Today’s Guest:

Nicole and Maddy host the ever popular Parents and Kids Talk Radio on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/parentsandkids

Today we talked about Earth Day! Wow! There were so many things to learn about this very important subject. We also talked about Ecological Footprints and gave some ideas on how to lower it.

 

 The Puddle People Hour Show # 14 [76:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Recycling for Art

Coming up with materials for art projects doesn’t have to be expensive. Chances are you throw away things everyday that could be put to a better use and save on the landfills. For instance, pop bottle lids.
We recycle every week here and one of the rules is the pop bottle lids need to be removed. I was just throwing these things away, not even thinking of them because they were so small. When in reality there are a great deal of things you can do with these. Have you ever created your own wind chime? The pop bottle lids do make an interesting sound when they click together. How about putting them in plastic containers for musical shakers? This gives a deeper sound than rice or dried beans.
Half of the things that you put in the garbage or recycling bins are potential musical instruments or craft materials. Here is a brief list:

• Egg crates
• Newspaper or scrap paper
• Bottles of every shape and size
• Cereal boxes
• Milk cartons
• Bottle lids
• Tin cans
• The metal ends of frozen juice cans
• Magazines
• Old puzzles
• Broken jewelery
• Glass jars
• Spice bottles
• Old, scratched cd’s and dvd’s
• Old light bulbs
• Old board games
• Mismatched or holey socks
• Scrap material

And that’s just the beginning! Before you throw something away, stop a minute to think, could I use this at a later time? Use your imagination, or better yet, use the imagination of your child. You would be surprised at how much fun a child can have thinking up new ways to use old stuff.
While you’re at it, think about the stuff you can’t reuse. How about starting a compost heap with your child? You can teach them a lot about nature and maybe start a small garden with them in the process. This also teaches them responsibility, fine motor skills, respect for nature, and gives them the satisfaction of doing something on their own. It’s also a great way to strengthen the bond between you and your child. By the time you are finished recycling for art and composting your garbage output will diminish dramatically!

Excerpt from The Mother’s Survival Kit, written and illustrated by Pam Sargant

http://ww2.earthday.net/ - Earth Day Site

www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/gallery/life_sciences/footprint_mx_2005.swf - Calculate your Ecological Footprint

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_footprint - Explanation of your ecological footprint

http://www.rcbc.bc.ca/resources/TenThings.htm - Ten Things That You Can do to Decrease Your Environmental Footprint

http://www.pktalkradio.blogspot.com/ - Parents and Kids Talk Radio Blog

http://soapboxmom.com/ - Soap Box Mom