Not READY for Jingle bells

Tomorrow is December 1st. Sunday was the FIRST SUNDAY of Advent. My house is still full of pumpkins and silk fall leaves. I am not ready.

Prep work happens, though, ready or not. Here is something to consider before the fracas of present presentation begins. I wrote some of the following tips for our local Peace and Justice group's (LEPOCO) newsletter in the Young Peacemaker's column.

Get off the gift wrap carousel. 

Many families celebrate winter with gift-giving. Every thing that comes into our houses during the holidays can change the environment. Look at where gifts come from, (travel costs and exhaust), how each gift is made, (chemicals and waste), and how it is packaged,  (plastic and styrofoam). Even if we make all of our gifts (homemade gifts are the BEST!), we can go nuts worrying about the wear that each gift has on our climate. Let’s pick ONE part of all this merriment and see how that effects our climate - gift-wrapping.

In a British study done in 2011, the UK used about 227,000 MILES of wrapping paper over the winter holidays - enough paper to wrap around the world NINE times. In the US, we average 4 million pounds of wrapping paper a year. All that paper, all those bags, all that ribbon goes straight into the landfill, creating greenhouse gases as it decomposes. Here are some ideas on how to reduce that stress on our earth.

Make your own wrappings. 

1. Decorate newspaper with drawings or stamps. Use paper grocery bags for gift bags. If you get a package stuffed with paper, reuse it!
2. Save shiny packaging materials (the foil paper in boxes of teabags, ie. ) to decorate your gifts.
3. Wrap a gift inside another gift. Use a scarf or a bandanna or a cloth napkin as wrapping.
4. Make cloth gift bags that can be used over and over again. This article shows you how. https://www.greenchildmagazine.com/diy-fabric-gift-bags/
    (Hint: Decorate old pillow cases for those bulky gifts!)
5. Decorate packages with nature, -pinecones, dried leaves, pine needles- instead of ribbon. Tie them on with cotton twine or raffia.                                                                                                                           

Reuse what you already have.

1. Save as much gift wrap as you can from presents you receive. You can reuse it next year, even if all you do is save scraps to decorate newspaper or paper bags.                                                                                 2. Save pretty shopping bags and gift bags. If your name is stuck on with super glue, cover it with another name tag.                                                                                                                                                         3. Don't throw away ribbons or bows, or pretty yarn or string.                                                                      4. Cut up holiday cards from last year for gift tags, and for decorating packages.

For more info on how our actions can change the world, check out these books:

31 Ways to Change the World. 2010, Candlewick Press.


Everything Is Connected, Reimagining the World One Postcard at a Time. Keri Smith, 2013.  Penguin Group.


Climate Action: What Happened and What We Can Do. Seymour Simon, 2021. HarperCollins. (PS. I adore Seymour Simon!)

Now, what else can I do with all the pretty cards I save from year to year? I would love to hear YOUR gift wrapping ideas - and your holiday card ideas.

Climate Change - or Cleaning House?

I know people who think climate change is just part of the earth's cycle - or a hoax - or unconquerable.   It boggles my mind that it even matters.

The Earth is our HOME.  I don't let garbage pour over the sides of the containers. I don't spray the air with toxic chemicals, or smoke, or fumes. I don't add lead to my drinking water. I don't breed bacteria on my leftovers. I don't dig holes in my backyard to get at rocks and other things I might need and then let the holes create an unsightly mess and hazards.  Do YOU?? 'Course not.

Think about this.  When The Lorax was written, the terms "global warming" and "climate change" were not even in common usage.  The campaign to keep earth livable is not new.

IT. JUST. MAKES. SENSE. TO. KEEP.  OUR. HOME. CLEAN.

Rant over.

I don't understand climate change as well as I'd like. Here are books and book lists to help explain the effects and causes of climate change. And some that give us ideas on how we can take action.

Climate Change: Discover How It Impacts Spaceship Earth by Erin Twamley and Josh Seideman.  STEM and STEAM aficianados will enjoy this illustrated guide.  It includes 25 projects to increase students' and readers' understanding of the science of climate change, planetary movement, solar system....

Even Goodreads has a list of kids' books that explore climate change and pollution.

Crystal Ponti posted a list of 10 books about Climate Change over on parent.co.  There is some repetition, but still a great list.

I really like Inhabitots Earth Day post.  The books featured here are all about cleaning up the world.  This site is well-designed, colorful and useful and the 6 books featured are accessible to even our youngest earth cleaners.

And for all you grown-ups out there.
Climate Change and Children is a report out of UNICEF that will make your eyes tear up.  The Resource List offers articles and books that support UNICEF's claims.  This report is for grown-ups but share it with your older students to support discussions on possible solutions.