9 Ways To Get Kids To Go Green

Kids are naturally curious, so as you spend time with them outdoors, it’s easy to teach them about the importance of caring for the environment.

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Flickr / Arnaud DG
Flickr / Arnaud DG

Looking for fun ways to encourage your kids to care about the environment? They may not be interested in a talk, though maybe for some kids this will work just fine. A wonderful way to get kids to do anything is to make it fun. Here are nine ways to get your kids to go green and love it.


1. Simply get them outdoors

Nature is a playground for kids. They love to dig in the dirt and to explore. Fishing and hiking are two excellent ways to get kids excited about the outdoors. Also, simply playing in the yard with them would be a fun way to teach kids about nature. Kids are naturally curious, so as you spend time with them outdoors, it’s easy to teach them about the importance of caring for the environment.


2. Get them eco-friendly books and movies

Kids love to be entertained. You probably know from experience; most kids will love to watch just about anything. This can be used as an opportunity to get movies and books that impart environmentally friendly values.


3. Plant a garden

As mentioned earlier, kids love playing in the dirt. Gardening is a terrific opportunity to teach through fun. They’ll love planting their very own plants and watching them grow. Just keep in mind that you don’t expose them to powerful and potential dangerous gardening tools like pressure washers. As you dig, plant, and watch your plants grow, you can talk to kids about the importance of plants to our world.


4. Build a bird feeder out of an old milk carton

You can get different ideas for how to do this online. Not only is this fun for kids, this is also recycling! Instead of throwing away a plastic milk carton that could harm the environment, you can recycle it and turn it into a nourishing bird feeder for your neighborhood’s feathered friends.


5. Plant a tree

Planting a tree is a fantastic opportunity to teach kids about how they generate oxygen for the planet. They’ll have fun picking out the type of tree they would like to plant, and they’ll feel good about doing something for the Earth. Tree seeds can be bought online or picked up from your local nursery.


6. Organize a cleanup day

By contacting their parents, you can get your kids’ friends involved in making the world a better place. You can organize a clean-up day, where you clean up a park, your neighborhood, or even the kids’ own school. They’ll have fun working as a team together, and you can teach them about pollution along the way.


7. Coordinate a community donation

Get your kids to recycle their old toys, especially bath toys, as well as old items of the family’s, in a community donation event. You can get kids’ friends involved in this one, too. This will encourage kids to recycle old items instead of throwing them away to take up space in a landfill. This is an excellent opportunity to teach kids about recycling.


8. Create cereal box monsters

There are no rules for this aside from being safe with scissors, and it’s the perfect way to give your kids an opportunity to be creative. If your kids are old enough to use scissors, all that’s needed are empty cereal boxes, glue, tape, and fun add-ons like googly eyes, feathers, pipe cleaners, glitter, construction paper, colored cotton balls, and whatever else you wish to provide. It’s yet another awesome way to recycle.


9. Walk or bike to school instead of riding in a car

Walking or biking with your kids to school is a fun way to spend time with them. While you stroll or roll along, you can use it as an opportunity to teach them about air pollution.


Conclusion

Kids love to learn, and they love to have fun, so combining the two is the perfect way to get kids involved in making the planet greener. Try any of the ways on this list, or even research more ways, to get kids to go green. Thought Catalog Logo Mark