EnviroMom

KidTip: watching & tracking birds

It all started when my son hollered from the kitchen, "Mom! You have to see this bird!"

I was pretty sure it was a dove, which is not a common sight in our backyard, so I understood his excitement. Luckily, several years ago I placed a copy of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (Western Region) in our kitchen for quick reference. I can probably count the number of times we've actually used it. No that's not true -- there was a six-month period when we used it daily to whack the top of our television set in order to get a clear picture. Let me tell you, this book is PERFECT for that job. It fits nicely in your hand and has a solid heft, perfect for smacking household electronics. Ever since we replaced the TV, the book has languished on the sideboard collecting dust. Until the appearance of the dove -- the Mourning Dove I should specify. Zenaida macroura.

KidTip: BYO durables for hot lunch

Last week my 1st grader came home wearing a crown full of 'protect the Earth' slogans: "Save electricide! Don't through trash on the ground! Reyuse!" High off of an active Earth Week, she was feeling the eco-love. She ran through the house flexing her non-muscles and shouting, "Earth Protector to the rescue!" while executing karate kicks (which really looked more like Michael Flatley in Lord of the Dance). I figured the time was right for an experiment! At her otherwise-exceptional public school there is no kitchen, so hot lunch is served on styrofoam trays (ugh) accompanied by plasticware and paper napkins (double ugh). Installing a kitchen with a dishwasher, or even a big sink, for cleaning reusable trays and silverware isn't in the budget, particularly these days when the district is looking at slicing off school days and teachers. So into the trash it all goes.

KidTip: Spotting popcorn trees and junior tree-huggers

Heather and I have been carpooling our kids for years now, and it's always amusing to listen to the things they talk about, argue about or amuse themselves with while we EnviroMoms drive. With our older kids, it was stop signs and bus stops. The first time Heather's daughter shouted "stop sign!" while I was driving, I nearly killed us all by slamming on the brakes -- thinking I'd missed one. But no... they were just spotting signs, and the goal was to be first to shout it out when you saw one. Eventually, I got used to that game without having a heart attack.

KidTip: Little hands cut up old holiday cards for tags and decor

We are having a snow day, which don't bode well in our household. My kids and I thrive on routine. My first grader loves to be busy. Thus, with a snow day, it doesn't take long for us to start feeling cabin fever. A black cloud of doom hovers over my head, and my inner thought bubble escalates quickly from tentative pragmatism to potential catastrophe:

"I think I can handle one snow day. But what if it doesn't melt? What if they declare another snow day tomorrow? What if they declare a week's worth of snow days?!? What if we don't go back to school until after the winter break??!!"

This train of thought drives me to near panic then wonder: is it beer-o-clock, yet? Sadly, It's 10am. I'm still in my PJs and have yet to brush my teeth. Beer-o-clock looms far in the distance.

KidTip: Good books on planting trees in Kenya and the joy of being a chicken

We are in and out of our local library so often that I sometimes wish I could live there. Always in search of a good book or two. We recently came across two that my kids both loved, so I thought I'd share.

My almost 7-year-old daughter really seems to dig the environment, and is a Friend of the Earth. When I picked up Planting the Trees of Kenya, by Claire A. Nivola, I knew it might be a little above her reading level, but hoped she'd like the story. That she did. We've read it over and over now. If you've not come across it yet, it's the story of 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai. The illustrations are lovely, and the story is told simply. It's a great introduction on the life work of this inspiring woman. I hope my daughter will take away the message that one person can make a difference and do amazing things in support of the Earth. Suggested for kids 5-8.

The other book we recently read and loved was a silly story about sisters and chickens that my dad found. The Chicken of the Family, by Mary Amato features three sisters, the youngest of which is named Henrietta. Her older sisters try to trick her into believing she is a chicken by putting feathers and an egg by her bed each morning. At first Henrietta is horrifed to not be a person. Then she heads out to a farm, and befriends some hens. And decides she'd rather be a chicken after all, since chickens are so much nicer than big sisters. It is quite funny and a nice break from Rotten Ralph and some of the other tiresome stories my kids make me read over and over!! The Chicken of the Family is recommend for ages 4 and up. My preschooler loves it (in fact, I think we may have it on permanent hold from the library), and my grade schooler does too.

