Make It Earth Day Every Day

by Gwen

Earth Day 2012 has come and gone, but just because it is over, does not mean you can’t continue to be earth friendly every day of the year.

The Earth Day Network website is available year round and is filled with valuable information and activities (aimed at both adults and children) to get you thinking about how each little thing you do impacts the earth. Check out the Ecological Footprint Calculator designed to calculate your impact on the planet.

There is also the Billion Acts of Green section of the site which is packed with green acts you can do all year round from the very small (using cloth bags at the grocery store) to larger scale green acts such as making your home solar powered. Take a look through the site for some inspiration.

Here are some more eco-friendly things you can do with your family year round, from the Nayla Natural Care Pinterest Boards:

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Recipe - So it's not quite "chalk" it's more of a paint, but the kids will love it just the same. The best part? You can make it with 3 simple ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen: water, cornstarch and food colouring.  Image credit: Smashed Peas and Carrots Blog

Homemade, Non Toxic Gunk Remover Recipe - Sticker residue and miscellaneous gunk that a regular cleaner will not remove has met its eco-friendly match. The commercial counterpart to this mixture is highly toxic, flammable and has ridiculous fumes. Not something you or your children should be inhaling. Image credit: rosy blu handmade

Vegetarian Taco Salad Recipe - I made this taco salad a few days ago and it was a huge hit, even with the kids. It's quick to put together, it's healthy and it's delicious. Take it 1 step further and make it vegan by replacing the cheese with a cheese alternative such as Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds. Finish it off with avocado chocolate pudding and everyone will be smiling. Image credit: Eating Well

Celebrating the earth every day is a great way to teach kids the importance of being environmentally conscious. What things do you do with your kids to encourage them to be more green?

Gwen is a mom of 2 and owns/operates Nayla Natural Care, an online store that specializes in carrying the best organic, natural and eco-friendly products.

Question of the Month: Preventing Bad Habits - Pop

by Karen

Lara and I were talking about pop today and she told me that she doesn't drink it (except in certain rare circumstances) and she proceeded to explain why:

At three years old, Lara wanted to try her mother's root beer when they were at A&W. Her mother let her, but shook it up first. The result was root beer going up Lara's nose and to this day, she cannot drink root beer and rarely touches pop.

Her mother has admitted she shook it on purpose. (The woman is clearly brilliant. I'm not sure I would have thought of doing that!)

Lara went on to tell me about her friend who was making lemonade one day when her daughter insisted on having some. She hadn't yet put in the sugar, but there was no convincing her little one. So, she poured her a glass. (My jaw is locking up as I write this. Seriously, I'm not even kidding.) Her DD took a big sip and was horrified by the taste. So, her mom told her it was pop.

Devious? Perhaps, but it was also a funny stroke of genius.

So, let's swap stories today. Have you ever taken cunning steps to make certain food or drink unpalatable for your child(ren)? Did it work?

Activities for Kids: Understanding Plants & Colours

Every once in a while we like to do a learning activity that is somewhat outside the box. This week, one class was working on understanding colours and understanding how primary colours made secondary colours.

The second class was biology understanding how plants processed water.

So, to make it fun to learn both, this is what we did:

We took a bouquet of white carnations, some small vases, food colouring and some water.

We put blue and red in two different vases for primary colours. Then mixed blue and red to make purple and the last one was yellow and red mixed to make orange. By putting the food colouring in the water it show how plants “drink” and the colour moves up the stem to the petals, eventually changing the petals to the colour of the water.

Then we watched the process evolve over the next 24 hours.

The above photos were taken in 6 hour increments.

And 24 hours later I get a nice and colourful bouquet for me :

Heather Burke is a very involved Aunt of 6, who loves to make learning fun while being educational and can also be found at smartspaceorganizing.ca.

Painting with water

by Lara Sometimes I forget how simple fun can be for kids.  Now that it's getting warm out more often a great way to keep the kids busy outside for, potentially, a really long time is to let them paint with water.

A few paint brushes, a few spray bottles and a bucket of water = cheap fun, and they'll probably be distracted enough to let you get a little yard work done too!

Lara is mom to five year old Kiernan and two and a half year old boy/girl twins Quinn and Juliette. Between the kids and her social media consulting business, she spends most of her time running frazzled.

Birthday Party Planning

by Josee Celebrating the birth of our daughter is a grand occasion in our home, but not in the traditional gifts and cake sort of way.

For her 1st birthday, we decided to ask for donations to the Ottawa Food Bank. Although some guests did bring gifts (mostly second-hand—as requested) we were able to make a decent donation of non-perishable food items.

The idea was born out of a need to keep excessive amounts of “stuff” out of our little house and to teach our little one that giving is just as much fun as getting. So, we’ve decided to make this an annual event and we’ve upped the ante. Our goal this year is to “donate her weight” and, at 30 pounds, that’s no small feat! Guests will be asked to bring a donation in lieu of gifts.

Our evite reads:

Jacqueline-Eva LOVES to eat. When she learned there are people in her community who can’t afford to eat as well (or as much!) as she does, she decided to take action!

This year, in lieu of gifts, Miss Jeva is requesting guests bring non-perishable food items to be donated to the Ottawa Food Bank. Her goal is to “donate her weight”…so about 30lbs of food!

We’re hopeful that she will look back with fondness as she recalls memories of rallying together for a good cause and we look forward to making this a family tradition for years to come. Josée is a first-time mom and she is still getting a handle on finding balance with her roles as wife/mom/daughter/friend/employee… not to mention trying to keep up with the appetite of her soon-to-be two year old Jacqueline-Eva.