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 barrel - not something to do in the rain exactly, but not a long project, and after it’s built, kids can watch to see how quickly they can collect water for use at home.

If it’s warm enough, go for a walk and see which animals like to be outside in the rain. Notice which plants handle rain well, and which get weighed down. Stomp in puddles and look for worms. Don’t forget to be on the lookout for rainbows.

Stay dry, stay inside…

Try a fun experiment – Just How Strong Are Plants?

Indoors Recycled Tumbling Fun

Use recycled scraps to build a rainy day rainbow.

Bake up some cloud cupcakes, rainbow cupcakes (super pretty!), or bird nest’s cupcakes. Don’t forget to use organic ingredients in place of conventional.

What do you and your littles like to do on rainy days?

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

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.

EarthLust water bottles

• Refillable water bottles over plastic.
• Rain water for car washing and gardens over new tap water.
• Cloth napkins over paper.
• The amazing reusable mom product – Breastfeeding over plastic bottles.
• Refillable ink cartridges over new.
• Cloth produce bags over plastic.
• Food containers over foil, plastic wrap, or wax paper.
• Plantable or homemade paper over new.
• Wash cloths over baby wipes.

Tovolo ice pop molds

• Reusable ice pop molds over toss away boxes, wrappers, and sticks.
• Recyclable toothbrushes over toss away toothbrushes.
• Non-disposable female products over disposable.
• Silicone Baking Cups over paper muffin cups.
• Rechargeable batteries over toss away.
• Homemade cleaners in refillable bottles vs new plastic bottles all year long.
• Old cleaning cloths over paper towels and sponges.
• Library books over buying new.
• Refillable pens over non-refillable.
• Reusable razors – or electric over plastic.
• Rented, traded, or thrift store toys over new.
• Refillable liquid hand soap pumps over plastic bottled soap.
• Old school mop heads over sponge-like mop heads.
• Cloth diapers over plastic.

Choose one, choose five, or choose all of the above over disposables to make a big impact.

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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

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

• 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 a sponge.
• Use a water saving hose head and hose timer.
• Use rainwater you collect to water instead of new hose water. Seriously, anyone can collect and use rainwater. It’s really simple, and easy to use if you build a rain barrel with a decent spout.
• If you live on a hill, use a water efficient spray nozzle on your hose, and water upwards from the bottom of the hill. Lawns that tilt make it easy to have run-off water waste.
• Plant like with like – for example in the veggie and flower garden, it’s not smart planning to plant a bunch of drought resistant anything around a plant that needs more water to thrive. Plant thirsty plants together.

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

[photo via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family