Earth Hour Classroom Activities and Resources

 

Our actions on climate change will shape the future for our children. It is important to discuss and educate our students about climate change, and how to look after our planet! As Earth Hour comes around again for another year, it provides a great opportunity to spend some time discussing issues of sustainability and why Earth Hour is so important.

What is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held annually to encourage individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

Although Earth Hour is not during school time – it is still a great opportunity to talk about why it is needed and to encourage your students to go home with this important message!

To help you engage your students in worthwhile conversations, we’ve collated some excellent resources and activities for Earth Hour 2018.

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Global Warming Video for Kids

Show your students this gorgeous video about climate change:

Talk with your students about the things they can do to help save the planet and then talk about Earth Hour.

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Classroom Display Activity for Earth Hour

“We’ve Got the Whole World in Our Hands”

Create a display in your classroom using the heart from the Earth Day template.

1. Students colour in the heart-shaped Earth and cut it out.
2. They then trace their hands on coloured paper and stick each hand on either side of the heart.

Such a cute way to make it look like the whole world is in their hands!

Encourage your students to write what their pledge to the Earth will be and stick these on your Earth Hour classroom display.

Printable Earth Hour and Sustainability Posters

Use our printable sustainability education posters to display around your classroom. Although Earth Hour is primarily to focus on using less electricity, it’s a fantastic time to educate and hold discussions with your students about the importance of a variety good sustainability practises.

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Earth Hour Classroom Activities

Use these gorgeous templates to consolidate your students’ knowledge of how they can help the environment.

Environmental Awareness Flip Book

This Environmental Awareness Flip Book helps your students understand what is good and bad for the environment.

Students will love creating this gorgeous flip book and sorting images of everyday things into what will make the earth happy and what will make the earth sad.

They can then colour the images in their new flip book.

My Promise to the Earth Activity

In this cute activity, students make a promise to the earth by coming up with four different pledges of what they are going to do to save their environment.

This a great activity to discuss different habits that they can change that will help save the planet.

How to use this resource:

1. Download the My Promise to the Earth Student Template.
2. Trim the extra section off the left-hand side of the template where it states ‘cut’.
3. Fold the template along the horizontal fold line.
4. Cut along the three small vertical dotted lines to create four different flaps.
5. Students pick four pictures that are linked to their own personal promises and stick each picture on the front of each flip section.
6. Students write what they promise to do under each of the flaps.
7. Students can then decorate and stick in their workbooks.

Pictures to assist students in creating four promises to the earth include

• turning the lights off
• recycling
• growing plants
• riding bikes
• not composting
• picking up litter.

 

Source- earth hour classroom activities and resources

Live Sustainably Everyday- Make Everyday an Environment Day

World Environment Day is just around the corner. While different organisations, educational institutions and community groups are undertaking various activities to mark this day, why don’t we take this as an opportunity to reflect upon our own lifestyles and see the impact of our actions to the environment as well as our well-being.

Waste is one of the biggest problems the world is facing at the moment and there has never been a better time to think and rethink about our consumption pattern and disposal
behaviour. According to the World Bank’s report What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management ,globally we are producing1.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste every year and are expected to increase to approximately 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025. Similarly according to a recent report by UNEP and the World Resources Institute (WRI), about one-third of all food produced worldwide, worth around US$1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems.

Australians are the second biggest producer of waste and needless to say hundreds of tonnes of waste are dumped into landfill sites every year. In addition, most people these days think that landfill is the ultimate destination for most of the waste we produce, where as it should only be taken as a last resort.

The modern lifestyle and technological advancement is leading to not only increase in volume of waste we produce but also producing different composition of waste which is making the waste issue more big and challenging than ever. Disposal of different types of waste ranging from green waste, hazardous waste, e- waste and other household waste in the landfill is not only taking up bigger chunk of our valuable land which could have alternatively been used for other productive causes, but it is also causing severe and irreversible impacts in the environment, socio-economy and health. Wastes dumped in the landfill accounts for air pollution, water pollution and land quality at the same time methane gas produced during the decomposition of organic waste is one of the potent green house gas which is 23 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

If we really want to make our impact in reducing the waste or managing it, we need to reduce the production of waste at source. One of the successful and practical mantra that we have been hearing and to some extent practicing is 3 R Principle- Reduce Reuse and Re cycle.

Reduce mean avoiding the production of waste at source. Avoid the things that we can do without. Reuse is about using items over and over for a longer period.
Recycling is re-processing the item into a new raw material so that
it can be used in a new product–for example grinding up plastic bottles to make fibre. While recycling is helping us in a great way by keeping our waste from going to landfill; a huge quantity of waste could be reduced and reused before it goes to recycling.

