A Recycling Family... Finally

 We were supposed to start recycling. 3 months ago. Upon moving to California.  I think by law?  But even this by-the-book gal didn't adhere because I am so clutter-free.  While we are issued a trashcan by the Army for this purpose, I still dreaded having another container in the kitchen just to collect more things.  I love living clutter-free & to me a recycle bin just takes up more space in the kitchen.  But, I used Earth Day to introduce the concept to the crazies & am finally getting this family on board.  Probably because it's the law, but also to help the crazies learn more ways to love the Earth & teach them early on how they can help in the process.  So, we took a trip to the store, got our recycle bin for the house, put the recycle cards on the side, & already have things in there.  I guess I don't mind a little clutter, as long as the box is labeled.

K with her "I Love Earth" art.

D with his too.

Our printable recycling cards to teach us what goes in the bin... really cause I'd forget.

D throwing the first item in the bin -- he will keep us all straight.

Baking Earth

So, in honor of Earth Day, I let the crazies continue with some themed learning in the kitchen.  We made Earth cupcakes full of funky colors & delish chocolate (dirt) icing.  They both pulled in their chairs & wanted to help -- this usually is kickstarted by the sound of the blender as they have learned their is something yummy to lick so they come running in.  It's funny how some scrumptious store-bought cake mix, some dye, & some icing can create a load of fun for these two (okay, 3, I enjoyed it too!)

D helped pour in some pre-measured ingredients.

It's lick time!

Stirring their added colors all in.

Pre-baked appearance -- they just dropped spoonfuls into the tins.

Wah-laa!  All done!

D (unrelated to me) wanted to eat his without icing... I think he thought it was really dirt.

K, ahhhh, a girl after my own heart!

Gettin' Dirty

With Earth Day right around the corner, I've been trying to do some themed learning with our crazies.  I wanted to take the learning outside & do a little digging.  Living in the desert doesn't provide us with much opportunity to dig inn the dirt & plant trees, so I decided to bring the project a little closer to home, bought some dirt, & had a blast doing some planting & digging with pots right around our house.  I let the crazies out & they loved 

gettin' dirty!

We made a sensory box with dirt & items that they dug in for a while.

We practiced writing our letters in the dirt.

Deacon & Kennedy helped plant some planters to get it looking like spring around here.

Deacon had to get his tractor in on the action.

I made dirt desserts for an afternoon treat for their hard work.

They found a shady place & dug in... worms first of course!

It was a fun afternoon outdoors getting' dirty & throwing some dirt around, even in the desert.