Tree Hugging Family » kiddos

Green Gift Guide: Recycled Friends

Jennifer — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:15:32 +0000

Kicking off the green holiday gift guide is something sweet for the littles. I’ll be featuring a gift a day through the season so you can get some great green holiday inspiration; some for the kiddos and some for us adults. The best thing to do is cut back on the amount we buy for the holidays but for the gifts we do buy we can go green, recycled, and still amazing…

Like this Kangaroo and Baby from Eco-Artware. Each mama and babe is made from a recycled beige sweater with various colored inserts in front. The baby roo is removable and kids will adore this new friend.

Too cute!

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Just How Strong Are Plants?

Jennifer — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:13:06 +0000

Last week’s Nature Detective was too hard for my son and Peggy had the only guess with solar panels — was she right? Why yes she was. For a while we’ll be putting the game on hold until I figure out a better balance of hard for the kiddos.

In exchange — a cool nature experiment.

This experiment is fun for kids and uses stuff you likely have around the house.

You need:

Dried beans (maybe six or so)
A milk carton
Soil from your garden or yard
Plaster of Paris

Prep work:

Soak your beans overnight in clean water.
Wash out your milk carton, cut the top off, and fill it half way with soil.

The experiment process:

Water your soil in the milk carton until it’s fully wet but not oozing water — it should feel like a wet sponge.
Plant your beans about 3/4 of an inch deep in the soil. (make sure to plant them a bit apart so they can grow).
Make your Plaster of Paris mixture. To make it correctly you can follow directions on the container; but you really only need a little bit so you can just spoon a bit out and add water until you get a mixture that’s paste-like but still easy to pour.
Pour a thin layer of your plaster mixture over the top of the soil until it’s all the way covered.

Wait a few days and see what happens.

For more cool kid-friendly experiments that involve plants, sun,. and soil check out Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite.

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Meet One Tree Hugging Family

Jennifer — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 04:16:34 +0000

Hilary sent a picture of her kids outside enjoying nature to share with us. Thanks Hilary!

I love this picture. One, her kids are adorable playing near the lake, (pond?), river (much like the turtles but, you know, more human-like and less brownish) and two, it’s always great to see families outside in the great outdoors. I also really enjoy the look her son is giving her at the moment. Classic kid camera face.

Hilary writes green-style for b5media as well. She has a great blog called Eco Friendly Driver that covers all green things that go. Hey, that would be a good Dr Seuss book — “All Green Things That Go.” Maybe. Anyhow Hilary is a great writer and her blog is packed with tips and information about electric cars, money issues to consider, new hybrids, ethanol, and other way to drive greener, smarter, and better. Visit today.

Why not introduce your family here at Tree Hugging Family? Even send pictures like Hilary. I’d love to see them.

Lastly don’t forget to grab the kiddos and stop by last week’s Nature Detective game; a new one goes up tomorrow.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family