April's Challenge: Teaching Our Kids to Go Green!

Spring is a fantastic time of year, especially in Southern Ontario.  The glacier-like snow drifts and banks are finally just about all melted away, and the very first soft green shoots are starting to make their way through the earth.  Sadly, what is often discovered beneath the melting snow is a layer of trash and refuse that has been collecting all winter long.

Spring is a great time to be reminded that our actions have enormous impact on the environment around us.  This means that it’s also a wonderful time to engage children in the natural processes of the environment, including the growth of plants (and in July we’ll be talking about eating locally), the changing of the seasons, and even global warming.

Now obviously, I’m not suggesting that very young kiddies should be expected to grasp the complexities of climate change.  I am, however, suggesting that in the 21st century, it is the responsibility of all parents to encourage their children to develop good habits when it comes to environmentally sustainable living.  Even simple tasks like remembering to turn off the lights when leaving a room, using less tap water when brushing their teeth, and recycling are all things that children can be taught at a very young age.  Good environmental habits taught at an early age will hopefully carry into adulthood.  Parents are creating the next generation of eco-conscious adults!

This month at BlogHers ACT Canada, our challenge is to teach our kids to go green.  We’ll be focusing on four main areas on this site to get our message across:

• Week 1 (April 7):  Discovering great books for teaching kids about the environment.
• Week 2 (April 14):  How can kids spread the messages they learn at home to other children?
• Week 3 (April 21):  Kids can garden!  Teaching children where food comes from, and the importance of growing food organically.
• April 22 is Earth Day!  Be sure to check back for our Earth Day contest.  The prize will be a hard cover mini-edition of Whole World, by Barefoot Books, and proclaimed by Oprah herself on her "O List".  Whole World features music by Fred Penner.  You don't want to miss this contest!
• Week 4 (April 28):  David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge for Kids.

What books do you remember from your childhood that stand out in your memory?  Chances are, it contained a story with an important message.  Have you read the story to your own children, now that you’re a parent?

We want to know all about the books you are reading to your kids about the environment.  The book that comes to mind might not be focused entirely on the environment or eco-living, necessarily, but still instill awareness of the earth around us.  (E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web comes to mind for me, personally.)  This is the time and place to make an all-important recommendation, and you can make that recommendation either here in our comments section, or in a blog post of your own, linking back to this site.  Your post might be a book or website review.  It might also simply be a quick little list of books about eco-living for kids.  It could be a story about an experience you’ve had with kids who have taught YOU something about going green!

Please remember to list the title and author of any books you discuss, so that others will be able to find these great stories to add to their own home library.  As the reviews are written, the recommendations are made and the stories are shared, we will build a list of books and links recommended by YOU, our readers.  It is our hope that at the end of the month, we will have a fantastic resource here…a list of recommended books about the environment that parents can consult from time to time.

In true BlogHers ACT Canada style, we will randomly draw the name of a participant in this week’s challenge, who will win this fantastic prize: a copy of My Bag and Me! by Karen Farmer, a board book that teaches kids about the importance of using reusable shopping bags.

Check back often, and watch as the list grows!

Let the list begin!

• Melamalie's post, "Sneaking back to the blogosphere: Bloghers Act Canada" is about a book from her childhood called The Man Who Cooked for Himself, by Phyllis Krasilovsky.  "This is not a story about climate change or endangered species or organic gardening, it is simply the story of a man who discovers the great joy in participating in feeding himself," writes Mel.

Comments

[kittenpie]

I will be putting up a list of some books on the environment and endangered animals next Pick of the Litter post, so there will be a good handful coming up there, too!

[Melamalie]

I added a TrackBack to this post from my blog but it didn't seem to work.
Here's the link:
http://melamalie.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/sneaking-back-to-the-blogosphere-bloghers-act-canada/