Get more info on the Green Kids Club here: http://www.greenkidsclub.com/
My day job is actually related to sustainability in science and I’m quite passionate about the subject, so I was very intrigued when I heard about this Green Kids Club and had a chance to review one of their books. The club’s tagline is “environmental activities for kids” – with 5 and 7 year old kids at home, that seems perfect for me to get them engaged and excited about the environment around them. Their website has a few activity suggestions and some very simple games (a word search, matching game, and a couple where kids can interact with a simple scene on the screen). These games seem to be made for touchscreen devices, so I would recommend trying them out on a tablet or phone. The book I received is “The Green Spring”. The illustrations are nicely done in a style that I think will appeal to younger kids. The text though is a bit heavy handed with a teaching type style. I wish that it were more plot and character driven, with a bit less obvious attempts to push environmental principles onto the reader. It just feels to me that the kids would be more likely to embrace and retain the key messages if the story were more engaging in this way. With that said, I do think it provides a nice introduction for kids to the basic concepts of environmental sustainability, with a cast of animals and children that young readers can relate to. All in all I’d say this is a cute book for a classroom setting where the messages can be backed up with some interactive group activities, but might not be my first choice for a home library where it’s harder to plan some of those related exercises.
Green Kids Club is designed to teach young children the importance of environmental stewardship through picture books. The series was developed as a utility to teach children the importance of protecting habitats to sustain ecosystems, animal life and ultimately human life. Difficult environmental issues that impact animals and human interaction are brought into the story lines. Examples include habitat encroachment, poaching, extinction.
Victor and Maya Green are the leaders of the Green Kids Club. They received the power to talk to animals by drinking from the magic spring (The Green Spring book). The Grand Council of animals selected Victor and Maya to help preserve and protect their homes. Green Kids from all over the world are selected to help Victor and Maya teach others about the importance of protecting animals and their homes. Their adventures take them all over the world, exploring new cultures and learning about protecting and preserving the environment and the animals that depend on them.
Green Kids focus on environmental sustainability, mitigation and preservation to protect animals and their habitats.
Growing up, I cared very much about the world around me. I enjoyed learning about animals, their habitats and even enjoyed heading to the nearest zoo to see some in person. Little did I know that I was oblivious to what was really going on in the world. I never knew people would end up be so cruel as to kill animals let alone even ruin the places that they lived.
I’d like to instill in my kids the same love that I had for animals. To just be outdoors and take in all of what nature has to offer. What better way than with a club based around everything animals and protecting what is so rightfully natures and the Earth?
For my review, I received a book in the mail called Green Kids Club: The Green Spring. In it you learn about how Victor and Maya get chosen to be the Green Kids and teach others the importance of protecting and conserving our environment. All throughout you’ll find beautiful illustrations of what is going on in the story. As I was reading this to my little one, she kept wanting to see the pictures. It was very well written and beautifully done. They even sent along a little magazine with other products they carry as far as books (and even toys) go.
After reading the story, we headed to the Green Kids Club website and did some exploring there. It’s very easy to navigate and you don’t have to pay a single thing to sign up. I signed up my 3 year old for this review. You can find fun things on the website such as games and coloring pages. Be sure to stop by the shop and check out all they have to offer there as well. Also, they offer an app for the Green Kids Club for iOS.
I think it’s great that the Green Kids Club exists. Our future depends on preserving what is meant to be here and the animals that have a right to be here. I know all too well just how people are forgetting what matters when it comes to our environment and the animals that live among us. I think if every parent were to tell their kids just how important our environment is, we’d see a great increase of those out there in the field who are dedicated to changing our world and our future.
Kids can make a big impact on the environment in a positive way.
Even small children.
And to make a big impact, you don’t have to do big things.
So here are 7 ways small children can save the world!
I’m only becoming more and more of an ecologist.
(I blame my obsessed-with-recycling-mom and my farmer-grandfather.)
I’m not brainwashing my kids to save the world, but I am teaching them, their actions will affect the environment – in both good and bad ways. And I’m starting conversations with them about their impact.
I hope you like these small things… that are actually BIG!
1) Pick up trash at the park or on a walk. I keep a few old plastic grocery bags in our stroller and before we leave the park each child picks up as many pieces of trash as their age. Even just one “trash walk” around the neighborhood a week will help keep your area clean and give your kids a sense of ownership for their neighborhood. Conversation questions: What would the the park be like if no one threw away their trash? Why do you think this person threw their trash on the ground when there is a trash can right next to the playground?
2) Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. I’m sure you have heard this water saving tip a thousand times. So why do you still leave the water on? You’ll waste about 2 gallons of water if you leave the water on while you brush your teeth! That would be enough water to fully hydrate my family of 6 for a whole day. Do this Experiment with your small children: Plug up the sink, brush your teeth with the water on, and watch sink fill up. Then take your cup and dip it into the water and scoop out the amount of water your child will use to rinse out their mouth. Compare the amount of water and ask if they should waste all the water in the sink, when they just need the water in the cup. Practice turning on and off the water together.
