Green Options

I have opted out of traditional preschools for my three year old, instead choosing to bring preschool to her at home. Our plan for the year includes one letter a week (D’Nealian, as that is what our grade school teaches), plenty of outdoor activities, music, and environmentally sound crafts.

The first step in becoming more Earth Friendly is to consume less. In an attempt to do this, we will make supplies such as fingerpaints & playdough (if you don’t want to make your own, look for eco-friendly fingerpaints). We will reuse household items such as cardboard rolls & scrap paper. We will go on scavenger hunts to find rocks, leaves & bugs. We will make music with water in glass jars and drawing journals out of cereal boxes and recycled paper. The apples will be picked from the tree in our yard and flavored applesauce will be created and enjoyed for snack time.

Finger painting was one of my favorite pasttimes as a child, and I looked forward to the days at school when I could squish my fingers into gooey colors. Now, eco-minded parents concerned about their children’s health can chose eco-friendly fingerpaints made by Livos, a long time trusted company in my family for oils and varnishes. All natural and sensory fun, what could be better?

Salis Fingerpaints come in six colors: yellow, red, black, green, blue, and white. These paints can be mixed to form more colors giving children hands-on experience with color theory. They can also be diluted with water to be applied with a paintbrush, if your child is the type that doesn’t like to get his/her fingers dirty. Salis Fingerpaints can be used on stone, wood, unglazed clay, paper, cardboard, salt dough, etc.

These hemp-based vegan paints are made from water, mineral pigments, hemp oil, methyl cellulose, extract of gentian roots, and preserved with food/pharmaceutical grade substances.