Green Options

I’m not a big flashcard fan because Einstein Never Used Flashcards, but then again, we are not all Einsteins. Easy Going Green Flashcards are designed to teach parents and children simple steps they can take to live more eco-friendly lives.  52 flashcards make up a deck, which are printed on recycled stock with vegetable-based ink. The flashcard collection comes in a reusable muslin bag.

My favorite Easy Going Green Flashcard is “Wear the same clothes all day”.  I am constantly doing laundry, and I know part of the problem is the frequency with which my daughter changes her outfit. This has gotten better as she has grown older and would live in her pajamas all day.  When she was younger, it was not uncommon for her to have worn five outfits in one day when she first learned to dress herself.

Other great tips include “Eat seasonally” and “Don’t waste food”, as well as information on rainforests and cleaning products.

We get a lot of press releases and review copies of children’s environmental books; however, I don’t get very excited about many of them. Either they try to put too much information in or they try to be creative to appeal to children but instead misinform children.  10 Things I Can Do to Help My World: Fun and Easy Eco-Tips by Melanie Walsh is different: it is both developmentally appropriate and informative.

Made from 100% recycled material, 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World has delightful illustrations and cut out pages.  Each page features a tip with a simple explanation of why the tip is important for our environment. For example, “I try…to turn off the tap when I brush me teeth.  Every time you do this, you save eighteen glasses of water.”  The 10 tips are:

When doing research for another post, I discovered David Gershon’s Journey for the Planet: A Kid’s Five Week Adventure to Create an Earth-friendly Life. I wondered what children would be encouraged to do and how this compared to other books providing “eco tips” for young people. This book is unique, as it creates a game for the children to play alone or in teams as they implement actions as part of the climate change solution.

You are about to go on an amazing journey-one that will help you and the planet. It will be fun, challenging, and exciting. Over a five week period you will learn how to take action to use our Earth’s precious and limited natural resources with greater care.