It’s indeed important to teach our future generation to preserve the environment when they are still small. However, it is quite hard to explain abstract notions, such as the environment, nature pollution, the greenhouse effect, and others to kids. The best way out is to focus on making it simple and joyful. If you start doing some activities as part of your family traditions, say weekly environmental family days, your kids will soon feel it is a normal part of their lives. Below, we gathered a list of small and easy environmental activities that anyone can do with their kids.
By the way, in the previous post, we shared ideas for an eco-friendly date with you sweetheart. Check it if you haven’t done it yet!
#1. Teach them recycling
First, you should make it easy for your kids to understand recycling. Kids are more used to evident use, so getting an abstract idea that some of their current actions can damage or save the planet can be hard for them. You can make and label special recycling bins at home so as to organize the process transparently.
#2. Plant a tree together
Do you have a small garden? Even if you don’t, you still can start to grow seeds at home and then plant a tree in the forest or park (if you are authorized to do that of course). Planting a tree is one of the best things to do to save the environment. Trees purify the air, cool down the planet, and help to reduce erosion and the pollution of waterways. So by teaching your kids to plant trees, you help to support the planet’s army of green fighters for the environment.
#3. Show how composting works
If you have a house and a garden, you can also show your kids how to minimize waste by composting food. We throw away a lot of unsorted rubbish, while actually a part of it can be used to create compost and later fertilize the soil. To make the experiment small and visual, take a sandwich bag with a zipper top, and put some chopped egg cartons and vegetables. Zip the top and put a straw inside to let the compost breathe. In a couple of weeks, you get a vivid demonstration of how you can create useful fertilizers instead of waste.
#4. Make seed balls
If you are not ready to plant a tree, one more nice way to show your kids the beauty of nature is to plant flowers with them. You can make seed balls in the form of the Earth. Just crafting something together will bring kids a lot of fun. And when they see the results, their beautiful flowers blossoming, they will be even more impressed. You can plant these balls in your garden, in a planter, or even somewhere on your way home, near the road.
#5. Play in nature
The idea is to switch your kids’ attention from gadgets and technologies to nature. You can buy a set with animal creatures and go a bit further by creating a close-to-reality model of their natural habitats. In the forest, you can pick some stones, sticks, pieces of wood, leaves, and moss. Build little shelters for your toys and teach kids to love nature.
#6. Learn more about nature together
People who spend most of their lives in cities hardly know bird species and plants. It is way easier and more natural to protect something you know and love. Take books with images of birds, mushrooms, and plants and go on a photo hunt. Try to find and identify as many species as possible. If this seems too hard, go to a nature reserve, take a guide who knows your region well, and explore nature together with your kids.
#7. Create a plastic mini greenhouse
To take one more green step with your kids, you can teach them to plant edible things, say spices, oregano, or parsley, in a self-made greenhouse. You will teach the kids the basics of growing things in greenhouses and explain how they can later grow food for themselves so as to contribute to the environment. This can also help you explain the difference between organic and non-organic food. So, take a plastic cup, one more clear plastic cup but bigger than the first one, push pins, soil, seeds, and water. Make holes in the bottom of the smaller cup and fill it with soil. Put your seeds in the soil and water them. And then put a clear cup on top of it. Voila! You have your small greenhouse!
#8. Craft something using natural things
Crafting is a perfect activity to make your kids interested in the life of the planet. You can go to the nearest park to collect fallen leaves, straws, cones and then craft toys and pictures using them. Play with your imagination and transfer your love for the environment to your kids while they are still small.
What eco-friendly activities do you like to do with your kids? Do you think it’s important to teach kids to be eco-friendly from their early days?
