Comments on: Teaching children about the environment - five tips

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Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:49:20 +0000

[...] Teach your little ones about food, the environment, and sustainability. Five tips from littlegreenblog.com. [...]

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:10:46 +0000

Growing your own food - that’s one of my favourites, Melissa! It’s such a wonderful thing to do with children, especially when you realise that many kids never see a fresh fruit or vegetable.
Dh is a bad one for leaving lights on too - but he argues that he is now running the kitchen ones off a battery so he can leave them on all the time
have a wonderful Sunday,
Mrs Green x

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:42:31 +0000

Mrs. Green,
We are going to tackle number 1 - grow something you can eat. We tried this last year and the deer got at it all, but it was a good experience for my son to dig, sow seeds and plant and watch everything grow (and then get consumed by the aforementioned deer). Thankfully we’re participating in a local food co-op this year and we’ll be going to the farm for all of our vegetables as soon as the crops start coming in (again a good experience for him) I have also been working on saving electricity and reminding him to turn out his light when he leaves his room (and the same lesson for his dad too!)
Thanks again for a great article! Cheers!
Melissa.

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:34:41 +0000

Hi Melissa,

Uh oh - scary monster alert! I hope today quietens down for you; must be the full moon tomorrow hyping him up!

I’m glad the article was helpful for you - let us know which ones you decide to do yourself
mrs G x

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:13:56 +0000

Mrs. Green,
I have a lot to say but one’s waking up and the other is a scary monster (ie very loud…) I think these are all great ideas to get children involved. Thanks for a wonderful article!

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:29:55 +0000

Hi Leslie,
How wonderful that you are teaching your grandchildren such values in their lives. It doesn’t matter that your two year old doesn’t understand the concepts - they are born into this world TRUSTING that what their family do is right. Understanding comes later. For now, she’ll just imitate what you do and that’s fabulous!

Getting the little one out into nature and showing her the bounty available will hopefully encourage her to try new things.

The American / English stuff still cracks me up; I’m still finding little gems here and there when I talk to American friends. I won’t even begin to tell you how I figured out what fanny means over there LOL!

Mrs G x

By: Leslie

Leslie — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:22:55 +0000

I’m already doing some of these with my 12yo granddaughter, as well as doing things with my 2yo granddaughter even though she doesn’t yet understand the concepts, but you’ve given me ideas for doing even more. Our primary goal right now is simply to help encourage the 2yo to be willing to eat a large variety of whole foods, since unfortunately her mother and older sister pretty much eat nothing but heavily processed foods.

I had to laugh, though. In the US, we call those “water barrels” or “rain barrels.” I thought I had heard most of the words used in the UK that were different than from here in the US, but “water butt” was definitely new to me. My 12 year old gd is at that middle school age where what I call “bathroom humor” rules (anything about certain body parts or bodily functions), and I presume that you know that in the US the word “butt” is primarily used to indicate someone’s backside. So she’ll be tickled to learn that she helped me to build a “water butt” (and I hope to build a few more in a couple of weeks).

By: Mrs Green

Mrs Green — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:25:04 +0000

Hi Joyce,
Thank you for your popping by again and leaving a comment! I’m sorry to hear about your son’s experience that gave him nightmares. Sometimes we forget, as adults, just how impressionable and sensitive those little souls are. I really feel that a more positive attitude is conducive to meaningful change.

Peter; always good to see you. I’m afraid your story does not surprise me. We encountered a similar situation when our daughter went to school. Out of a class of 14 peers, she was the only one who could recognise and name a table full of fresh fruit and vegetables. She was also the only one who knew how to hold and use a sieve when they did some baking. Her teacher commented to me that she was clearly the only child in the class who had ever been allowed to help in the kitchen at home.

These simple, quality moments spent together bring so much joy, as well as teach wonderful life skills.

Blessings to you both,
Mrs G x

By: Fr. Peter

Fr. Peter — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:36:45 +0000

Hi Mrs. Green,

Without going into any details, I have experience of a situation where young people, who were invited in for a chip meal (the only way they would attend) were astonished to find that chips came from potatoes…

Passing on an awareness and an excitement of the world that we live in to a child is a great gift, and one that will always be with them.

It is a sad fact that most teenagers can identify dozens of different makes of cars, but very, very few indeed could identify different kinds of trees.

Regards, blessings and admiration for your efforts,

Peter.

By: Joyce

Joyce — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:11:42 +0000

What a great list! I love your positive approach. I remember my son, when he was seven, having nightmares becasue his teacher had talked so much about the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the Alaskan coast. The photosw of the oily animals dead on the beach were too much for him at that age. I’m sure the teacher was well-intentioned but it was not appropriate for his age group. Your way is much better.