Celebrating the Holiday of the 21st Century – Earth Day

Earth Day is a holiday which falls in April of each year. Celebrations of Earth Day are held around the globe, and the day is dedicated towards educating people on the merits of recycling, and doing other things to help save this big blue marble we all live on and call earth.

There are many ways you can celebrate Earth Day with your children and spend the time teaching them about the environment. Here are some ideas to get you thinking on how you want to spend your Earth Day.

Every single person on earth, child or adult, can do their part for the environment. You can teach this to your children in very simple and easy to understand ways. From the day your child is able to turn off a light or television, teach them about wasting electricity and make it part of their normal daily routine to shut off the power when they are done with something such as a television or game. Also, teach them to always turn off lights when the leave a room. If you teach them this as very young children, then it wont be such a battle when they get to be teenagers.

Other ways children can pitch in to help conserve electricity is through walking or riding their bike more, as well as helping to hang clothing on a line to dry.

In addition to saving electricity, your children can learn to save water by doing small things differently in their daily routines. Simple things like turning off the water while they brush their teeth or taking faster showers all help to save energy and conserve water.

A garden can be a wonderful way for a family to go green. You can compost your eggs shells and other organic waste products in your yard to keep them from ending up in a landfill. You can then use that compost as fertilizer for your garden soil. In addition to the exercise and interest that gardening provides, it also provides your children a chance to see how food is grown and used.

When you shop for food and other household products, explain to your children where they were made and where their packages end up. A simple trip to your local landfill will be a huge eye-opener for your children and really help them to go green a lot faster. There they can see the amazing amounts of waste even just one small town or community generates. Soon your children will be telling you to purchase things with less packaging.

If your child notices something in your own local town which is wasteful or harming the environment unnecessarily, ask them to write their local government official and let their voice be heard. Explain to your children that democracy is for both adults and children. This exercise is wonderful to help with writing skills, as well as to help build a sense of community in your child.

Finally, the absolute best way you can teach your child about nature and the environment is to spend time outdoors with your children. By getting your children interested in outdoor activities such as hiking, you can ensure that they will have a more healthy life and a better respect for the world in which we all live.

If you want to take your children to a park or on a hike, try letting them lead the way and show you what they find. Children are much lower down to the ground and can show you many things that you might not have otherwise noticed. If you will be spending time outside with your kids allow for a lot of extra time and for them to explore feely.

As you can clearly see, there are many ways in which you and your children can enjoy the earth we live on. There is much more to Earth Day each year than a reminder to recycle your cans and bottles although that is always a good idea too.

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