Eco-Friendly Family Fun

During the summer when the kids are home, it can be tempting to let the television do the caretaking while busy moms take the opportunity to relax. Keeping the kids occupied on a budget during the summer months can at times be challenging especially for an environmentally conscious family trying to live a green lifestyle.

However, believe it or not their are some foolproof ways to engage little minds and nurture a love for the great outdoors at the same time. Below, are some fun eco-friendly summer activity suggestions for you and your family.

Plant A Garden

Planting a vegetable garden is the exact opposite of wasting money on summer activities. In fact, a garden can help shrink your grocery bill and encourage your family to eat natural and organically grown food. Kids love watching their small garden grow into a thriving crop, and seeing the food that they have cultivated on the dinner table. They learn so much about the environment when they help in the garden and it gives them life skills that many kids don’t have these days.

A backyard garden, that everyone is responsible for brings families together and helps them bond. Together they can enjoy delicious home grown fruits and veggies and admire their own achievements.

Arts & Crafts

One part of being eco-friendly is reducing, reusing and recycling and one way to do this is with a fun DIY craft project that repurposes old material and terms them into something new. Before throwing something away, ask your child “what can we make out of this” watch their creativity bloom while they come up with interesting… and sometimes unique craft ideas.

Having a designated arts and crafts time is also a great way to get kids to focus and co-operate while working on an eco-friendly art project. Have them draw or paint trees,flowers, and wildlife on recycled paper. (There is no better way to nurture enviro-love then have it illustrated!) Collect sticks, leaves and pinescones and have your children glue them together and create amazing nature sculptures and models. Nature oriented craft time, is a great way to keep inquisitive little minds occupied and amazed by the world around them.

Bike, Walk & Run

It should go without saying, but when you play outside and get exercise you are also reducing your carbon footprint and helping the environment. Don’t waste gas driving to the park or grocery store walk, bike or run together as a family.It might take longer but if you’re looking to occupy a quiet summer afternoon, there is no better way than with a hike around your own neighborhood.
The upside is all the great exercise and fresh air that everyone will get- heck the kids might nap pretty good too which means quiet time for mom.

Summertime is a great time to encourage eco-love in your household. Being a green family doesn’t mean you have less fun, it means you will have MORE FUN and do more together. Environmentally-friendly living is a healthy way of life, it is good for you and it is good for planet earth.