I wanted to title this post something about going “Beyond Recycling,” because my assumption is that most people recycle as a matter of course these days. That feels true where I live, where the city’s goal is to divert 80 percent of waste from the landfill by 2025, but a 2007 poll found that 25 […]
Make Upcycled Musical Instruments for Earth Day and Beyond
We are all about upcycling and creative reuse here at ODC HQ, so I was super-excited to get a look at the ebook Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rock Out! by Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, an awesome world music performer and teacher who loves to get kids excited about music in creative ways. The ebook has 10 different […]
Learn to Code with Your Kids #NWArkCares
Technology is going to be even more important and integrated into our kids’ lives as they get older than it already is. Our generation is the last to remember not having a computer, an email address or a cell phone. We can’t even imagine what technology will be when they are our age, or what […]
Getting Kids Interested in Gardening: Ideas and Resources
One great way to get kids interested in nutrition and trying new foods is to get them as involved as possible in the selection and preparation of those foods. Even better is if you can grow some food yourself, so the child is invested in the food from the very beginning. Knowing where food comes […]
Learning About Bubbles
The girl has always loved bubbles. We have made our own bubble solution many times before, and we need to make some for this season. I’ve extolled the joys of giant bubble wands, and at a neighbor’s house the other night she made a beaded bubble wand like this one from the Artful Parent. Playing […]
Learning about George Washington Carver
Learning — for our kids or for us — doesn’t have to be just about the time they spend at school. The girl said something the other day about the things she does outside of school as being “homeschooling,” so I’m trying to consciously plan more educational opportunities for her outside of school hours. She […]
Trash Tower Building Challenge
I’m so excited to be with you today as part of the 28 Days of Hands-on STEM Activities for Kids series from Left Brain Craft Brain. This past week bloggers have been looking at the theme STEM goes green, and it was a lot of fun to pull this project right out of our recycling […]