Paper Recycling Kit

 How fun ist this? You can teach your children or class about recycling paper and actually show them! This is great for a science project or for something to do around the house! Once your kids learn how to do this it can be a practice carried on through their lives to remember the importance of recycling! Green Creativity has amazing products for learning and fun! Learning to be green is great to start when you are young! You can get your Paper Recycling Kit here.

About:

Repurpose old paper into new paper with Green Creativity’s Paper Recycling Kit! This kit is designed to help your child understand how paper can be recycled.Learn how paper is made and recycled. Create lots of different textures and patterns and make them into unique bookmarks, notepads, greetings cards and more!Another great educational children’s toy that will help your child learn and care for our environment.Kit Includes: 50g of paper, paper making tray, net, 3 tubs of paint, 1 paint brush, colored yarns, silk flowers, ribbon and detailed instructions.

Connected Wisdom Illustrates the inter-connectedness we as a world share. Every action effects your surrounding environment accordingly. This concept may be difficult for children to grasp but Connect Wisdom defines the meaning of a Living System perfectly for everyone in terms that can be come a “fairytale” of positive sorts for generations to come.
Everyone agrees that to create responsible and aware adults the lessons must come from childhood where these ideas can be cemented in to a child’s impressionability before they have time to be negatively influenced by outside efforts. This may sound almost like brain washing but if you think about the fairy tales that you remember as a child most of them had little to no relevance to real life other than wait patiently for prince charming to come save you. You grow up being delusional even if you know better somewhere deep down you wish for Prince Charming right? In the case of Connected Wisdom a child can know deep down what is right so as children and then adults they can make good decisions regarding their environments for current and future generations.

About Connected Wisdom:
Living Stories About Living Systems gathers twelve stories from different cultures that each reveal a unique example of a “living system.” Through them, Linda Booth Sweeney shows that what we now call systems thinking has been around for a very long time.

A Balinese folktale tells the story of a gecko who cannot sleep because of the sparks from a firefly. He traces the cause of his complaint from one animal to another to the mosquitoes he depends on for his survival. Like this gecko, young readers will understand that all life is inter-related, and will be able to grasp the concept of the living system of “interdependence.” In a Burmese folktale, a king spills a drop of honey on his windowsill, too little to bother cleaning up. Yet the drop draws a fly, which attracts a lizard, which is followed by a cat, then a dog, and the owners of the cat and the dog, each armed with a stick. When civil war erupts, the king and readers understand the living system of “linearity,” in which an effect is disproportionate to its cause.
Says Sweeney, “If kids understand living systems, they’re more likely to think and act in informed ways and less likely to jump to blame a single cause for the challenges they encounter. As kids appreciate and learn about living systems, they see that connections in nature, people, problems and events bind us all.”

Green Toys Inc.

I have written a few posts about Green Toys Inc. products like Green Toys Recycling Truck, Green Toys Tool Set, Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit, Green Toys BPA-Free Feeding Spoon, & Green Toys Cookware and Dining Setto list a few. I love the packaging and design of these products. They are fun and colorful but more importantly environmentally conscious and made here in the USA! Green Toys Inc. makes sure to minimize packaging where ever they can. As per their site “All Green Toys products are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable.” As a consumer this is so important to me. I can’t tell you how many times I buy something and when I open it there is more trash than product. That is just wasteful and makes me rethink purchasing from there again. Green Toys Inc. has their products tested by nationally recognized third-party labs here in the USA to make sure they are fit and up to par with regulations and container no external coatings so lead poisoning is a non-issue.

Toys may always be necessary but they don’t have to be harmful.  Children are a precious resource and it is our responsibility as adults to teach them at a young age how important it is to be responsible to our environment.  We can do this by making conscious purchases.  Companies like Green Toys Inc. takes their responsibilities seriously and so should we.

About Green Toys Inc:
Made in California, USA Less Transportation, Less Energy
All Green Toys products are 100% made in the USA. To be more specific, they are produced in California, a state known for strict toy safety and environmental laws. It’s cool to buy USA, but also think about this: transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses. We all know driving less is good for mother nature, but did you ever think about how many miles a toy logs before it ends up in your local store?
Our toys are truly local creations. Every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in California. Our raw materials and toys aren’t shipped from overseas, which saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gasses. It also guarantees your toys won’t get seasick before they get to your home!

