KidStyleFile

Welcome to the May edition of ‘Mixtape Monday’, our last-Monday-of-the month burst of inspiration, brought to us by Jessica (www.greenmamma.org) by way of Justine at Mixtape Zine.

Jessica is a New Englander living outside of Washington, DC, where politics, protests and activism are a way of life. Always an idealist, Jessica is committed to raising environmental awareness as well as a green family. When she is away from her laptop and researching the latest on green living and natural parenting, you can find her climbing on the jungle gym or playing on the swings in her neighborhood.

Check out Jessica at Green Mamma, with green living tips for all folks, especially kids and parents. She is also a monthly contributor to API Speaks and 5 Minutes for Going Green.

(You can read previous Mixtape Monday posts here.)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Go Local

Whatever your tastes may be (for food, drink, clothes, books, etc.), shopping at local and small businesses with your children allows them to see how to support the local economy (not to mention that your family is helping to minimise its carbon footprint, fuel consumption, and air pollution). Your children will also come to value real people, who are working hard in local shops and markets to supply your home with goods.

Bringing your children to local markets and shops offers an opportunity to socialise and save money too (if you enjoy haggling and vendors are willing to do so). As often as possible, when our family needs to purchase items new, we make an effort buy local from small businesses.

Buy Secondhand

When searching for items that are not available locally, one of the best ways to live environmentally is to search for secondhand products available online, in thrift shops, consignment stores, and at salvation sales. Not only will your family save money, but you’ll be helping prolong the life of an item and helping to divert what might have ended up in a landfill. Gently used items are usually in excellent condition and can be of better quality than similarly priced new items.

Also, crafty parents and children can find one-of-a-kind items to use for art projects and to remake into new items with a bit of sewing and embellishment. The possibilities at secondhand stores are endless with a little bit of creativity. The best part about making secondhand purchases with your children in mind is that you are modelling environmentally sound methods for shopping.

Grow your own food

With a seed packet, some dirt, water, and time, your children can have a wonderful hands-on experience with gardening. Watching a seed sprout into a small plant, and then waiting for a plant to grow, bud, and produce vegetables allows children to see the processes and hard work involved, on a larger scale, with farming foods.

To encourage our daughter to participate in caring for our small vegetable garden, we purchased small gardening tools for her, allowed her to dig and plant seedlings, and invited her and our neighbours’ children to water the garden several nights each week.

Growing a garden with children is a fun way for them to learn about plants, and is a wonderful way to teach the value of patience and hard work. Our daughter not only enjoyed working in the garden but delighted in picking and eating what she’d helped grow.

Connect

One of the easiest ways to feel at one with nature is to simply find a path in the woods and walk.

Every week our family ventures onto a path in our neighbourhood that takes us through woods, over streams, and up small mountains. We see birds, deer, insects of all kinds, and many varieties of trees, shrubs, and fungi. Our daughter loves to point out and identify what she sees; my husband and I savour the quiet and stillness available when we are in the midst of Mother Nature.

Other great ways to connect with nature include practising outdoor yoga, going to a park and bird watching. As my daughter grows older, I hope to discover new ways to include a love of nature into her life. It is amazing how much our children are capable of; they make such excellent and natural caretakers of the earth.

This article can be found in issue 7 of Mixtape Zine. You can buy current and back-catalogue issues of Mixtape here (the current issue is limited-edition hard-copy; back-catalogue issues are available in PDF only.)