Step2

Happy Earth Day! Earth Day is an annual day where communities gather together worldwide to demonstrate support to protect the environment for plants, animals, and humans. To start off this important day and raise awareness, your family can help a global mosaic on Earthday.org.  All you have to do is upload a picture, preferably one that includes your face and a sign that says “The Face of Climate Change.” Check out what the global mosaic looks like so far at TheAdvocator.com.

In addition showing your support online, there are plenty of fun & creative ideas you can do with your kids to educate them about Earth Day. We were inspired by the ideas CreativeFamily.net , CarrotsAreOrgange.com , and B-InspiredMama.com had about this green celebration.

• Plant a Tree: If you have some room in your front or back yard, get the family together to help plant a tree! However, if you do not have the room, the National Arbor Day Foundation can plant a tree on your behalf.
• Earth Day Cookies: Create cookies that look like Earth but still taste like delicious delicacies. The kids will have a blast swirling around blue and write frosting to create the top layer on the cookie(which is meant to be the water and clouds of Earth) and then sprinkling green sprinkles (which is meant to be the land).  What a cool and yummy concept!
• Sort recyclables: Teach children about plastic, paper, and metal. This is a great sensory activity to teach children what each material feels like. Present examples of the materials such as a plastic soda bottle, a cereal box, and a can of fruit. Create and decorate different boxes for each material and have children sort through to place the correct recyclables in each box.
• Clean up the park or neighborhood: Take the kids on a nature stroll and bring plastic bags with you. While on your walk to the park or around the neighborhood, pick up any trash you see. With the trash you have collected, you and your children can sort through and put the different trash items in your decorated recyclables boxes.
• Create earth: Get crafty and let the kids create their own version of Earth. There is paint, small bouncy balls, sand, and glue involved in this activity so that means it is guaranteed fun!
• Make a family pledge: On behalf of Earth Day, have your family create a list of ways to help keep the Earth clean all year round. From recycling to picking up more trash to donating to nature organizations, there is always a way to help.

Celebrating and teaching your children about Earth Day will help them to pass the knowledge and passion about taking care of our planet to future generations. What activities do you have planned for Earth Day?

Mommy’s and daddy’s adventures aren’t typically activities that a child or baby is patient about. During any activity, children need to be stimulated. Here are some tips from Parenting.com, on how to keep your child busy during certain events:

At a Restaurant:

Make sure that the restaurant in which you take your kids too, is a place where they cannot get messy (easier said than done but it is worth a shot).

Here are some ways to keep your little one out of trouble and content:

• Ask for crackers immediately when you get there
• Play Peek-a-boo through the water glass
• Keep the salt and pepper shakers far away from a child or baby’s grasp (if they are young enough and like to grab everything in sight, hand them their rattle or another item they can shake)
• Give your child or baby an ice cube to mess around with (after all, it is only water)
• Does the restaurant have coloring material for children

On a plane:

Plane rides are always an adventure. Some children may be scarred and others just may be bored. Either way, make sure it is an enjoyable ride for both you and your kids.

Here are some ideas:

• Make sure to supply little snacks besides what is given out on the plane
• Also, bring a magazine, use it to tear out pages and play hide and seek by hiding besides faces of people on the page
• Bring small blankets for comfort
• Bring a small puzzle that the kids can do on the plane during the flight

Waiting in line:

The dreaded question: “Why do we have to wait?“ Instead of continuously answering that question there are ways to ask the children some fun questions.

• Play the guessing game with your kids
• Use coins to ask them:
  • Which hand is the coin in?
  •  What color is the coin?
  • Do you know the name of this coin?
  • Play heads or tails
  • Take anything out of your purse or pockets and ask them questions about the items

In the Car:

Be creative. Car rides do not have to be boring and consist of the questions: “Are we there yet?” “Where are we going?” “Why are we going there?”

Keep them busy with these fun games:

• Play I spy with cars
• Let children read the letters of a license plate
• Bring a lot of soft toys like puppets or plush toys that babies and kids can play with (Check out Infantino’s Baby Bugs)
• Play the rhyming game and see how many words you and your kids can come up with while you are on the road.
• In case your child gets bored with talking to you, they could always talk on a toy phone (instead of handing off your phone to them).

Thanks to Parenting.com for these insightful tips. Here are Step2, we encourage creativity and stimulation for children during their years of development. We have recently come up with the Infantino products called HappiTaps™. There is Beary Happi and Puppi Love. These are plush toys that you can slide your iPod® Touch or iPhone® in and your screen comes to life for your children by simply downloading a free application. This toy will provide your child with hours of fun whether you are at a restaurant, on a plane, in line, or in the car.

What toys or games do you bring along for your kids during these activities?