What are the benefits of reducing and reusing waste?

1. Keeps materials out of landfill.
2. Helps to preserve the “embodied energy” that was originally used to manufacture
an item.
3. Reduces the pressure on raw material, energy and water.
4. Creates less air and water pollution than making a new item or recycling one.
5. Reduces overall production of waste.
6. Reuse often creates an affordability of goods that are often of better quality .

So what can we do to reduce waste going to landfill?

Here are 10 different ways that will help to reduce and reuse waste:
1. Change consumption pattern: Ask your self do you need or want that product. Only buy what you need
2. Buy quality products what would last long
3. Burrow thing from neighbours, friends and family
4. Rent it rather than buying if you are using for a short term
5. Covert your food waste into rich fertiliser though composting or wormfarming
6. Donate your unwanted items to charity organisation or give away to your friend and family
7. Buy and sell second-hand at flea markets and garage sales.
8. Maintain your goods, it will last longer
9. Repair the items such as electronics or furniture
10.Upcycle the items you don’t want and expand the life of your preloved goods

These simple actions can easily be incorporated in our everyday life at a no or vey low cost. All we need is a little bit of passion and commitment to change ourselves and create change. Every single action multiplied by thousands will certainly make a difference. So why don’t we start from ourselves and from today. And make every day an environment day.

A very happy environment day 2016 to all of you!

My Weekly Small Pleasures #7

Sometimes it is very difficult to manage time to do things that you really like due to family commitments and especially when you are working full time at the same time. That’s what I feel is happening to me right now. I may not be able to update my weekly pleasures on time, but I am still experiencing lovely moments and enjoying every small pleasures that comes by. Here are my small pleasures for the week.

1. I resumed my work after 6 months of maternity leave. It was a tough call but I survived. Leaving my five and half months old at home (with my In-laws) and getting back to work was definitely not a fun thing to do. But there is also a  pleasure of being connected to people outside home and getting oneself updated with what is happening in the world outside than your world. Most importantly I enjoy my work and love what do. Well. how much I miss my little angel  is a different story altogether.

2. I believe in fate and this has been justified  so many times. I got an opportunity to travel to ISKCON operated Hare Krishna Temple in Hunter Valley  which is three hours drive from Sydney. A day trip was organised by the local community organisations which I  am also a part of . Though the trip was only for senior citizens i.e especially parents, I got opportunity to join as a carer and I absolutely enjoyed visiting the beautiful place and spend some time for religious purpose. Touched my soul!

3. My visit to the Hare Krishna Temple and Gokuala farm got the whole new meaning when I witnessed the beautiful environment surrounding the temple,  green lustre farm and the cows grazing freely in the farm plus many other sustainability living practices being adopted in the farm and the temple. Totally a beautiful experience altogether.

4. Attended a birthday party of my cousin’s two year old daughter. There is no happiness than to see the smiles on those little faces. And   also attended a baby shower of a friend. Babies make life beautiful, don’t they?

what are your weekly small pleasures.. would love to hear!

Also see My Weekly Small Pleasures #6                                                                                                        My Weekly Small Pleasures #5                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #4                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #3                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #2                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #1

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I came across this blog event ( Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event) a while ago. I found it quite interesting and have been thinking of sharing my weekly small pleasures too, which I have not been able to start due to one or the other reason. As we enter the brand new week of the brand new year, I think this is the perfect time to begin this journey.

This blog event is simply about remembering and sharing those small things that made you happy during the week; things that made you smile, made you laugh, made you do a happy dance, made your heart silently smile, or they even made you cry for joy.

Know more about this blog event here Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event

My Weekly Small Pleasures #6

I was not able to share my weekly small pleasures for the past two weeks. I have been so caught up in family activities and events that I barely got a chance to update my weekly pleasures. However I will try to combine them and come up as one. Some of the small pleasures that I experienced in the past two weeks are-

1. My in-laws visited us from overseas and will be staying with us for next couple of months. It feels great to be with family. They are enjoying their time to be surrounded by their grandchildren and vice-versa.
2. We celebrated a weaning ceremony for our little daughter. This is one of the important events celebrated to mark the beginning of solid food. Close relatives and friends are invited to witness and celebrate this ceremony.
3. We hosted a reception for families and close friends to celebrate our daughter’s weaning ceremony. It was lovely to see all the families and friends together. We feel blessed to have everyone around.
4. My mother in law (MIL) cooked some lovely authentic Nepalese sweets and it was fun to help her and learn some new cooking.
5. Amidst all these social events, came the Valentine’s day. We went out for dinner to a lovely Thai restaurant with family.
6. February is the month of love and our wedding anniversary  falls on this month too We just celebrated the day with my family cooking some nice food at home.
7. Among various dishes I cooked the fish curry came our really well. Really glad that everybody enjoyed it.
8. Evening walk is still on the cards though the frequency has reduced due to all these social activities that are going around for a while now.
9. Went out for a casual dinner to an Indian restaurant. Since my MIL was fasting that day, we were planning for some vegetarian food. It’s only after we ordered our food that we realised the restaurant was vegetarian. This is the first time we have been to any vegetarian restaurant. I would call it a fate!

what are your weekly small pleasures.. would love to hear!

