Tips for teachers, parents and kids on how to live "greener" everyday lives. Contact me at Teachgreen@AOL.com
Hi! Thanks for stopping by. Every month, I will answer your questions on
how to bring environmental studies into the classroom, how to deepen our
environmental awareness and how to live more "green". I'll suggest seasonal
activities that can help our children get closer to nature and give
suggestions on how to encourage them to be loving caretakers of our great
planet earth. I want to encourage our children (and ourselves) to fall in
love with nature. When you love something, you will take care of it.
I look forward to hearing from teachers and parents about environmental projects that you've done that have been successful. E-mail me at teachgreen@aol.com and I'll share with others what you are doing.
Also, I want to hear from Kids! E-mail your poems and stories about nature, ecology and our great Planet Earth, to Teachgreen@aol.com and I will share your feelings with other kids in the Earth Patrol Kids section at the end of this site.
Q: I'm looking for some hands on reuse activities that kids could do at a booth for the Kids Club at the Ace Hardware Show in March. Something they can make out of waste. I saw a few ideas on your Teaching Green page. I'm looking for something not too bulky and that can be made from common materials. Any suggestions you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Paula West, West Communications, Aitkin, MN
A: One of my favorite, easy to do, recycled art projects is making Paper Bead necklaces. All you need is paper from magazines or newspaper (color paper is more interesting), a pencil, some school glue or glue stick (or tape) and a string long enough to make a necklace.
Tear or cut the paper into 1" wide strips. Then cut them to about 6" long. Wrap one piece at a time around the pencil. Close the end with a little glue or tape. Slide the rolled paper off the pencil. Repeat until you have enough "paper beads" to string on the string. Voila! A one of a kind necklace. (If you are using black and white paper, you can paint the beads before you string them.)
Q: We are sponsoring a ecological event and will be distributing favors to children. Do you have any suggestions of what kinds of bags we could use that are ecologically friendly? We are on a budget and we need about 150. Joe from Florida
A: There are wonderful selections of ecologically correct materials that you can use. Small bags, that can be used again as a lunch bag, are now being made using cotton, canvas, burlap, or hemp. These may range in price from $1.50-$3.00 per bag. String bags that start at about $1.50 per bag, are also, great reuseable possibilities.
If you are really on a budget, you can use brown, recycled paper lunch bags, (about $5.00 for 100). After you've filled it, turn down the top and punch two holes with a paper punch. Thread a piece of raffia through the holes and tie it shut. If you have a label of your organization, stick it on the front. It will make a nice presentation and it can be recycled when the child gets home.
March is a wonderful transition month as nature gently awakens to welcome spring. This particular year, March is special because it is a Blue Moon month, one with two full moons (on March 2nd and March 31st.)
Spring Equinox (or Vernal Equinox) is March 20th. On this day, we will experience an equal amount of day light and night. Thereafter, the hours of daylight will predominate. Don't forget to acknowledge this day, by singing spring songs, dress in spring flower colors (yellow, purple and pink), or bringing daffodils to your teacher.
Also, March is the time for maple syruping and... mud.
If your family or class hasn't done it yet, now is the perfect time to start thinking of your summer gardens, design your garden plans and order your seeds.
Traditionally, peas and cabbage can be planted on St. Patrick's Day. So, get them in the ground this March to enjoy your first early vegetables of the season.
It's great to let children help in the garden, and even better if they have their very own garden plot. It doesn't have to be big. It can even be a container.
Watching germinating seeds.
You will need: a clear glass jar or clear plastic cup, absorbent paper towels, dried beans from your pantry. Line the jar with a few layers of moist paper towels. Slide some beans around the inside of the jar, next to the towels. Place the jar in a sunny spot. Keep the towels moist by pouring a little water in the jar daily. In about 10 days you will have an amazing sprout, and be able to watch the roots and stem as they grow.
Windowsill gardening
Use soil that is formulated for indoor, container gardening. Seedlings, of course, need sunshine and water, but the most successful seeds germinate when heated from underneath. You can "boost" their growth by placing them on a radiator. Just make sure that you have a dish or saucer underneath to collect the unabsorbed water. You can use the traditional plastic pot (plastic retains water better than clay, which is important to seedlings) or you can be creative and use these bio-degradeable ideas that can be placed directly in the soil: Peat pots from a garden center, egg shells, and egg cartons. The most rewarding seeds to grow indoors are herbs, lettuce, nasturtiums, and sunflowers.
Who to contact for more information on Children's Gardens:
Use either an existing calendar or make a blank one. Every day, children can record spring awakenings. Mark down the first blossoming branches, tulips, iris, crocus, narcissus, etc. Don't forget to mark down the rainy days, the muddy ground and the BIRDS! These are all wonderful characteristics of spring. Continue this calendar through the months of April and May. Be creative. Use colorful markers, or cut out pictures from magazines.
I want to hear from you Kids! E-mail your poems and stories about nature, ecology and our great Planet Earth, to Teachgreen@aol.com and I will share your feelings with other kids in this Earth Patrol Kids section. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Carol Baxter is a free-lance writer specializing in articles regarding environmental issues, with special interest in how environmental negligence impact on the health of our children, family and the planet. Her articles have appeared nationwide in parenting magazines and newspapers and in environmental publications. In 1989, she founded MY FAVORITE PLANET, INC, a company selling products that have a positive environmental impact, inspire the love of nature, and encourage kids to take care of our planet. She is currently working on the book Teaching the Green which will be an "at your finger-tips" resource guide for educators and parents, that will make accessing environmental educational materials convenient.
She is a co-developer of the Nyack Farmers' Market and presently serves as its Market Manager and Program Coordinator. She is a very involved member of the New York City based Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet and is an active volunteer for the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Rockland County. She is also a 4-H leader. Her club the Hudson River Mermaids, are focused on learning and discovering "how things work" in the natural world and are energetic caretakers of the world around them.
In 1993, she became an ardent activist against the use of rbGH hormones in milk production and was co-founder of the New York City Safe Milk Coalition, which set out to convince the New York City Public School System to join the hundred school districts nationwide to ban rbGH-treated milk in the schools.
Prior to writing, she was a professional dancer in New York City for fifteen years. She currently lives in the Hudson River Valley with her husband and two children. She can be reached at her e-mail address, Teachgreen@AOL.com
© Copyright Carol Baxter 1999
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