How about you? What earth friendly stories have your kids enjoyed reading lately?

KidTip: The greening of the American dollar

When you think of a dollar, what comes to mind?

• The face of Sacagawea and her babe in papoose on the golden dollar coin
• The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin
• The new presidential dollar coin
• Or good old George Washington on a crinkly, crumpled one-dollar greenback

For me, it's George Washington and the paper dollar, every time. You may have noticed that the US Mint would like to change that. They have been actively advertising that dollar coins are the greener choice since they last much longer than paper dollars and are 100% recyclable.

What needs to happen in our family to embrace the greening of these dollar coins is:

• stop sticking them in the piggy bank, which is what I've done with dollar coins since I was a kid, and have been training my kids to do. Dollar coins seemed rare and precious. They seemed like keepers instead of spenders. So quite accidentally we're keeping good money out of circulation, but never failing to use those paper bills.

Who needs new toys when you have a full recycling bin?

My 6-year old daughter refers to herself as a 'reuser.' "Mom, I can reuse anything." If you were to look at our playroom, you'd see empty pasta boxes and milk jugs and metal lids and bottle caps and wonder if the raccoons had gotten into the recycling bin. Nope, just my daughter. When Renee and I gave a talk to her kindergarten class last year about the Reduce / Reuse / Recycle trifecta, she was impressed. What impressed her was that Reuse is superior to Recycle and thus she must save whatever waste she can from the fate of -- dun, dun, duuuuun -- RECYCLING.

While I'm proud that she's catching on, it is a little annoying and messy. It's hard enough to keep the regular toys picked up without the added challenge of the recycling detritus. The kids already had a recycling can in the playroom, which of course never had anything in it, so we decided to add a reuse box. All of these bits and pieces go into the reuse box, and when they are finished reusing them, they go into the recycling can. The kids have an art table in the playroom, so ripped paper or unsatisfactory (to them) artwork goes into the can. Still, there's not much in there.

And what, you may ask, could they possibly be doing with all this stuff? Small food boxes make perfect beds for small stuffed animals. Toilet paper tubes have endless possibilities (telescopes, towers, hiding places for small animals). Bottle caps are buttons in a spaceship made from a large box, and shoe boxes can be turned into a rocket. My daughter now has a drawer in her dresser specifically for these projects in progress, as they can be delicate and need "extra protection." Sigh. It's all good though. Why would she ask for new toys when she has a bin of freebies out in the garage?

Do you have a 'reuser' in the family?

Kid Tip: Read "Hungry Planet" with your child

At the recommendation of one of our GreenGroup members, I borrowed a copy of the book Hungry Planet from our local library. My 6-year-old is fascinated by it. It's a large, coffee-table book, filled with pictures and descriptions of what 30 families from 24 different countries eat during a typical week. Each chapter starts with a huge photo of all the family members and their total week's food and drink intake laid out before them. It breaks down what they spend in different food categories:

• Grains & Other Starchy Foods
• Dairy
• Meat, Fish & Eggs
• Fruits, Veggies & Nuts
• Condiments
• Snacks & Desserts
• Prepared Foods
• Fast Food
• Beverages
• Miscellaneous

It gives dollar equivalents for the total they spend each week. It takes you on visual journeys of what food shopping and cooking look like in different countries, shares their favorite foods and recipes, and details varying food storage methods.

As you can imagine, there's a world of difference between what the family of four Americans in Atlanta (including two teenaged sons) eats and spends ($341.98) in a week, and the the family of 15 in Chad (who spend and feed themselves on a mere $26.39). I was shocked to learn in our NWEI "Menu for the Future" course this week that if the whole world ate like Americans all fossil fuels would be exhausted within 7 years. This book very clearly illustrates the packaging and processing that is at the heart of the western diet, the excess of land-intensive meat production, the food waste, and the mountains of food-like products we consume (sodas, processed snacks, desserts, etc.)