Also see My Weekly Small Pleasures #5                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #4                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #3                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #2                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #1

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I came across this blog event ( Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event) a while ago. I found it quite interesting and have been thinking of sharing my weekly small pleasures too, which I have not been able to start due to one or the other reason. As we enter the brand new week of the brand new year, I think this is the perfect time to begin this journey.

This blog event is simply about remembering and sharing those small things that made you happy during the week; things that made you smile, made you laugh, made you do a happy dance, made your heart silently smile, or they even made you cry for joy.

Know more about this blog event here Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event

 

My Weekly Small Pleasures #5

I had a pretty busy week with few social events. Got a chance to meet many relatives and lots of friends which was lots of fun. Few small pleasures to mention are:

1. My four months old daughter started on solids. Even though she still needs to learn how to swallow properly, its gives immense pleasure to see the little one tasting her new food  (making  weird faces).
2. Attended my niece’s   bahra  ceremony, one of the important ritual in the Newar community that  I belong to. The ceremony is  conducted for all the girls before their first mensuration and mark the girl become an adolescent. Learn more about bahra ceremony at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahra_ceremony
3. Also attended the feast to celebrate the bahra  ceremony of my niece. Got to enjoy authentic Newari food prepared by my cousin and aunt. I also had a great time meeting my relatives and friends.
4. Took my son to his first swimming class. Initially he was reluctant and would not want to go to class but rather play on his own in the pool. I am glad it didn’t last long and I saw him enjoying rest of the session.
5. Discovered a beautiful park just 30 mins  walking distance away  from my place.  I took a new route for my evening walk and found this lovely place with lots of activities for children and adults. Coming across new things in your neighbourhood is the best part of the walk apart from the health benefit.

what are your weekly small pleasures.. would love to hear!

Also see My Weekly Small Pleasures #4                                                                                                        My Weekly Small Pleasures #3                                                                                                        My Weekly Small Pleasures #2                                                                                                        My Weekly Small Pleasures #1

—————————————————————————————————-

I came across this blog event ( Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event) a while ago. I found it quite interesting and have been thinking of sharing my weekly small pleasures too, which I have not been able to start due to one or the other reason. As we enter the brand new week of the brand new year, I think this is the perfect time to begin this journey.

This blog event is simply about remembering and sharing those small things that made you happy during the week; things that made you smile, made you laugh, made you do a happy dance, made your heart silently smile, or they even made you cry for joy.

Know more about this blog event here Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event

My Weekly Small Pleasures #3

This week went by pretty quickly for me as I had few social events to be a part of.  Weekend, as usual was occupied by family activities. Here are some highlights from my last week 🙂

 

1. Went for an outdoor movie with hubby and two kids. We basically went for our three years old son as it was  kids movie. However we all had a great time. Just a perfect activity for this summer.

2. Went out for dinner to satisfy my craving for a Nepalese delicacy called momo. Momo is a popular and traditional Nepalese dumpling-like cuisine with lots of  spices and herbs. We tried some four varieties of momos.

3.  I was invited to a Nepalese community program to  celebrate a cultural event and farewell  few of the community members. It was a mix of fun and emotional moment.

4. Went swimming for 3 days. Couldn’t do much cardio this week due to back pain. Glad to have done something which is definitely better than nothing. I badly need to shed few kilos gained from  pregnancy.

what are your weekly small pleasures.. would love to hear!

 

Also see  My Weekly Small Pleasures #2                                                                                                       My Weekly Small Pleasures #1

 

—————————————————————————————————-

I came across this blog event ( Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event) a while ago. I found it quite interesting and have been thinking of sharing my weekly small pleasures too, which I have not been able to start due to one or the other reason. As we enter the brand new week of the brand new year, I think this is the perfect time to begin this journey.

This blog event is simply about remembering and sharing those small things that made you happy during the week; things that made you smile, made you laugh, made you do a happy dance, made your heart silently smile, or they even made you cry for joy.

Know more about this blog event here Weekly Small Pleasures – Blog Event

Nepal’s Proposed Citizenship Requirement: To Have a Nepali Mother AND Father

Citizenship has always been a highly sensitive and debated issue in Nepal. Here is an interesting and thought- provoking analysis on the same from http://nepalilovestory.com/.

