The following is a list of the top five most common eco-friendly arts and crafts supplies that most probably you already have in your home that you can leverage to use for endless fun inexpensive kids' craft activities. 1) Paper towel empty rolls / toilet empty rolls These can easily be turned into rainmakers (add rice, rocks or dried beans; then, seal off each end with duck tape, decorate and use). 2) Paper bags These items can be easily turned into paper puppets. 3) Cotton balls Cotton balls can be used as decorative craft additions or dyed into any color. 4) Yogurt containers These items can either be recycled or repurposed into gardening/flowering pots; great for young kids to decorate/paint. They can also be converts into pails (just use a hole puncher to insert two holes on opposite ends of the container and use a heavy duty string as a handle). 5) Newspaper/magazines These items can either be recycled or repurposed. They can be cut and pasted and used to create collages of all types (themes may include: animals, favorite foods, sports, transportation, clothing, etc.) Add Comment We are just a few weeks away from 2011 spring camp for kids. To keep children busy during the spring break, you can visit a number of national parks or zoos. However, for those of us who prefer to stay local, a quick easy trip to the library can uncover wonders. First, approach the librarian and ask if he or she is aware of any spring camp program for kids. If so, you are in luck. If not, do not be discouraged, suggest to them that they have a zoo instructor bring some animals to the community center in the library for a zoo day. Better yet, call a number of local zoos and find out when they are available to arrange a half day for a library based event. Most zoos will do this for no or minimal costs because it is free publicity for the zoo and the library will be willing to have the event or program hosted at the library as long as someone is willing to do the legwork. Finally, once the event is organized, tell all of your friends and family members to participate in the program. Based on the program success, the library might increase the number of such events in the future (this time even without you making the phonecalls). The following is a link to one example of such a program: www.virginiazoo.org/education/library-programs.asp My goal is to reduce the use of plastics in 2011. I have researched ways in which I can reduce the use of plastics at home and came up with the following: - use glass reusable food containers for leftovers - purchase large economical size of dishwasher liquid - purchase laundry detergent that comes in paper packaging that is recycable Also, I have found great ways to reduce the use of disposable plastics by using reusable cloth sandwich bags instead of the plastic storage bags. Think about it, when you pack a sandwich for lunch, you literally use that bag for about 3-4 hours and then it is discarded. It is such a waste of money and resources. There are a number of great cloth sandwich bags available and sold at the www.etsy.com website where local boutique vendors post their wares. You can also make your own eco-friendly reusable cloth sandwich bags, too! The challenge of using such cloth bags is when you have sandwiches with condiments. You can avoid packing a sandwich with condiments (e.g. mayo, mustard or ketchup) by having an economical size bottle stored in your office pantry refrigerator. Just add the condiments when you are ready to eat the sandwich. For this upcoming school year, I vow to pack a set of silverware for my kids' school lunches along with their lunchboxes. The school supplies free plastic ware so I've been lazy last year and haven't pack their own set of silverware, but now that they are a bit older, I am packing them their own set in hopes that they return safely home with them after school each day. No need to splurge on fancy silverware sets. Just plan to use spare silverware. Do you have any suggestions on how to be more eco-friendly this upcoming school year? Please share your ideas. We have been able to attend a number of free eco-friendly activities with our kids. The following are some great activities and places that offer free eco-friendly events for kids this summer. Local museums and zoos: Most local museums and zoos offer free admissions at least once a week. So call in advance or check out their website to find out when the admission fee is waived. Also, if you have a family/annual membership to a local zoo or museum, you can easily find out if other zoos/museums will offer a free admission or discount (this generous system allows you access to over hundreds of museums/zoos in the U.S.). Just type in the following "reciprocated museum/zoo admission" inand the city/state where you would like to find out information on such programs. Take advantage of membership discounts: AAA members receive at least 10% discounts at over hundreds of zoos, museums, hotels and shops. When in doubt, just show your membership card and you most probably will receive a discount. Free corporate events: If you or your spouse have a business card or office id, you can easily attend a number of free corporate events throughout the summer. Recreational shop demonstrations: We like attending free workshops at recreational shops. They usually offer product demonstrations and a craft activity for kids. Bass Pro, Home Depot and Lowes all offer such free workshops for kids.  Spring is finally here. We are starting our vegetable garden for this season. We decided to plant eggplants, carrots and onions. Last year was quite an adventure, I randomly decided to plant pumpkins and cantaulopes (not doing my due dligience and researching the fact that these are actually vine plants that take alot of space to grow), so we spent the bulk of last spring and summer trying to manage the vines (we wind up with two decent cantaloupes (that were devoured by some random animal before we even had a chance to harvest them). I have my kids guess which plants will sprout first (our guess in order of sprouting were: eggplants, carrots and onions). Of course the actual sprout order wind up being onions, carrots and eggplants. It's fun to have them keep track of which will grow first (acting like mini-scientists). We hope to add to our vegetable garden list (red peppers and tomatoes). We already have broccoli and spinach (which seem to be growing like weeds). Here is a photo of our plant nursery (we use old shoes boxes and line them with plastic bags and we also reuse the small mini plastic containers that seedings come in from the local garden store). Next to the shoe boxes, you can see we have a bucket for rainwater. It works out well, we usually get rain at least once a week.  