Pretty soon here, I’m going to be reviewing Thames & Kosmos Green Power House – a Discovery Store toy. However, this kit is not so much a toy as a full on model home / eco-experiments activity project. There’s a lot to this activity kit though, so before I review I’m going to cover the basics.

Power House provides an introduction to sustainable energy sources and teaches basic concepts and principles in physical science. Using the kit will teach you about, and how to use heat and light energy from the sun, wind power, and electrochemical and plant energy.

The Power House …read more

Best kid quote of the week…
“For the president to talk out but not just say what we should do but what will happen if we don’t stop littering…We should have one day a month that should be green day. Start putting a lot more commercials about the environment. Start putting posters up and I know it may sound extreme but maybe even paint the White House green…We should star putting a program about “green” on national TV also, so we can inspire other states, communities, families and countries.”

That’s what one child said when asked about how the public should be …read more

The ReDirect Guide Green Sprouts Festival is coming to Portland, Oregon soon. Will you be going? If you live in Oregon or Washington, it should be a manageable event for your whole family.

What is the Green Sprouts Festival: This is a fun, festive, eco-friendly, and educational one-day event for the whole family that celebrates and promotes the nurturing of life through nature. Topics are all earth-friendly in nature and range from pregnancy to childhood allowing parents to learn about eco-friendly, community-involved, natural, and healthy options for raising their families.

Interactive activities & seminars: A wide variety of informative seminars and interactive …read more

You know how we’ve been chatting about saving money on green goods lately? Well, one big way to save on green good is to do it yourself, make it yourself, and use recycled goods to do it with. For example, another big topic here as of late has been reusable, waste-free lunches. Now, while I doubt you’re gonna go out and somehow make a reusable bottle, you can make other components of an eco-friendly lunch kit all on your own. Make the items below. Add silverware and a water bottle and your kid will be good to go for the …read more

A new study has found that there may be a link between childhood leukemia and pesticides. The study, completed by the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center compared urine of kids with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) and their mothers along side healthy children and their mamas.

Kids with ALL more often had elevated levels of common household pesticides then the mama-child pairs without ALL. Obviously the research can’t prove that pesticides cause the cancer, but the findings are evident that we should take a careful look at what we’re exposing our kids to both in food products and household items like …read more

As the start of school gets ever closer, school clothing is a concern. If you’re looking for low-budget school clothing that’s also a shade of green check out consignment shops, thrift store, or do a trade with other families with older or younger kids.
If you’re looking for decent priced green clothes that are new you’re more limited, because one, eco-friendly clothing can be more costly but consider that you want your kids in healthy clothes. Also, as noted here before green clothing manufactures seem to think people are either age birth to five or teen to adult. Kids clothes of …read more

Play kitchens rock. This is a toy your child will have fun with and play with for years. However, finding one that’s both eco-friendly and affordable can be tough. I LOVE play kitchens. To me they’re truly one of those must have childhood toys, so I decided to search around for some affordable DIY options.

Doing it yourself is the cheapest route when it comes to play kitchens. You get to choose which eco-friendly materials to use, and often stuff around the house works for this project so costs can be low to free. My absolute favorite DIY play kitchen of …read more

Rainforest Heroes is a site / program created by the Rainforest Action Network for kids, parents, and teachers. The goal of the this interactive site is to teach everyone about rainforest conservation.

What’s noteworthy at the site:
Rainforest Heros is packed with tools for adults that make teaching kids about rainforests easier. For example at the Teacher’s Lounge, you can download an awesome Kids Action Toolkit that’s designed to answer your students’/kids questions about rainforests, climate change, Indigenous land rights, animal and plant species, and the latest causes of deforestation. There’s also a neat FREE movie you can watch with your kids, …read more

I recently read a good article by green papa Chris Riemenschneider called “Green parenting is not always easy“. In actuality the article covers more of why green parenting was easier then Chris thought it might be. I.e. cloth diapers – kind of tough, but not so bad. The piece did get me thinking though, is green parenting harder than not?

It’s a tough call because the things that make you a green parent are debatable. For instance are you greener if you use cloth diapers but fail to recycle, or are you greener if you recycle, grow and hand make your …read more

Sometimes kids are leery of being outside. I think the kids I’ve met who hate being outside just don’t get out much. I’m guessing that’s mainly on parents. You have to get your kids outside, you have to enjoy it as well, and make it a fun experience or your kids won’t learn to love nature. That said, we discussed this before here, in the post, “What to do when your kids hate being outside“, and some parents noted that they love being outside, but their kids don’t.
You can do something about this though. Some cool nature gear may be …read more