Mother Earth Cards

Hello friends,

I've been meaning to write on here for quite some time but I've had some issues with my blogger account/ domain/ accessing emails etc. I'm in the process of getting it all sorted and having everything worked out. My apologies if I have been MIA or not getting back to you. Hopefully I'll be up again running smoothly and have all my photos and old linky parties working again. Please be patient with me.


 
In the meantime, I've had some time on my hands and the creative juices have been flowing. So I'll be adding some new products to my Etsy shop over the next little while as well. Since Spring is in the air and Earth day is just around the corner I want to share with you my Mother Earth cards!

I am an advocate of green living and try my best to teach and teach my son how to care for the Earth. I believe that the Earth is in crisis because of how we have treated it for years. As a mother of a young son I believe it is my responsibility to teach him how to do better. I thought it would be fun to make a set of Mother Earth cards with questions, crafts, activities and acts of service that we can do together to learn about gratitude for our Earth and to help others in our community do the same. In total I came up with sixty things that we can do as a family. 

I typed them up, cut them out, laminated them and attached them with a ring.The cards are very versatile and there are plenty of ideas that you can use with toddlers through to adults. You can use them as an activity a day countdown calendar for Earth day, in a Mother Earth themed gratitude jar or as I have by laminating and binding them together to use on their own. They are perfect for use in families and schools and suitable for toddlers to adults.  

Mother Earth Cards are now available as a pdf download in my Etsy Shop.


How do you teach your family about Earth day and green living?

I'm linking to some of these great parties.

Earth Day Learning Activities

Last week we were busy celebrating Easter so never got around to celebrating Earth Day on Good Friday. Even though it's over we can still have lots of fun learning about our Earth and how to take care of it any time right?!


Here's some great Tot School Earth Day lessons and resources you'll definitely want to put to use with us this week or bookmark for next year:


Coffee Filter Earth from Little Illuminations

Felt Continents Map from Montessori Teacher Training

Nature Prints from The Artful Parent

Layers Of The Earth from A Bit Of This & That

Playdough Earth from Superheroes & Princesses

Oil Spill Activity from Almost Unschoolers

Earth Day Recycling Game from Planet Pals

Cut & paste Earth from Storytime & More

Solar Cooked Stuffed Apples from Montessori Teacher Training

E is For Earth Craft from No Time For Flashcards

Coffee Bean Sensory Tub from Teacher Tom

3 Part Recycle Cards from Living Montessori Now

Paint Your Own Earth from My Montessori Journey

Table Top Recycling from No Time For Flashcards

I'll be sharing some other fun ideas throughout the week. How do you celebrate?

Fun Activities With Recycled Materials For Kids

TP Tube Food Chain Animals from 5 Orange Potatoes

Cardboard Truck from Today Is Fun

Milk Jug Ball Catcher from Lakeshore Learning

Plastic Bottle Bubble Blowers from Acorn Pie

Earth Day Project from Squashed Tomatoes

Cardboard City from On A Whimm

Sink & Float Bottle from Chasing Cheerios

TP Train from Homeschool Creations

Bottle Cap Stamps from Pretty Little Things

Magnetic Junk Pictures from Artful Adventures

Microbe Biosphere from The Magnifying Glass

Milk Jug Bird Feeders from Lucky Me!

Recycling Think & Sort Game from No Time For Flashcards

Soda Bottle Terrarium from Teaching Tiny Tots

Tips On "Going Green" With Young Kids

Here's some great tips that you can do with young children to celebrate Earth day and to teach your children how to be "Green":

(Source)

For Toddlers & Preschoolers

• Let them practice turning off the lights whenever you leave a room and teach them vocabulary such as "light" & "turn off the lights"
• Let them practice turning the taps off after they brush their teeth and show them how not to waste water. Again, a good chance to teach vocabulary here
• Put them in charge of making sure you turn the TV etc. off whenever you aren't using it. They love having tasks to do, especially when they are put in charge!
• Let them help you hang clothes on the line instead of using a dryer
• Kids as young as toddlers can help sort recycling and even place items into bins
• Decorate reusable bags together that you can use when you go shopping
• Teach them how to pick out ripe/ seasonal fruit and vegetables whenever you go grocery shopping. K loves smelling all the produce and feeling it which is a great sensory activity.
• Start a compost. My son loves taking out the garbage and taking out food scraps is just as exciting!
• Let your child help dust the house with a microfiber cloth instead of using harmful sprays
• Start your own garden and work on it together
• Help them draw pictures or take photos of what they find during outdoor activities
• Watch movies or TV shows that teach about the environment and make sure to talk about what you learned afterwards
• Plant a tree and watch it grow
• Pick some flowers together and make a bouquet, or dry them and press them to make a picture
• Feed the birds and watch them with binoculars
• Help make a birds nest
• Read books about nature
• Make crafts using recycled materials
• Clean up the park together by picking up litter
• Reuse junk mail by letting your child colour on it or make art
• Make your own playdough
• Collect and sort nature items

For All Ages:

• Reuse bath water. Give your toddler or preschooler a watering can and they'll love watering the plants
• Go on a bike ride or pack up a stroller with essentials and walk places together instead of driving. Why not stop and have a picnic while your at it?
• Try to make less of an environmental impact by buying used toys and clothes or repurposing the ones you have
• Do a toy or clothes swap with friends or donate items to a charity
• Buy natural toys and products instead of plastic
• Try and have waste free lunches for school by investing in a lunch set with reusable containers
• Ditch the bottled water and juice boxes. Opt for a stainless steel water bottle instead
• If possible wear the same clothes all day and only wash them when necessary
• Try to use cloth diapers instead of disposible ones or use biodegradable disposible ones whenever possible
• Go on nature hunts, hiking, apple picking or sledding and teach them to care for nature by nurturing their love of the natural world
• Adopt an endangered animal through a charity
• Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins

Do you have any other ideas? How are you celebrating Earth Day this year?

Easy Crafts for Earth Day

I'm a little late on posting some easy crafts to do for Earth Day but here's some great last minute inspiration that you can do with things you probably have around your house:


Make recycled creatures with Creative And Curious Kids

Plastic Lid Ladybugs from Crafts By Amanda

Make painted planters with Toddler Craft

Make easy butterflies with Ramblings Of A Crazy Woman

Decorate a compost bin with Kaboose

Did you do a craft with your toddler or preschooler for Earth day? Or maybe a great activity that you want to share? Leave a comment and link up to your blog post. I'd love to see what you've come up with!

Happy Earth Day!