I have a personal policy not to post photos of my family (because as a former New Yorker, you can never be too paranoid). However, I felt compelled to share this photo of my son staring out at two wild cranes outside our enclosed patio. As a former New Yorker, it still amazes me the wildlife we see in our rural town. The cranes are majestic and make a weird knotting noise (sort of like a woodpecker) when they speak. Just amazing. One cannot get enough of nature. The Elmer's Glue Recycling program is a fun way to teach schoolchildren the importance of recycling. Students recycle used bottles of Elmer's glue and in return get chances to win great prizes! Parents, please get your children's schools involved in this great program. Participation is free!!! Please visit the following link to get involved in this great program: www.elmersgluecrew.com/how.aspx If you have school age children and/or teenagers, please have them visit the following website at: www.dosomething.org. This not for profit organization gives away weekly grants to fund eco-friendly and other positive efforts led by children and teenagers. It is such a wonderful way to get children motivated to become active community participants and leaders. My children are too young but I hope to get them involved within the next year. This is also a great website to share with other parents as well. If you come across any great websites or initiatives, please share the information with the rest of us. Thanks! I wondered if my son would ever learn how to tie his shoes when his classmates started tying their own shoes earlier this year. Then, it just happened yesterday morning. When we were about to leave the house, instead of my usual frantic race to tie his shoes, he just told me he did it. Another right of passage come and gone just like that. About a year ago, I've asked moms with older kids when their children started putting on their own socks and shoes and they told me that they honestly don't remember because it happens so fast. Of course, I sat there thinking when will it "happen so fast" to me, but now I know what they mean. As for our old worn out sneakers, instead of throwing them out, we bring them to Nike stores and donate them in the collection bins that is part of the Nike Reuse a Shoe program. The shoes don't even have to be old Nike sneakers, they can be any sneakers. They process the shoes and use the materials for playgrounds or new apparel. You can find out more information about this program at www.nikereuseashoe.com. With the recession and uncertainty in the economy, how can anyone offer to eat organic food? Well, here is how I try and incorporate organic food into my family meals. For me, it's all about trade offs and opportunity costs. First, we only eat at restaurants on a monthly basis (not even fast food chains) because the cost for the cheapest meal is at least $5 when you include tax. This does not include the cost of driving to/from the restaurant. When we do eat at restaurants, we do not order any drinks (we drink the tap water that they give us) and most restaurants let you bring in your own drinks for your kids (especially when you have them in cute sippy cups or reusable bottles). We skip dessert as well most of the time (if we do order dessert, we order one and share among ourselves). Second, we have a designated left over meal day (e.g. when you cook meals in bulk, it's usually cheaper and more convenient). I also limit the amount of meat we eat. If you think about it, the cheapest non-organic chicken will cost you at least $3.99/lb when the per pound cost of organic strawberries will run you the same price or less. In general, I've done quite a bit of research on this, organic fruits and vegetables will cost you much less than non-organic meat. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense of reduce your meat intake while increasing your organic fruits and vegetables intake (with a net cash savings for yourself). If you don't believe me, try gradually reducing your meat intake while increasing your organic fruits and vegetables purchase and track how much you wind up spending on groceries. You'll be happy with the results. Third, buy organic fruits and vegetables on sale. However, do not over purchase, unless you remember to put the extra ones in the freezer. Fourth, grow your own organic food. This takes quite a bit of time, but the hassle factor is almost completely gone once you've planted the plants and initially tended your garden. Fifth, limit or reduce purchase of small gadgets or toys. I know a lot of parents who are fond of the local dollar stores and use it to treat their kids for good behavior, etc. I am totally supportive of rewarding and recognizing good efforts from my kids. I just don't purchase things from the dollar stores. Instead, I scribble a star on a board and keep track of their behavior, then, when they reach the pre-agreed upon number of stars, I bring them to the zoo or museum. This way, I eliminate the collection of extra stuff at home (thereby, reducing the "where is my_____ , mommy?" conversations) and we get to go on a cool family outing. Finally, I would rather save money from movie rentals (I borrow what we want to watch from the local library) and use the savings towards organic food. Yes, that is how much I believe in consuming organic food. | AuthorEco-friendly activist trying to make more healthy eco-friendly choices for my family. CategoriesAll ArchivesFebruary 2012 |
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