Lesson Focus: Earth Day

Earth Day is again gaining recognition in the United States. As gas prices climb we all begin to recognize the need for alternative means of energy. Further, many are beginning to comprehend the wounds our actions have given the planet. Sadly, many people think to themselves, "I'm only one person, what possible effect can I have on such a global issue?" Well, my response is, if every single person made small changes in how they use energy and the respect they give Mother Earth, then we can create a healthier environment for our children. This being the case, I'm focusing the rest of this month's curriculum for my boys on the Earth and Energy. Even if your children are in public school, or if you have no children, the lessons within can have a profound effect on our planet.

During the age of dinosaurs, it is believed a species went extinct every thousand years; currently a species goes extinct every month. There are several factors to this alarming fact. One is that every animal on the planet relies on the food chain - for both nutrition and population control. Humans used to consume no more than was necessary - growing much of their own resources. Now giant plants lay waste to hundreds to thousands of acres of food, slaughtering millions of animals, much of which goes to waste. The consuming more and more the worlds natural resources needs to be curbed before even our food supplies become effected. Another factor for extinction is pollution and deforestation. Destroying natural habitats. This falls into the first factor - by changing food sources, but also polluting the waterways, taking away habitats, upsets the delicate ecology of a space.

Garbage Galore:
Do you have any idea how long garbage takes to break down?
*Plastic takes about 500 years to break down *Aluminum cans take about 500 years to break down *Organic materials take only 6 months to break down.

This is the reason for the 3R's of Earth day: Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle.
Reduce on your garbage output by using more natural products, buy in bulk so the packaging isn't totally wasted. Recycle all paper, cardboard, glass and aluminum products!!! Reuse clothing and shoes by donating them to a needy family.

Water Matters:
We used to be able to drink out of any stream or river, now this is no longer possible. Water must be processed to remove chemicals and bacteria that can make one sick. The mere process of cleansing the water wastes more energy. Every drop of water that goes down the drain must be processed, therefore we should limit the amount of water we allow to go down the drain.
*Did you know that leaving the water running for 3 minutes can use up to 1 quart of drinking water?
*A leaky or dripping faucet can waste up to 11 quarts of water a day.

Do the planet and your pocket book some good - Don't waste water. Turn off the water when doing dishes or brushing your teeth. Be sure the water is turned all the way off when you're finished using it and repair any dripping faucets.

Breathing Free
We often take the air we breathe for granted, never thinking about it. Sadly, many of us damage the air every single day. Driving in the car releases the exhaust, burning oil to warm our homes, all of these things release chemicals and dust into the air, making it more difficult to breath. Furthermore, chemicals and dust can result in climate changes - affecting the water cycle and resulting in unpredictable weather patterns.

Carpooling to work or school, can cut the energy usage and the amount of smog nearly in half. Keep your house cooler or change to more eco-friendly energy sources can also make a big impact! Believe it or not, even when the lights are off the light-bulb sucks a bit of energy through the connection. To truly save on both your electric bill and energy sources lightly unscrew the bulb before you leave the room. Beat Feet! So many of us use our cars to go a block or two to the corner store - even 15 years ago this wouldn't have occurred to us. People used to walk places - this wastes no energy, try it sometime!

Kickbuttmama's Earth Day Curriculum:

F - forest - finger painting the letter, drawing it in the sand, writing it with a pencil, for my youngest (only 4 years old) we practice straight lines - which is what the F is made of. Investigate the different animals in Forest Habitats. Color Pages for Forest animals can be found at http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/cp_forest.htm#alphabet

O- oceans (water) - finger painting the letter, drawing it in the sand, writing it with a pencil, for my youngest (only 4 years old) we practice curvy lines - which make up the 'o'. Review the water cycle - discuss how water runoff (which brings the water back tot he ocean) can collect bacteria and chemicals when it passes 'dirty' land thus poisoning our 'Blue Planet'. For a fabulous Water Cycle free page that has coloring pages check out http://www.kidzone.ws/water/index.html

R- reduce, reuse & recycle - finger painting the letter, drawing it in the sand, writing it with a pencil, for my youngest (only 4 years old) we practice zig-zag lines - since the 'r' is made of both curves and straight lines. Discuss how much garbage we all produce and how that builds up and builds up, how long it takes to break down the materials. Using the information in http://www.abcteach.com/free/w/wksht_reducereuserecycle.pdf we gain a better understanding of the 3 R's. Once we've obtained an understanding of why throwing away everything is bad we'll make a collage. On a piece of poster board I'll outline a big R which the boys can paint. Using old newspapers, magazines or printer paper they can make pieces of Reduce - by not wasting food, drawing aluminum cans and such as recyclables, then we glue all of these onto the poster board.

E- endangered - finger painting the letter, drawing it in the sand, writing it with a pencil, for my youngest (only 4 years old) we practice straight lines - which is what the "e" is made of. Now that the boys have a bit of understanding of what happens to the earth when we don't treat it right, we can explore what happens to animals and eventually humans. Using the http://www.first-school.ws/theme/animals/coloring-pages/endangered-alphabet.htm list and coloring pages for various endangered species' we can search the internet for why they have become so endangered.

S-soil - finger painting the letter, drawing it in the sand, writing it with a pencil, for my youngest (only 4 years old) we practice curvy lines - which make up the 'u'. We'll use the link http://www.florence.ars.usda.gov/kidsonly/element/pg2.htm to learn all about dirt. I'll bury several pennies and we'll dig them up one at a time each week to see what effect eh soil has on them.

T- trees (plants) - finger painting the letter, drawing it in the sand, writing it with a pencil, for my youngest (only 4 years old) we practice straight lines - which is what the 'T' is made of. Using the book "Growing Vegetable Soup" [written by Lois Ehlert published by Voyager Books , 1990] we'll learn how plants go from seed to the food on our table. Each child will decorate a little notebook as their Fairy Book. We'll take a few hikes in the woods. Each child is encouraged to wader alone to the trunk of a tree, there they write or draw observations in their book. What do the leaves look like? What type of bark did it have? Could you wrap your arms around it? What type of animals do you think live nearby? Then we can compare notes on the different wonders of our forests - and discuss what a shame it would be to lose such beauty.

Further, on Earth Day itself (April 22) we will use the EPA's Happy Earth Day coloring booklet http://www.epa.gov/region5/publications/happy/happy.htm We'll also go to the local part to make sure it's clean and cared for, if necessary, we'll collect the garbage...

HAPPY EARTH DAY - EVERY DAY!

Resources:
Planet pals - http://www.planetpals.com/earthmatters.html - copyrite 1991, Judith Gargone