Eco-Easter

I loved Easter as a child less for the candy and more for the money wrapped eggs my parents would hide around the house for me.  I milked that until I was probably 20, and I am clearly not ashamed to admit it. Easter tends to be full of bad habits most of which are purchasing wasteful items, over indulging and teaching kids rabbits will leave you ginormous baskets full of a billion calories while hiding colored eggs that most people wind up throwing out or forgetting where they hid them in the first place. I am still confused as to where the Easter Bunny and Jesus met and decided this was how to handle the holiday but neither are around to ask so I guess we just have to deal with it. Being the responsible greenie I am and knowing you are as well here are some obvious ways to make your Easter go Eco!

1. Make your own baskets out of newspaper ,magazines or old fabric you have laying around. Make your children work for that candy! You can decorate them and use them for multiple years or donate them when you are finished. Best case if your basket is made out of newspaper or magazines recycle it!

2. You can also make your own eggs. Paper mache is always fun or I see alot of people purchasing wooden eggs
to color as well. I am a fan of the do-it-yourself options so find materials around the house that will be able to be recycled when you are finished. The best part is if all of the eggs don’t get found you won’t have a stinky mess on your hands. I have read you can knit your own eggs from bits of random yarn and wool you have lying around the house which I really think is a great idea and a skill everyone should possess.

3. Don’t purchase your children candy make it! If you make your own Easter treats you have a say to what and how much goes into the treats. Most of the Easter candy you see is gross and normally you wouldn’t let your children eat it so why let them on Easter. It can be sending a confusing message. My parents (probably because I was a chubby kid) would fill my basket with other things besides food that would last longer and I would appreciate more like outside games or Bath and Beauty stuff. Petit Appetit: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Easy, Organic Snacks, Beverages, and Party Foods for Kids of All Ages

4. Have a family or friend get together full of activities and good food. I have a huge family and although they still purchase tons of eggs they make a family event out Easter. We hide plastic eggs (that can be recycled or if you have made your own) filled with small amounts of chocolate around for the children to find. We have the children decorate things like cookies (which you can make organic and healthy and use things like fruits and veggies to decorate with) to keep everyone occupied. You leave only with that you make and left overs from the afternoons feast. This way there are no messy baskets full of plastic grass, no overdose on sweets and everyone gets their exercise and creativity flowing instead of sitting around pigging out. My family event could definitely be greened up but it is a little better.
5. If you must have real eggs use fruit, veggie and flower dyes to dye your eggs. You can learn alot and save money because the items you don’t use you can eat. Also plan the meals you will make with the eggs afterwards and only purchase enough eggs to fulfill those needs. You can make tie-died deviled eggs, egg salad, rainbow cobb salad or just eat the hard boiled eggs whole. If you poke a pin hole in the bottom of the eggs the dye can get in and color the actual egg. If you use the store bought kind you might not want to do this but since these eggs should be green the fruit, flower and veggie dyes are ok to eat. Eco-Eggs Easter Egg Coloring Kit

6. If you have old baskets you are determined to use baskets be conscious of what you put in them. Don’t buy plastic grass they make paper grass or if you have fun shaped hole punches and a paper shredder make your own grass which is way more fun. You can even decorate the grass anyway you want. Color it or put nail polish on it and make it your own. Why waste money when you have everything you need at home. Easter Grass Kit is super fun and a great new way to get easter grass.

7. Easter Meals, make the food look fun. Children get picky over things that look weird. Most of the time taste has nothing to do with it. If something looks or feels gross they won’t go near it. If you teach children early who fun being healthy can be they will grow up with this in mind and take it with them. If you use a little creativity it can go a long way and they might not even miss the candy.
The Artichoke Trail: A Guide to Vegetarian Restaurants, Organic Food Stores & Farmers’ Markets in the Us (Hunter Travel Guides) or Feeding the Whole Family: Whole Foods Recipes for Babies, Young Children and Their Parents

Clean Water Science

I found a bunch of these different kits from Toy Smith and I have to say I love them! This one in particular is Toysmith 4 M Clean Water Science #4572. Clean water is something much buzzed about due to recent natural disasters and over use. The Clean Water Kit is great for in class experiments or even at home to teach your children about the importance of clean water. This kit is also good for traveling so you can learn incase of emergency how to make clean safe drinking water.