3) Visit the Farmer’s Market once a month. It might seem silly, but in this age of prepackaged/pre-prepared everything, so many kids don’t understand where their food comes from. As you walk the isles let your little ones touch the different fruits and veggies (with the vendor’s permission). Pick up ones they are interested in, to talk about the colors, textures, and taste. Let your kids ask the farmers about the food too! Buying your weekly fruits and veggies from the farmers market, even just once a month, will make a big impact on the environment: Supporting local farms, less fossil fuel than grocery store stock, and the knowledge your kids get about food and where it comes from will last a lifetime!
4) Use both sides of the paper when coloring or doing art projects. If your kids are anything like mine, they will create an art masterpiece on one side of the paper without ever being aware of the valuable paper-real-estate on the back. Or after a piece of paper has one line of color, it’s tossed in the trash. Talk with your kids about using the backside of their construction paper for drawing. This would cut paper waste in half… well… kids art paper waste! Here is a great exercise to help them understand a paper with a bit of doodling from a former owner is still usable. Take a piece of paper and make a few simple doodles. i.e. a line or a circle or a scribble. Then guide your child to use their imagination and add to the picture. This is a really fun game. You take turns adding to the picture until the paper is full. Then the next time your child comes across a “used” paper in the paper pile, they be ready to play a fun game, instead of throwing the paper away.
5) Turn off lights in a room. Electricity is generated from fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and oil. If we use less electricity we reduce pollution from all of the above. This is a bigger concept for small children to understand. But they will be able to understand, the lights should be off in a room, if the room is empty, or if it’s light outside. Play a game by turning on all the lights in an area of your home then letting your child race to turn them off. Do this a few times, all the while cheering them on as they try to beat their time. Give your littles the job of turning off all the lights before you leave the house.
6) Use reusable bags. Plastic grocery bags are the worst. WORST. They don’t biodegrade, it takes 12 million barrels of oil to make the Unites States’ plastic bags a year (so it can raise fuel prices), and plastic bags kill like eleven billion animals every year because animals can’t digest the bags they eat. (See this list for so many more reasons too!) Instead opt for good reusable cotton, canvas or denim bags. (I read somewhere polypropylene can leach toxins. Polypropylene bags are that thin bumpy material, used for a lot of the reusable bags… I searched for some more info about that but didn’t find anything conclusive about the bags, but it sill freaks me out.) Let your small children be in charge of packing the reusable bags before a shopping trip! I give my kids a penny every time they remember to pack our reusable bags. They think that is so fun!
7) Recycle and use reusable water bottles! You can just ‘copy and paste’ most of the reasons not to use plastic bags, for not using plastic water bottles as well. Instead, use a good reusable glass or stainless steal bottle (these and these
are great!) But if you have to use a plastic bottle, recycle it! I know families that let their kids keep all the recycling money and that really motivates the kids to take ownership of the recycling chores. (Our city has separate cans for the recyclables and that makes it very easy to recycle. We do miss out on a payout from our recyclables, but I also don’t have to store things, or make an extra trip out to the Recycling Plant.) Consider getting a trash can/recycler combo
or recycling can
! It’s pretty shocking how many things can actually be recycled! Small children love to guess what things go in the recycling and what things go in the trash.
I hope you enjoyed my 7 ways small children can save the world!
Just to add to the ecology fun, I’m giving away these adorable Green Kids books.
5 paperback books that share the “going green” lifestyle with kids who can talk to animals. Now that’s something to smile about!
The illustrations are bright and beautiful, and each book’s theme is topped off with a related science section in the back.
Follow the instruction in the box below to enter!
Good Luck!
I'm always on the lookout for children’s books that reflect my values, so when the Green Kids Club contacted me to review their books, I jumped on it! They sent me the series for free, so I could review them and tell all of you about them.
This series is designed to engage children in an interesting story with colorful pictures, and at the same time teach them about different environmental issues. They all feature a brother and sister who seem to be about middle-school aged, who go to different parts of the world talking to their friends, and through a bit of magic thrown in, talking to the animals.
Our older two children are 10 and Timmy is 5, and the older two have each read one of the books to Timmy. I asked them what they thought about the series. The books are the right length to read one to a 5 year-old at bedtime. They said that they enjoyed reading the books, and that they liked that it teaches kids about different issues affecting our planet. Some of the ones I’ve read have talked about the melting ice caps, and how you can prevent it, deforestation in India and the problem with hunters freely hunting and trapping wolves in North America.
I appreciate that they engage Timmy's attention and convey information at the same time.
The series has a few books designed for younger kids where they took the same pictures and used fewer and simpler words. Unfortunately, the way they did this conversion makes those books somewhat disjointed and left me unsettled, because it seemed to be jumping all over the place. If the organization decides that they want to continue with books for younger children, I’d suggest that they write completely separate books or try to convey simpler ideas, rather than just putting fewer words on the same pages.
Overall, I definitely recommend the series as a way to engage children to talk about different topics affecting our planet. They would work particularly well in a class room setting as an introduction to the issue in each book. Timmy and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
#BooksforGreenKids
Happy Greening!
Alicia