lilboyblu

Growing Up Green

I have been reading a lot about how to raise "green" kids, "green" parenting and educating our children to grow up green. There are some very innovative ideas covering a wide variety of subjects from recycling, to composting, to reusing "trash" for art projects and many, many more. We know we need to educate them on the 3 R's, CFL bulbs, water conservation and energy conservation but I don't think we put enough emphasis on being outdoors, teaching respect for nature, animals and in the case of my granddaughter, bugs! She is 2 1/2 years old and loves bugs and creepy crawly creatures like ants, beetles, lizards almost anything that plays or crawls outdoors. We have a cabin up in the mountains in northern Arizona and when we take her up there she spends every waking hour outside. She wants to look for lizards, loves to watch ants crawl on the rocks and dirt and is enthralled by the numerous beetles that gather around our porch lights. The first thing she wants to do when she wakes up is to go out "into the garden", that's what she calls the front yard of our cabin. She likes to fill the bird feeders and then sit on the porch and watch the woodpeckers, humming birds and blue jays that feed on the "breakfast" she provides. She likes pine cones, running in the woods and looking for squirrels and is so excited when one runs up a tree. Her parents take her hiking during the winter and spring and she loves looking at the cacti, birds and rocks along the trail, basically being outside. Well enough about her, my point is that children are never to young to learn and the best way to teach them respect and love for nature is to get them involved. Let them play outside, expose them nature and teach them not to be afraid of what nature has to offer. It has been a great learning experience for me as well. It is an amazing opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a child and nature is much more interesting when you experience it with them. So take the time to look at a bug, pick up a pine cone or sniff a flower with a child, you will rediscover what's really important in life!

Written and contributed to us by Gary Hillary of http://www.thegreenpathcompany.com