I spend my summer months as a nanny to a family with
three children. I’ve been with this family for the last 5 years. A few years
ago the children became very interested in environmental pollution from
learning about it in school. They have a deep passion for helping reduce the
pollution that is put out by people. In efforts to encourage their go green
behavior we came up with some green summer projects.
Those projects were finding ways to used recyclable
materials, composting, and growing plants from left over produce. During the
first week of summer the children went through their home recycling bin. They
had on gloves and I was there to supervise to make sure there wasn’t any broken
glass or torn cans that could harm them. They decided that they could use the
glass marinara jars and other glass jars instead of recycling them. With their
crafty little minds, they re-used the jars as food storage, craft storage, and
vases. The next week we began composting.
We were unsure about how to start composting so we took
to Google for that one. We found a great site, pbs.org, that guided us
on our journey to composting. After getting the perfect container and spot for
our compost area the children put aside plant scraps that were left over from
cooking and meals. At the end of each day we would add the scraps into the
compost. We took care of the compost all summer. As the compost pile became
ready to use the children gathered seeds to plant in the soil from the compost
pile. I could tell how proud they were of themselves for their good green work
over the summer.
All of the projects were a success and the children had a
fun time while learning how they can live a greener life. They are eager to
start new green projects this summer. I highly encourage any parent or nanny to
try some green crafts with their children. It allows the children to learn more
about their environment and how they can do their part to reduce environmental
pollution.
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