Celebrate Earth Day!

Tomorrow is Earth Day and I want to highlight some activities that you can do with your child to celebrate.

Disney is releasing the film Earth and for every ticket purchased this week a tree will be planted. I applaud Disney's reforestation efforts and from what I hear about the film it is one that I will not miss! My son loves animals and this is a perfect film for us to enjoy together.

Photo credit: Disney Films

I believe that the earlier we teach our children about green living the better. By exposing Mekhi to this an early age it will become second nature. Although he is not two yet, I believe it is never too young to begin teaching children about becoming 'green." I have mentioned on numerous occasions how much I enjoy Noggin network. They highlight the importance of recycling and conservation of energy not only during Earth month but year round. My son already knows that we turn off the lights when we leave a room and always insists on doing it himself.

For Earth Day, Noggin has not let us down. Our favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba, Pinky Dinky Doo and Toot and Puddle will all be environmentally themed. Nickelodean will be airing green themed new episodes of Wow! Wow! Wubzy and The Wonder Pets. At 9:00pm E.S.T, these stations will encourage kids to do a 60 second power down by turning off all the lights to signify a commitment to the environment. Mekhi will be asleep by then but it is a great idea for older children and kids in other time zones.

Although I have not seen it, I will certainly be purchasing Sesame Street's "Being Green" a DVD that teaches children about being eco-friendly. The DVD stars Paul Rudd as Mr. Earth and Elmo turns green! My son is a big fan of Elmo so this will be sure to be a hit in our home.

If your child's school celebrates "Earth Day Everyday" then you must enter Walmart's contest to win a $20,000 grant for your school to continue it's efforts to be eco-friendly.
Parents, teachers or administrators may submit a 200 word essay to win. Hurry! This contest deadline is May 1st.

Of course there are other activities that you can do with your child. An easy task that children can have fun doing is separating the recycling. Teach your child the appropriate bin to place the items in and make it a game. My girlfriend just mentioned to me that her four year old admonished her for not recycling. He is learning about recycling at school and wants to implement the practice at home.

For other activities be sure to check out the Botanical Garden or other echo friendly venues in your area. In Atlanta, The Botanical Garden is half price all day. Mekhi and I attended last year and had a ball in the Children's Garden playing and attending a show.

I hope that my suggestions have inspired you to think about ways to celebrate Earth Day with your child tomorrow.

***Be sure to Enter my Earth Month Giveaway by Clicking Here. $130.00 in prizes are up for grabs!