Citizenship has been something long debated in Nepal. It has always been difficult for all Nepalis to truly claim their citizenship rights. Not surprisingly, this has affected the most vulnerable of groups; woman, low castes and the poor.

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Mama Let’s Go Green !!

Mama Let’s Go Green !!

Go Green Mama

My enthusiasm and perseverance for green living has always motivated me to make it a part of my everyday life. The interest became more apparent after I had my first baby. Being a mom I realised that there are lot more we can do to raise a healthy family which will also help to protect our environment as well save us money. The idea hit me when I was mopping my tile floor using a general antibacterial cleaning product. I felt that the smell being emitted was so strong and intense that it was literally making me nauseous and giving me a headache. Having a little one sitting just around the corner, my concern grew towards the quality of air he was inhaling. And this is when I started looking for alternatives for household chemical cleaning products. To my surprise, I came across numerous things that parents could adopt to sustain a green and healthy living. And now opting a green living has become more than just an interest to me, it has become a mere necessity.

Having baby means buying more stuff and creating lots of waste, utilising more water and energy, more expenses and less savings. On the other side children are vulnerable to the chemicals and other external particles that get emitted through cleaning products, plastic toys, smoke, dust etc. While it is important for children to stay away from all these, it is equally important to think about protecting the environment which they will inherit in future.

This space will hold information on how parents can adopt green and healthy living in a simple, fun and yet effective way. Be it small actions like washing your clothes in cold water and drying them in sun rather than using dryer, or making your own cleaning products rather than buying chemical laden products from supermarket. Changing ourlifestyle and our behaviour will not only lead us towards healthy life but also significantly reduce our impact on the environment. As a parent to two young children one of my main focus is to reduce the use of toxic chemicals which are found in abundant quantity in the mainstream cleaning products.

Through this page I aspire is to encourage all the moms (and dads) to be mindful of the environmental impacts of their everyday actions and live a more sustainable life. If you are a beginner in green living and just started getting concerned for a healthy family and better environment, you are just at the right place. It will give you much pleasure than ever that there are so much you can do for yourself, your family, community and the entire planet. Being a mom gives you one more reason to go green.

Mama… Let’s Go Green… !!

Go Green Mama: The Best Playdough Recipe

 

Play dough is the perfect rainy day activity, and we love making it in our kitchen. When you make your own playdough with the best playdough recipe ever, you get way more dough for your money than when you go out and buy it. Plus, this homemade playdough is so much softer and easier to mold than the store-bought stuff!

At Kids Activities Blog, we love making playdough and have several different recipes for you to try. This DIY playdough recipe has been around forever. When I was teaching kindergarten, another teacher passed it down to me as a “trade secret” but I didn’t think it was fair not to share (what I think is) the best playdough recipe with you guys. So, here it is!

Here’s What You Need To Make The Best Playdough Recipe:

• 2 Cups of Flour
• 2 Tbsp of Oil (any oil will do, coconut oil, vegetable oil, even olive oil)
• 1/2 Cup of Salt
• 2 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 1/2 Cup Boiling Water

The secret to brilliant colors in your playdough is using gel food coloring – we find ours in the cake decorating sections of craft/hobby stores, or on the baking aisle in the grocery store. Gel food coloring is definitely the best dye for homemade playdough.

How To Make The Best Playdough:

1. Pour 2 cups of flour into a bowl.
2. Add 1/2 cup of salt.
3. Mix in 2 tbsp Cream of Tartar. (You can find this in the spice section of just about any grocery store.)
4. Add 2 tbsp of oil. For this recipe I used vegetable oil, but you can use any oil, and as long as it’s a kitchen oil, your playdough will be non-toxic and safe for little ones to eat.
5. Pour in the boiling water. Be VERY careful because this makes the dough HOT!
6. Mix all the ingredients together until they form the dough. At this point, if you don’t want to add any food dye to your playdough, you’re finished!
7. After it’s cooled, to make several different colors of playdough, separate the dough into equal parts and roll it up into balls.
8. Now, punch out the middle of the ball to leave a little bowl for you to pour your gel food dye into.
9. Drip your gel dye into the bowls. This is a great time to mix dye colors if you want to make another color.
10. Knead the dough until the dye is thoroughly mixed. This is VERY messy! If you don’t want to stain your hands, use gloves, and make sure to put something down so you don’t stain your counter (like I did).

 

Note:  We noticed that our dough began to smell a bit sour after a month or two. Our solution: using koolaid coloring (the flavor would mask the smell – but the colors weren’t as brilliant), or adding a few drops of candy extracts/oils. My kids have enjoyed making peppermint or orange or cinnamon scented doughs! Have fun coming up with your own scent/color creations.

Source: The Best Play Dough Recipe