Teaching Our Kids Green Lessons Through Reading + EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY!
We’ve all heard it: the children are our future. Thanks to today’s daily troubles with the environment and economy, it’s never been more important to instill conscious values in our next generation.
Thanks to a California-based company called Earthwise Kids, starting sustainable conversations with the youngsters just got easier. Proud mom and company founder Connie Trider has had the planet at the forefront of her mind from day one. “I decided to make it my mission to provide the very best gifts you can give a child in the form of healthy, earth-friendly products and educational books,” she says.
Currently offering 100% organic cotton t-shirts and a “How You Can Help?” book series, Earthwise Kids is off to a great start. Being a writer, I was naturally drawn to their award-winning educational books. Each tome focuses on a different element of the environment that needs our help: the land, wildlife, and ocean. “We took extra care in making sure that our books are printed on recycled paper and made with soy based inks,” says Trider.
Kids learn different ways to protect each of our planet’s vital resources and habitats. These tips are introduced to them via casual conversations an EarthWise kid has with a familiar animal – a polar bear (Pauli), turtle (Tippy), and cardinal (Birdie), to be specific. I can’t say that any one book is better than the other two. Growing up with countless Dr. Seuss books, I learned how to save the planet almost subliminally, but Earthwise Kids books put the truth in plain English without scaring our kids about the future they are being presented with.
And now … the EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY!
What will you win? A set of all 3 Earthwise Kids eco-friendly books, presented in a reusable and biodegradable jute gift bag!
How to Enter :: It’s easy! Just comment on this entry with your answer to this question – “How should schools teach children about sustainability?”
That’s it! Make sure to include your e-mail address in the space provided or I can’t contact you if you win.
The Rules/Fine Print :: One entry per person, per e-mail address. Winner will be selected at random via Random.org.
Contest runs from today, Tuesday, March 17th til next Tuesday, March 24th.
Awesome! I love it.
I think telling a child something does sink in but I think teaching by doing is a much better approach. Have a class project of planting a vegetable plant and watching it grow. Explaining the differences between organic and traditional farming while planting the vegetable. Setting up classroom recycling bins and teaching them not only what goes in the bin but what can be made from the paper and plastic they recycle. Starting in the small ways that us new to green start would be a great place to start with kids as well.
I teach kindergarten. We recycle in our classroom. We use the back of every paper for something! WE save construction paper scraps for collages. We collect soda can pop tabs for a Ronald McDonald House. We recycle aluminum and give it to our housekeeper.
I teach by doing!!
mj.coward[at]gmail.com
I believe they should teach by being an example at home and school. Let them see how others are recycling at school, work, and in the community.
gahome2mom(at)gmail(dot)com
They learn by the way other people do! They kids love to recycle too!
Great give away!! Schools should incorporate sustainability lessons into science classes, when talking about things like climate, water, life cycles, etc. Recycling programs are a good idea too. Contests like seeing which classroom can recycle the most cans or boxes of paper might excite kids. Field trips to eco-friendly sites, like parks and zoos combined with a talk about sustainability would also go a long way.
I love photography, I love the photos you’ve selected.
I want to show you some pictures my son has been taking, why don’t you look at my blog – victoriainteriors.blogspot.com – under Cauldfieldsyndrom?
Have fun exploring!
I love your entries….
Victoria
I think most kids learn best when they are able to get really involved. My mom teaches, and she has an aquarium in her room to teach about the environment and the interaction between plants and animals. I also think growing a class garden is a great idea if the space is available, or even growing things in small pots.
They can hold by mind the child minds with colour filled designs,cloth toys or radio sketchs..But family making better that and must be a controler surrounding of course..with cotton or linen bag,design site able little shoutmix box and a playing on regard to parent..thank u..they must write book into first years,they could smell bleeze by openning with pillow windows..
[...] we get down to business, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who entered the Earthwise Kids EXCLUSIVE GIVEAWAY. I had a lot of fun reading about how you think children should be educated about [...]