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Today I saw a glimpse of spring! yeah! Finally, it has taken forever it seems. I am so anxious to get outside and start enjoying the fresh air with the kids again!! One of my favorite things to do is to go to the playground with the kids or use ours in the backyard. Kids can spend hours on the playground enjoying the fresh air, getting exercise and practicing their fine and gross motor skills. Not to mention all the socialization they get while they are out there with other kids. In honor of Earth Day, get out and enjoy the great outdoors, if not at a park, maybe take a walk or hike.
I have always loved having a playground in my backyard for the kids. It’s so convenient and they can just run out for a few minutes if they want to. They have spent countless hours back there. When we first got the playarea, we wanted to make sure it was safe, so we made a box around it and filled it with mulch, 10 inches of it, so it would be cushioned. Unfortunately, every year we have to replenish that mulch which is a pain, and it can be quite pointy if you have sandals on. One of my friends recently put up a playyard and put down this rubber mulch. A company called rubbercycle makes it. It is amazing and I wish I had known about it when we made our area. It is made from recycled tires, so it’s environmentally friendly, and it’s extremely soft! It also comes in colors and doesn’t fade. The other thing I like about this rubber mulch is that it doesn’t need to be replaced every year like our wood mulch! Maybe if we ever redo our back area I will invest in some of the rubber mulch instead! In the meantime I will enjoy what we have and try not to be to annoyed by the mulch in my sandals.
Hopefully Earth Day will be a nice day for you, one where you can recommit to doing your part to helping our earth. Even if it means something as small as shutting the lights off, saving water, walking to the store or teaching your kids about recycling. Pick one small thing and do it! Happy Earth Day!
Earth day is a great opportunity to teach kids about taking care of the earth, recycling and the importance of being respectful of our environment. A great way to show kids about recycling is to use recycled materials in earth day crafts. Here are a compilation of Earth Day Craft ideas featured here at Toddler Crafts. Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day!
This is a fun Penguin Craft to make with a toilet paper roll. I love coming up with crafts that you can use recycled material. In honor of Earth Day I thought this would be a great one to highlight! This craft is thanks to a kindergarten teacher! If you are doing this craft with young children who are learning their letters (ages 2-6) you might want to put a P on the stomach of the penguin using some glue and glitter. You can name the penguin with a p name like “Peter Penguin” and show your child the letter P. Let them trace the letter P with their fingers to help them feel what the letter shape feels like. This a fun way to help your child learn their letters.
Supplies:
Toilet paper roll
Black, white, and orange construction paper
Orange pipe cleaner
Googly eyes
Glue
Scissors
Glitter
Steps:
Take black construction paper and cut it so it’s about 2 inches longer then toilet paper roll and make sure it is wide enough to wrap around width of toilet paper roll.
Put glue on outside of toilet paper roll and on the top and bottom inside. Wrap black paper around the toilet paper roll and press into the roll so it sticks to the insides.
Cut white oval from the white paper and glue on black construction paper to make the Penguin belly.
Cut a piece of the orange pipe cleaner and push through the toilet paper roll to make nose.
Glue on googly eyes.
Cut out feet (make them a little longer then needed), from orange construction paper and glue extra part on the inside of the roll.
If desired write a P with glue and add glitter on top of it.
Happy Earth Day! I thought this video was perfect for a post on Earth Day! It highlights how beneficial recycling our aluminum cans is. The great thing is, it is so easy to do and the cans can be recycled easily and used again and again!
There are many simple things we can do to live a greener life, here’s a few simple ideas that can help our earth…
Turn off the lights when you leave the room
Walk to the supermarket when you can
Walk to the park instead of driving
Take a 5 minute shower
Buy items that are concentrated, like concentrated laundry detergent etc, it uses less plastic
Buy fruits and vegetable from the local farmers market
Grow your own fruits and vegetables
RECYCLE!
What kinds of things are you doing for earth day today and all year round?
photo credit: mel_rowling
