EARTH WEEK: PK3

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Ana's Week

This week, we celebrated Earth Day, so we spent the week focusing on planet Earth, what we can do to save the Earth, and what makes the Earth so special. We planted plants, picked up trash, and learned about recycling. Aria really seemed to enjoy every activity we did this week, but spending time picking up trash in the park was a truly special experience because she was learning to help the environment and did it with a truly joyful spirit. When I was a child (and homeschooled), my mom took my sister and I out along a major road, we picked up trash, and we sorted it by type. So, I really loved continuing this tradition with Aria and feel that by being hands-on with saving the environment, she began to understand that littering is bad and can harm the Earth.

One of my favorite things we did during the week was watch Planet Earth because it really shows some great images of the Earth and places we can’t possibly go, but I would say that Aria wasn’t always the most interested in the show. It gets a little dull after a while for a preschooler, but it was great background noise after dinner.

I absolutely think that the best thing you can do during this week is to spend as much time as possible outside. We played outside every day, had a picnic in the park, picked up litter and played at a playground, played in the sprinkler and planted an herb garden. Even Skylar was able to get involved, and she seems to love digging in dirt or playing in the sprinkler. The more your kids can spend the week loving nature, I think the more effective the lessons of the week will be. 
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On top of spending time outside as much as possible, we made sure to talk about recycling and the difference between what we recycle and what we trash. Aria had a blast playing a recycling game, and she responded pretty well to learning how to chart the trash we found at the park. We didn’t spend as much time as I had hoped with turning items in the recycling bin into toys or games, but I think that’s a great idea I will try and expand upon when we do this again next year!
After we spent time in the park picking up trash, Aria told me that she was happy she helped save the planet from being sick by making sure trash didn’t end up in the lake. I couldn’t ask for a better response to the week and feel like we ended the week really beginning to help Aria respect the world around her!