Well I thought my last blog should be about Earth day, being it is Earth day weekend. There have been a lot of different ways of celebrating this time of year. There are beach cleanups around this area. The beach clean up is run buy all different groups. There are some run by Paddle-boarding and kayak businesses. They promote the beach clean up by renting their equipment for a discount so people will clean up the water ways and beaches as they paddle. There are the scuba diving businesses that promote the reef and beach clean up. They provide lunches and refreshments when you join them. There are so many different opportunities out there to keep the Earth clean.
Some things that can be taught is about "green" living. There are different ways to live green. There are many different products that contain chemicals and are bad for the environment and so many alternatives to them. In class you can have your students try to be toxic free. Natural products can be used to create non toxic cleaners by using natural ingredients such as vinegar, water and essential oils. Teaching children how to combine these things to make non toxic cleaners will keep them healthy while helping the earth. Another way to teach your class how to be green is to teach them about recycling. Making your classroom a recycle only
classroom will show students how recycling is easy to do and this may carry over to their home life.
A good website to take a look at is Green Schools. This site gives many great ideas on how to help your student learn to be 'green'.
What ways would you have your students celebrate Earth day? Do you teach about Earth day and conservation in your classroom?
Kristin,
ReplyDeleteI like your post about Earth Day. I too try to be as green as I can. I love the idea of doing fun "green" activities with my students. Your idea of creating non-toxic cleaners would inspire students to avoid store products to help our Earth. I like the seventh generation products. These could be good examples to bring in. I think having students make their own cleaners may be difficult but a lot of fun. I can picture my students having fun acting like scientists to create their new safe cleaners. I know lemons, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide work well for cleaning.
I have a recycling bin in my classroom that my students use to throw away plastic bottles. I'd like to start a second one just for recycling paper. We have also begun growing our own garden at our school with fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables. The students take turns watering the plants to help them grow. They love it!
Thanks for a fun post! I enjoyed it.
-Lisa Costello
Lisa, I am so glad to hear how your students are enjoying being green. I wonder how many take home what they learn in class. It sounds like the kids have fun with what you are teaching them about being green.
DeleteKristin,
ReplyDeleteHappy Earth Day! There are many "green schools" that take pride in conservation and recycling. FGCU is one of them. I don't work there, but at my institution, we have recycle bins everywhere for paper, plastic, and cans so students can drop their "trash" in the recycle bin instead of the landfill bin.
Using chemistry to make non-toxic cleaners would be a good experiment for students and a great way to teach them about toxins.
In my house, full of teenagers, I encourage my kids to recycle by putting notes on the 12-pack case of soda I rarely buy that state, "If you want to see these again, recycle!" That usually does the trick. :)
-Christi
Christi, I think that is great what you do at home with your teenagers. I love that is actually works. The idea of using Chemistry to teach how to create non toxic cleaners. I think it so beneficial to start teaching this to children while they are young.
DeleteKrisin,
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize it was Earth Day, so I guess I missed out on any type of celebration. Do you think using technology, such as iPads/tablets, computers, and other instructional tools have a positive impact on the environment? Part of me believes yes as we are not printing/throwing away as much as we have in the past. Actually, one of my instructional goals a while back was to use an online testing site (Quia.com/web) to test all my students in place of printing tests and quizzes. I have been successful in doing so, but my thoughts are, while I'm using less of one thing, I'm using more of another. I'm using the computers more, which need to be charged more, so more electricity is being used. Additionally, the batteries on my computers will need to be replaced more frequently because of such heavy use. And finally, what about when the computers and batteries are replaced? I know some parts can be recycled, but all? And what about the more toxic parts like the batteries?
As far as the environment is concerned, I wonder if using technology is really better, or it just seems to be the better option.
Thoughts?
-Mark O
Mark, Great questions about technology. I think there are benefits to using technology in placed of printing. There are benefits of not using paper. There are too many trees being cut down for paper. It is not a very renewable resource. There are programs in place for recycling batteries which will also help the environment.
DeleteKristin said, “There are so many different opportunities out there to keep the Earth clean.”
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog post this week because, yes, there are so many opportunities to keep the Earth clean and it can start with simple and small gestures/actions. No matter if it is a beach cleanup, a recycling drive, or simply using your own bags (or even paper bags instead of plastic) at the grocery store – we can all do our part, big or small. The greatest waves, start with a small ripple. I would encourage everyone to do something extra this week, big or small, to try to live a little greener.
Kristin said, “Making your classroom a recycle only classroom will show students how recycling is easy to do and this may carry over to their home life.”
Wow! What a terrific suggestion. I support recycling whenever possible, but had not considered the impact my recycling might have on my students. Anything positive I can do in my classroom that will benefit, my school, my students, and possibly their home life; I support wholeheartedly. Great suggestion! As an additional suggestion, I would encourage teachers to invite the parents to also be involved in the activities we undertake for Earth day/week. I feel this will also carry over to the home life of our students in a positive way; I am a huge proponent of transparency and parental involvement and I believe including the parents in these activities will benefit everyone involved. Thanks for the great suggestions and encouragement in your blog this week!
It was a pleasure reading your blog posting,
Thanks for the insights,
Dawn