Product Description:

Help to save the enviroment. Learn the science of cleaning and reusing dirty water by conducting interesting water purification experiements. Build your own water filteration and desalination plant at your table top; disinfect water with solar power and more. It’s a cool water science experimental kit. This personal desalination kit demonstrates the scientific way to extract salt from sea water. Contains a plastic filter system, active carbon, sand, rock, filter paper and instructions. Just add a water glass! For ages 8+.

Happy Mama Spray

If you have never heard of Earth Mama Angel Baby here is a little bit from their about us section on Earth Mama Angel Baby website:

Earth Mama Angel Baby’spregnancy, childbirth and baby products were, ahem, born of our sincere faith in the natural process of birthing babies. Supporting the pure process naturally with nature’s gifts makes sense to us. We don’t think of pregnancy as an illness, merely a phenomenal process that has many wonderful and sometimes difficult stages. We trust in the wise women who have Happy Mama Spray is virtual bliss in a bottle! A gloriously uplifting aromatherapy spray, it’s made only with pure essential oils and flower essences for on-edge new mamas as well as more seasoned, patience-tested ones. pregnancy nausea, spritz a little onto your wrist and inhale to help settle the queasies. A spray and a deep sniff can help battle the “baby blues.” And to tolerate toddler rampage, a silly spray on both mama and tot can tone down a tough moment!

Happy Mama Spray Product Description:

Happy Mama Spray is virtual bliss in a bottle! A gloriously uplifting aromatherapy spray, it’s made only with pure essential oils and flower essences for on-edge new mamas as well as more seasoned, patience-tested ones. For pregnancy nausea, spritz a little onto your wrist and inhale to help settle the queasies. A spray and a deep sniff can help battle the “baby blues.” And to tolerate toddler rampage, a silly spray on both mama and tot can tone down a tough moment!Happy Mama Spray is made with a safe, proprietary blend that includes lime and ginger pure essential oils. (Read what the American Botanical Council has to say about the safety and effectiveness of ginger and pregnancy nausea).Use on bed linens, in the air, or any time you can use a pick-me-up (especially if someone is howling to be picked up)!

Now I am not pregnant nor to I have any children, unless you count my fur-babies as children which I do, I didn’t think that was a fair test although I did use it a few times when my animals were getting me stressed and I have to say that the mere thought that happy thoughts were right inside that bottle worked well enough for me!
I have the spray to two of my friends that are actually pregnant and in two different stages of their pregnancies.

One friend who is very early on in her pregnancy is plagued by horrible morning and all day sickness. She said that when she used the spray to help curb her queasiness it did really work. She did say it didn’t take away the nausea but it definitely kept her from getting sick.

My other friend who is much further along in her pregnancy who has another little one at home said she used it when she was feeling very stressed and tired and that the spray sort of gave her a kick to keep her going. The scent isn’t a traditional happy scent you would normally associate with smells but it is unique.

I personally think this is a real mind over matter spray. The idea that you have been told it will help actually lets the spray help you. Either way I got no complaints from either of my impending Mama’s. They liked the spray so much I have gotten it for both of them for the Holidays!

If you have tried any Earth Mama Angel Baby products let me know! I would love to hear about your experience!

I absolutely heart Planet Pals! Their designs are so colorful and fun and they are on a mission to educate us about the importance of being green! I was browsing through their website the other day and noticed they offer recycling kits for free! One kit teaches about water and energy conservation, another explains separating recyclables, a third displays all the items one is capable of recycling and the last explains how pesticides and other chemicals are harmful our environemnt. All four can be printed and hung up around the house. This could be an excellent project for a class or even just handouts for children to bring home! Maybe you could even design your own kits to hit on points not covered in these kits. This is just one simple way to make being greener more fun and create awareness. The Planet Pals site even has a section for teachers and parents to carry on the green tradition! It is worth looking into, you can never be too green!

Tiny Turkey Snacks

Ingredients:

Cocktail Pumpernickel Bread
Organic Cream Cheese (any flavor you like)
Organic Peas
Organic Red, Yellow, Green or Orange sweet pepper
Organic Carrot Slivers
Organic Cheese Slices
Organic Whole Cashews
Organic Slivered Almonds
Organic Parsley or Dill sprigs

Directions:

1, For each sandwich, spread the cream cheese between 2 slices of the bread and then stick them together.

2. For a head, use a small round cookie cutter to cut circles from another slice of bread, then attach the circle to the top of the sandwich with a dab of cream cheese.

