Mom’s Money

Free Earth Day Activities For Kids

Okay, Mom, I know your day is jam-packed with work, errands, cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, and all those things you’ve got to get done before it’s lights-out tonight.  But, today is Earth Day and your kids are going to need a bit of your time and a lot of your input.

There are good reasons why Earth Day observance is important to you and your money.  Of course, the most obvious is saving our planet, because we won’t need to talk about saving money if we don’t first save our planet.  We all prefer to breathe clean air, swim in clean lakes, and hike our wooded trails without running into a nasty garbage dump.  But, it’s more than what we prefer, it’s about the actual health of our planet.  So, that’s discussion number one.  Let your children know that if we don’t change our wasteful ways, the planet will suffer.  And, when the planet suffers, we suffer.

We all know some simple ways to make an impact on our environment in our very own home.  Involve your kids in a quick assessment of all the things you’re currently doing to conserve energy and resources.  Have you turned the temperature on the air conditioner up a couple degrees and the furnace down a couple degrees?  Is your water heater temperature set lower and have you wrapped the water heater in an insulating blanket?  Are you using a water hose to clean off your front step when a broom and bucket of water would work just fine and save water?  Do you have a clothesline that’s been abandoned?  Let your kids set the pace for the discussion and involve them in your plans to improve your energy usage.  You’ll want to click here for the USA Environmental Protection Agency’s Kids Fun Activities site for all sorts of learning tools and great fun stuff to do.

Your next step is to review with your kids the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” strategy in your home.  Are you currently doing everything you can to reduce your “throw away” items?  How about reusing some of the things you buy?  Is your recycling area easy to use and is everyone in the family participating?  Again, ask your kids to give you some ideas about what they think could be changed in your home and lifestyle to reduce, reuse, and recycle even more.  Be sure to check out the free activities to help your kids learn about how they can help save the planet by going to the US EPA Kids Activities site.

Now, Mom, this is a good lesson for your children to learn, and the free Kids Activities on the EPA site are fun to do, but you’re wondering how all this is going to save you money.  That’s the easy part.  By doing all those earth-friendly energy saving steps, you are reducing your energy usage which simply saves you money.  Conservation is a good lesson for all of us to learn because when we practice these simple steps, we help the earth, which helps its inhabitants… us!

After your lessons and activities with the kids are through, enjoy a walk outdoors, perhaps in a local park, and tell your kids how important it is to you to leave a clean earth for them, and some day, their children.  Have a Happy Earth Day today, enjoy a few fun activities with your kids, and save a bit of your hard earned cash in the process.  Now, that’s a good day!