Happy Earth Day 2013

Earth Day 2013 is here.  What is Earth Day?  Earth Day  is a special day to educate adults and children about respecting our planet and keeping it clean. Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970.

Reduce- Teaching your children to conserve electricity not only helps reduce fuel emissions, but it also saves you money.  Turn down the thermostat, and turn off the lights when you are not using them.  Plan your weekly errands so that you minimize the amount of time you spend driving your vehicle.  We all cringe when we fill up at the pump, so why plan our trips to save von gas, or car pool.

Reuse- Try not to throw away anything that can be repurposed into something else.  Look around your house for items that you no longer use, but you could incorporate into something new. This is a great way to create a craft project. Do you have anything that you no longer have a purpose for? Simply donate it. This is also a great way to control clutter.

Recycle- At our home, everyone knows which items are to be recycled, and which items are to be thrown away. If you are just beginning to recycle, designate a bin for recycling. You will need to check with your town's regulations as to what you can and cannot recycle, but you would be surprised at what they will take.  My kids love to help take jars, cardboard and all our other recyclables to the recycling bin.

Replant- Go out and plant a tree, or two. This is a great way to celebrate Earth Day, and find some enjoyment in your day.

This year my family will celebrate Earth Day by planting a tree in our yard, and by going out into our community and picking up trash. However you choose to help on Earth Day is surely a win win for our precious planet.  I feel that it is extremely important to teach our children from a very young age, the importance of respecting the earth, and doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint. Visit http://act.earthday.org/ to take a fun carbon footprint quiz. It is pretty eye opening.

How are you celebrating Earth Day this year?

Vist:http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html to read some interesting facts about recycling.

Here are some great books to read to your children, and teach them about respecting our planet Earth.

*earth image found at http://www.clker.com/clipart-9912.html