Teach Recycling from the beginning
Julie Green and Keen
6/09/2015
0
Ever since I was young my parents taught me how important it is to recycle and take care of our planet. I believe that all parents want to leave the world a better place for their children after they are gone. As my children grew up and learned about trash and where it goes, they also knew about recycling.
My husband and I made leaning about recycling fun for our kids. We made it more of a game and made it easy for them to understand and put to use. The earlier good habits are ingrained, the easier it is to make an impact.
When we were teaching our children about recycling we used some of these steps.
1. We talked about what recycling means and respecting and helping the earth.
2. There are many books about the basics of reducing, reusing, and recycling. It is a great way to start of teaching your kids. It excited my children to start recycling after reading.
3. To help them understand what was recyclable and what was not, we decorated bins to correlate what goes in them.
4. We had a “recycled item of the week” that we focused on to make it a fun event. Each week we kept adding to the list until we had a full list.
5. We made a fun facts list to post on the fridge about facts about recycling. For example; the average person throws away about 170 lbs. of food waste every year that is the same as 1,077 banana peels.
6. We visited our local recycling center to see how the process actually works. Our kids loved it when they were young. Usually recycling centers will help organize a visit with a group. It is a great way for them to understand the process.
7. To reuse our own “nice trash” we made little craft projects. Kids love crafts and what a great way to learn about recycling too. I found some good recycling craft ideas here.
8. To teach them about conserving water, we set a “shower song.” It was a song that they got to shower to that gave them a time limit so they did not waste water. We always made it one of their favorite songs so they knew when it was going to be done. It was fairly easy for them to grasp the concept of conserving water, they understand that if they used too much water, the fish wouldn’t have any place to live.
9. To teach our children about reusing we also had them go through their closets and toys to find five items to donate to local panties and organizations. It was a great way to help the community and teach them about reusing and making a difference.
10. There are countless games online that revolve on the subject of recycling and conservation. Our favorite websites were Kids Recycling Zone and Kids Recycle.
My husband and I strive to inspire our children to love the earth and take care of it. It is easy to feel like we don’t have much control about what happens to our earth in years to come; but it is beneficial to teach our little ones now to ensure there will be a healthy planet for future generations. I believe the earlier good habits are created, the easier it is to incorporate them into daily life.
Go Green and Stay Keen,
Julie
My husband and I made leaning about recycling fun for our kids. We made it more of a game and made it easy for them to understand and put to use. The earlier good habits are ingrained, the easier it is to make an impact.
When we were teaching our children about recycling we used some of these steps.
1. We talked about what recycling means and respecting and helping the earth.
2. There are many books about the basics of reducing, reusing, and recycling. It is a great way to start of teaching your kids. It excited my children to start recycling after reading.
3. To help them understand what was recyclable and what was not, we decorated bins to correlate what goes in them.
4. We had a “recycled item of the week” that we focused on to make it a fun event. Each week we kept adding to the list until we had a full list.
5. We made a fun facts list to post on the fridge about facts about recycling. For example; the average person throws away about 170 lbs. of food waste every year that is the same as 1,077 banana peels.
6. We visited our local recycling center to see how the process actually works. Our kids loved it when they were young. Usually recycling centers will help organize a visit with a group. It is a great way for them to understand the process.
7. To reuse our own “nice trash” we made little craft projects. Kids love crafts and what a great way to learn about recycling too. I found some good recycling craft ideas here.
8. To teach them about conserving water, we set a “shower song.” It was a song that they got to shower to that gave them a time limit so they did not waste water. We always made it one of their favorite songs so they knew when it was going to be done. It was fairly easy for them to grasp the concept of conserving water, they understand that if they used too much water, the fish wouldn’t have any place to live.
9. To teach our children about reusing we also had them go through their closets and toys to find five items to donate to local panties and organizations. It was a great way to help the community and teach them about reusing and making a difference.
10. There are countless games online that revolve on the subject of recycling and conservation. Our favorite websites were Kids Recycling Zone and Kids Recycle.
My husband and I strive to inspire our children to love the earth and take care of it. It is easy to feel like we don’t have much control about what happens to our earth in years to come; but it is beneficial to teach our little ones now to ensure there will be a healthy planet for future generations. I believe the earlier good habits are created, the easier it is to incorporate them into daily life.
Go Green and Stay Keen,
Julie
