5 Tips for Observing Earth Hour with Kids: Get More than an Earth Minute!
Last year, my grand plans for Earth Hour were derailed by the reality of life with little kids: as I blogged here, I ended up with an “Earth Minute.”
This year, I’m determined to learn from the past and enjoy a less rushed and stressed experience. Here are five tips that I’m hoping will make for a more enjoyable family experience. Let me know what you think. How’d your Earth Hour go last year? And what are you planning tonight? (Yes, it’s tonight!)
1. Stick to Your Routines
Clearly, whoever dreamed up Earth Hour did not have little munchkins to put to bed. 8:30 p.m. is simply too late for most kids. If your tykes hit the hay well before 8:30, DON’T, repeat DON’T try to do something special. Odds are, you’ll regret it…
2. Pick a Substitute Time that Works for You
This year, we’re going to have our Earth Hour during dinner (candlelight dining with my three boys should be fun!). If that doesn’t seem to go well, I may try for a few minutes after dinner. But bedtime – it’s still 8 p.m., Earth Hour or not!
3. Use this as a Teachable Moment
My first grader’s school observed Earth Hour on Friday. When I asked him why they did it, he said, “To help the Earth and stuff.” Yet when I tried to make a correlation between Earth Hour and turning off the lights in his room before he rushes off for school, he didn’t quite seem to get it. That’s another reason to do Earth Hour at the dinner hour – it will give us time and context for a discussion about why we are observing Earth Hour.
4. Give Yourself a Break
If despite all your plans, things still go awry, give yourself a break. When I look back at this photo of my little Boo Bear a year ago, I can’t believe how small he was and how much I tried to accomplish despite that. So many of us parents – especially the Moms – are guilty of this. We simply try to do too much.
5. Celebrate with Your Significant Other
Another benefit to Tips #1 and #2 is that if you stick to your kids’ bedtime routine, odds are you’ll have some energy to celebrate the darkness of Earth Hour with your significant other and perhaps a bottle of sustainable wine, organic beer, and fair trade chocolate.
Sounds a lot better than last year! I can’t wait…
Tell me about your Earth Hour! Leave a comment and share!
Lynn
Copyright 2009 OrganicMania
4 Responses to “5 Tips for Observing Earth Hour with Kids: Get More than an Earth Minute!”
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These are great ideas as I plan for ours ‘hour’ this evening. I like how you say it’s important to give yourself a break. I tend to plan,plan, plan and that takes some of the enjoyment away. Happy Earth Hour!
And to you too, Kristin! Hope it was a good experience for you! — Lynn
Today? How did I miss this?
Well, at least this is one practice that you can put into action at anytime – and the benefits are great enough for us to incorporate in our every day living.
I love eating by candlelight!
There you go…I now have a sixth tip …remove all placemats! Baby Boo picked his up and lunged at the candles…catastrophe avoided, fortunately! – Lynn
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