Teach your kids about being "green" at every opportunity!

Teach your kids about being "green" at every opportunity! For example, recently I made a bus out of Legos for my daughter. She loaded it up with little toy people, animals, and food. While she was pushing it around on the floor, I asked her if it was a solar-powered bus. She responded yes. I've explained to her in the past, but said again, why it's better for the environment to power things with energy from the sun. I told her that it doesn't put pollution into the air nor does it contribute to global warming because it doesn't add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

She also understands why our garbage is separated out into recycling, compost, and actual garbage. I've explained that some items, like used paper, get broken down and turned into something new to save resources and space while others end up in a landfil, using up resources and space. Her Grampy, while gardening, explained the process of composting as she watched him take some compost and put it with new plants.

For expert ideas on how to raise eco-conscious kids, have a look at the book Eco-Kids by Dan Chiras. It has everything from small educational steps to methods for arranging an entire community to be eco-friendly.