As April showers flow, your kiddos can still have some eco-fun. Below are some great green rainy day playtime ideas.

Get outside in spite of the rain…
Nature Experiment – Make Your Own Rain Bowl
Be a killer storm tracker. Have your kids track April showers and storms with these resources; kids can look up forecasts at Accuweather, build their own rain gauge, learn how to make their own weather station, or learn all about lightning. Really you don’t need any extra tools to track storms though. Kids can use the counting method and track a storm’s distance easily.
Learn to make a rain …read more

You have hundreds of choices when it comes to reusable products vs. disposable products. Here are 30 ideas. Even if you just choose 5 or 10, and use them all year, it’ll make a huge difference for the planet.

Snack baggies from Plum Creek Mercantile

Cloth snack bags over plastic baggies.
Cloth shopping bags over paper or plastic.
Cloth handkerchiefs over tissues.
Reusable coffee filters over paper.
Cloth shower curtains over plastic.
Reusable lunch sack over paper.
Real dishes over disposable.

If you can get past the guy in the intro with the unnaturally tall mustache, then you’ll learn how to build a rain barrel from a food barrel. The video also goes into installation and maintenance tips, as well as some interesting facts. It’s 4:57 from HGTV.
If you’d prefer written directions, go to HGTV’s Rain Barrels project.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in July 2008

Misuse of water isn’t just bad for the environment, it’s also bad news for your wallet. Here’s how to save water and still water efficiently.

Water at night. Or you could water in the early morning, but usually nighttime (devoid of sun) gives you less evaporation time, which means your water goes further.
Lose some grass: Reduce your lawn size by a decent amount when possible. Rocks, a patio, or drought resistant flowers use less water than your thirsty lawn.
Be extra careful when positioning your sprinklers. The sidewalk doesn’t need watering.
Mulch to prevent some evaporation – mulch holds water, sort of like …read more