Today we were on our way to a playdate when…

6 year old: What are we going to do to celebrate Earth Day mama?

Me: What do you want to do? I have lots of ideas, what are yours?

6 year old: We need to do something that helps protect the environment. What can we do?

Me: Well, we are already doing one thing to help reduce our use of electricity by not watching tv this week.

6 year old: Oh, yeah….

And a conversation ensued about what we are doing as a family to reduce, reuse, recycle all the time, what we can do better, and what we want to do special for Earth Day. We came up with several things that helped reinforce decisions that I make that they don’t always agree with.

What are the things you do every day that reflect the values of Earth Day? Do your kids, spouse, always agree?

Some of the things we talked about were so fun to watch my captive audience really think and consider… and the things that were really eye-opening were different for each boy.

My 4 year old doesn’t always like to walk places, regardless of how easily walkable they might be. He also likes to take elevators instead of the stairs and can complain and whine to no end when he wants to.

The 6 year old really took in what I was saying about reducing consumption, now to see if it makes any difference the next time we go to a store… oh if only I could get through a simple shopping trip without hearing, I want, I want, I want.

So, what are the lessons from Earth Day that you want your kids to learn?