Raise Eco-Minded Kids: Five Simple Ideas for Your Family

It's not uncommon around our house to hear our oldest children, five and six year old girls, talking about compost, worms, the garden, nature, or bugs. One of the most endearing moments my husband and I have witnessed was watching our oldest daughter introducing her baby sister to an earthworm in the garden. As the baby reached out to grab the worm, the big sister told her, "No, no. We have to be gentle with Nature."

I hope that's a lesson that all of my children take to heart. Here are a few of the things we've done to make our kids more eco-conscious. None of them are difficult, and if you start them when the kids are young, they aren't hard to introduce into their daily lives. Even if your kids are older, try a few of these ideas. The things that sometimes capture kids' interest can be quite a surprise.

1. Grow a garden.

Help your kids learn about where food comes from, how plants grow, and that creatures great and small play a role in the natural world. It doesn't have to be a huge deal -- a windowbox will give them plenty to observe.

2. Get them involved in recycling.

At our house, we have a bin that we put on the curb on trash day, and our recyclables are picked up then. Our kids are responsible for rinsing milk cartons and juice bottles and placing them in the recycling bin. My daughter's school recycles newspaper as well as school and office paper to raise money for supplies. She is the master of making sure our household paper gets recycled!

3. Take walks outdoors.

My nephew got his start being interested in science by taking walks with me when he was very small, and he'd ask me the names of the trees and flowers we passed. When I didn't know, we'd go home and look it up. The more kids learn about nature, the more likely it is that they will appreciate it.

4. Start a compost pile.

Something about the magic of banana peels and grass clippings becoming dark, crumbly compost appeals to kids. My daughters are responsible for composting our kitchen scraps, either in our outdoor pile or in our worm bin. When they see that even the potato peels or apple cores that our household generates can be used for something, it makes them think of "waste" in a different way.

5. Read about animals, plants, and the environment.

Fiction or nonfiction stories about plants and animals, as well as weather, climates, or other cultures are all wonderful resources for helping your child make the connection that they are a part of a larger community, and that each of us has a part, negative or positive, to play.

As you can see, all of these ideas can be incorporated easily into even the most hectic schedule. They only take minutes, but the lessons will last a lifetime.