokes and more.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/home.htm

The National Resources Defense Council's Make Waves! section features information on how to protect oceans and wildlife, a guide for eliminating environment and health problems in schools, and links to other green-oriented Websites for kids

http://www.nrdc.org/makewaves/

The National Wildlife Federation's Kids and Families site includes ideas from kids and adults about how to enjoy the outdoors, a Green Hour blog on the importance of letting kids play outside, a guide to gardening for wildlife, and information on subscriptions to the National Wildlife Federation's children's magazines.

http://www.nwf.org/kids/

The San Diego Natural History Museum's Kids' Habitat site includes illustrated guides to California's reptiles and amphibians, arthropods and marine life.

http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/index.html

The U.S. EPA's Website also features a section designed to help kids learn about chemical they might find in their homes.

http://www.epa.gov/kidshometour/

Dehydration in Children

Dehydration in Children Overview

Dehydration means not enough fluid in a child's body. This can result from not drinking, vomiting, diarrhea, or any combination of the 3. Rarely, sweating too much or urinating too much can cause dehydration. Infants and small children are much more likely to become dehydrated than older children or adults.

Causes of Dehydration in Children

Read Full Story