Teaching Kids About the Environment

Being good stewards of the environment is a new concept that the current generation is growing up with, but their parents did not. Nonetheless, the environment is an important life lesson that should be taught in the home starting at a very young age. While news reports tend to scare people into being environmentally conscious, parents can make it fun rather than daunting with some projects to do together around the home.

1. Plant a crop. Lettuce is a simple, reliable plant that is ready in about a month. As they care for the plant, kids can begin to learn the often forgotten lesson of delayed gratification as well as the fulfillment that comes with self-sustainability. Another crop suggestion would be tomatoes since kids love to watch the fruit grow, mature, and ripen. When it’s ready, cook a meal together to taste the results.

2. Have a competition. Explain to your children the concept of electricity, how much appliances waste just by being plugged in, and the like. Then start a competition to reduce electricity and water consumption. Ask your kids to be a detective and sniff out where water is wasted in your home. Maybe it is leaving the faucet on while teeth brushing or maybe sprinklers go on too often. Make adjustments and see how your monthly water usage changes. Every month, take a reading of the meters. If you meet your goal, then reward the kids with an ice cream sundae.

3. Recycle together. If you don’t have a recycling system in place, then make one together and sort through your garbage. Make sure that the kids are involved, learning what can be recycled, and discuss what types of materials like styrofoam can be harmful to the environment. Older kids can have the honor of using the can crusher or breaking down boxes. Then, get your neighborhood together to collect as many bottles and cans as possible and take a trip down to the recycling center to get a bottle deposit rebate.

4. Use alternate forms of transportation. Bike or walk to the destinations near your house. If you live close to work, then try biking to work. Your children will see your efforts, which will be more influential than words could ever be.

5. Make compost. Kids can learn the process and have fun watching materials break down. You can even use the compost in your garden for the crops you have just planted together!

The most important part is to get your children involved in the process, get them thinking, and make it fun. Don’t focus on the negative environmental issues, but instead teach them how to be responsible and how they can help to make a difference. Pretty soon they will be catching ways that you could be more environmentally responsible!

Homeschooling is a challenge, but it can have outstanding rewards for yourself. At the same time, it can be reat for your child. Just be sure to take it very seriously and try to make an effort to separate your roll as an everyday parent with your roll as a home school teacher.


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