3. To add faces like pea eyes, a slice of pepper or carrot for a snood (the thing over the beak), then you can use a pepper, cheese, or cashew as a beak.

4. Then for the body you can stick some peppers, slivered-almonds, carrot slices or parsley or dill-sprigs for feathers in between the slices. You can attach veggies to any part of the turkey you want and stick it on with cream cheese or even honey.

This same snack can be used with different fruits and pb & j! I always say get as creative as you want! There are no limits to your tiny turkeys!

Ghastly Table Town

Materials:

Recycled Construction Paper
Recycled Paper Bags
Recycled Corrugated Cardboard Boxes or Tubes
Crayons
Markers
Natural Plant Dye Eco Paint
Thin wire
Fishing line or thread
Newspapers
Magazines
Pipe cleaners
Small tree branches
Colored tissue paper
Organic Cotton Balls or any old cotton stuffing you have lying around
Poster board or a large piece of cardboard
Plastic bottle caps
Craft Sticks
Leaves
Acorns
Rocks
Grass and anything else lying in your front yard.
Glitter
Beads, buttons, anything to decorate your little town
Natural Plant Dye Eco Dough
Scissors
Ruler
Glue (hot or otherwise)
Any other odds and ends you have round the house you have been DYING to use!

Instructions:

Buildings- Use your paperbags or cardboard boxes to make houses and buildings! You can even construct people and furniture for the inside of your buildings! Decorate them any way you want. Make sure when constructing you buildings out of bags you use the bottom of the bag as the roof and if you want to cut pieces out maybe use some cardboard or craft sticks to help keep it sturdy. You can also stuff the bag buildings with old magazine or paper pieces to keep them standing.

Trees – Cut holes with a hole punch out of the bottom of the board you are attaching your buildings to and stick the branches you have collected from outside through the holes. You can cover any extra space with the other items you have collected from outside or when you get to making your spooky people and ghouls you can use them as well to hide holes as well. Use glue to attach the tree to the board. Wait for it to dry first before trying to cover up any extra space.

People – For a body, bend a pipe cleaner into an inverted V. Twist a second pipe cleaner around the first to create arms. Glue on tissue-paper boots. For a dress, cut a head hole in a black tissue-paper square, then slip it on and tie it with yarn. Glue on thread for hair and a paper hat. You can decorate your people with any of the bits and pieces you have collected. Use old cloth or ribbons to make clothing or hair. If you have stickers feel free to be as creative as possible. Make a Frankenstein, tissue paper mummies, round goblins or trolls!

Bats- Bend a 1-inch length of pipe cleaner into a V, then glue it onto black tissue-paper, play-dough or clay bat for bat wings. You use dough or clay and use a cookie cutter or stencil to make bats. If you stick a thin wire or pipe cleaner on the bottom or side of the bat, wait for the dough or clay to dry and stick the bat where ever you please. Use thin wire, fishing line or even thread to attach the bat to a building or trees. Remember these are only ideas to help you construct your town. You can make your bats anyway you want!

Ghosts – If you have cotton lying around use pipe cleaner or even craft sticks as a starting point. Wrap or place cotton around the stick until it looks scary enough. You can also use a plain old cotton ball the way it is and glue it behind a building or in a house. You can use pipe cleaners and glue tissue paper to it or over it. Even make a cardboard ghost cut into any shape you prefer.

Bottle Caps – You can use old bottle caps to make baskets to hold mini pumpkins, apples or anything you want! You can make a spooky local farm stand in your ghost town or use them to help you make your bails of hay!

After School Snack

Ingredients:

4 organic bagels (any kind or even organic bread)
1 tub organic cream cheese (any flavor your children prefer even tofutti!)
8 organic strawberries
4 organic bananas
8 bamboo skewers

Directions:

*Cut the bagels or bread in half and toast them. Then cut toasted pieces into quarters.
*Spread cream cheese onto the top of each bagel chunk.
*Cut bananas into 1-inch chunks.
*Cut the strawberries in halves
*String strawberries, bananas and bagel chunks onto skewers and serve.

Note: The best part about this snack is you can change it up. If your child has any particular allergies you can use any flavors and fruits you would like. Try using peanut butter and or jelly instead of cream cheese. You can trade your bread for graham crackers or no bread at all. This is such a versitle snack for your family can enjoy it all year round. Make a game of it and put out a variety of items for your children to build their own snacks!