Guest Post: Three Green Activities to Do With Your Kids

Being environmentally conscientious with a child in your household can be a challenge. For this reason, Melanie's blog approaches a very important issue. Children are all about excess and waste. They want everything, but never finish anything. And we love them for this. The key is to make being green fun and exciting for kids. The most important step to building a green household is starting when your children are young. While becoming a green parent can be difficult, there are numerous activities that you can do with your child or children to encourage green living.

First, set up a recycling system that your children can take part in. Make it fun and make it interesting. Recycling does not have to be a daily chore. Instead, set up a fun system that involves colors and tasks. Kids love to be in on the action. Give them a way to participate. You can set up a recycling area in your home that involves sorting plastics from paper and sorting by color. This way your child will always know where to put things and it will give them something to keep track of and control (we know they love feeling in charge). You could try awarding points or tokens when certain objects are recycled. Once you have a system set up, you and your child can designate a day that you all go to the recycling plant, so that they can see the entire process. This activity is great for the environment and encourages your kids to be green when they are older.

Next, a great green activity to start with your child or children at home is growing an organic garden. While this is definitely a lot of work, it is absolutely worth it for both the environment and your wallet. Grow your own veggies and herbs. Squash and zucchini tend to grow very easily in most climates. If a vegetable garden is too much for you to take on (it can be a lot for busy moms and dads), try growing your own herbs. Basil and mint grow like weeds anywhere. Growing at home means you don't have to spend the outrageous amount of money it costs to buy herbs at the market. Moreover, your kids can learn responsibility when tending to the garden.

Another great thing to do alongside gardening at home is composting. You will need to find a bin or container to start your compost in. While you can successfully compost directly in the ground, having something to contain it in will keep the process neater. In your compost you want to put "green stuff" such as weeds, leaves, grass, vegetable or fruit scraps, coffee grounds, and tea leaves. You can put any food scraps leftover in the compost along with cardboard, paper, and cotton. Be sure to keep the compost damp and to add soil. Composting can be a fun activity for kids because it tends to be kind of gross. They love that.

Being a green parent can help save the world in which your child lives and saves money in your pocket. Learning that being green can be fun and rewarding is an important lesson for our upcoming generation. It's never too soon to get kids interested in a green way of life.

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Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about accredited online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.