Reading this book has been a great way to share the diversity of the world with my inquisitive daughter without leaving home, and she's very naturally wondered out loud about how some families only eat meat on special occasions, and maybe our family should try that too. My husband and I have resisted the urge to wrest the book from her hands (so we can better read it ourselves), and will probably pick up a copy for our home library. It's a fascinating learning tool, and we all have lots to learn regarding how we feed ourselves now and into the future.

KidTip: Don't be so quick to put those dirty duds in the hamper

I really let my kids get away with murder. They don't make their beds. Ever. I do give them the evil-eye every time they kick their shoes and socks off in random places all around the house -- which of course leads to mismatched shoes and much frustration trying to find a matching pair when getting dressed. It isn't a big problem with socks, however. There seems to be this trend in my 6-year-old daughter's school of wearing mis-matched socks. Maybe like Michael Jackson's one sequined glove, but hopefully the mismatched socks thing won't lead to other weird Michael Jackson-esque habits. And although it has the potential to drive me crazy on a bad day, the kids always take off their clothes at the end of the day leaving dirty t-shirts, skirts, jeans, underwear, etc. in little heaps mostly in their room, sometimes trailing into the bathroom, or often the hall. You know how you are supposed to pick your battles as a parent? I guess I've never chosen to die on the hill of dirty laundry piles, mismatched shoes and unmade beds.

Today being the first day of summer break, we didn't have to rush to get out the door. So I took a little time to sort through the piles of clothing in their room. And I discovered a bright side to this little dirty clothing problem. It's that I get a second chance to remember to spot treat their clothing before throwing it into the hamper (and if the spots are taken care of, the clothing stands a chance of getting handed down to another person). I also get a second chance to decide if it's even clean enough for a second wearing, or third, or fourth. Thankfully, my Thing 1 and Thing 2 are young enough to not get very stinky. Sometimes they even manage to make it through the day without their art project or meal ending up on their clothing. Lastly, we are not weirded out or driven to wash everything after just one wearing. There are people who can't deal with that.

Evidently, it's one of those cases of seeing the glass (or hamper) half empty or half full. If you can stand the piles of clothing that are somewhere on the continuum of being clean and dirty, you'll save a lot of water, laundry detergent and perhaps some parental grief in just letting the kids throw it on the floor. It mostly works for me.

Kindergarteners are ready to be Friends of the Environment!

As an incentive to fill out a survey, the Oregon Environmental Council sent me a kid-sized organic cotton t-shirt that says 'Eco-Kid'. I gave it to my daughter who asked, "What's an Eco-Kid?" I told her that it means she is a friend of the environment. "Friend of the Environment? Sounds like a superhero. Cool." Ever since then, whenever we talk about good things we can do for the planet, she always refers to herself as a Friend of the Environment (and flexes her tiny bicep).

Today Renee and I spoke to a class of kindergarteners about Reduce / Reuse / Recycle. We tried to make it as simple and basic as possible, and they totally got it. A lot of them already knew what should and should not go into the curbside recycling bin. They could tell us that using cloth napkins and reusable water bottles were better than paper and toss-away plastic. They practically rolled their eyes when I asked which juice container produced less waste: the big glass jug or the 6-pack of juice boxes. Then we looked at what some kids brought for their snack and talked about what could be recycled, reused and the potential for reducing their waste. I was just blown away by the collective smarts of these kids. Obviously their parents and teachers are sharing the right messages. These kids are primed to be Friends of the Environment.

Sometimes I forget how eager kids this age are to learn. They are learning so much already: reading, writing, addition and subtraction, geography, and how to navigate the social scene. Their minds are like sponges (unlike the 30-something year old mind, which is more sieve-like), and we really need to start taking advantage of it! It's time to plant the seeds of eco-friendly behavior in our young children! If you're looking for ideas, check out our index of KidTips and the Outdoor Kids series. And please share your breakthroughs with the EnviroMom community -- we, too, are eager to learn how to raise a Friend of the Environment.