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| The ParentGuide Goes Green Earth Day Edition
Please forward to your friends! | |
 A message from the publishers of ParentGuide
to our readers
As a family and as a company, we have always endeavored to do the right thing when it comes to being responsible, and that includes things pertaining to the environment. We recycle. We don't litter. We take care of our cars. But it was last year during a family vacation to Japan that we realized just how much more could be done. We brought that revelation back with us and turned it into a real commitment to change our lifestyle at home and at work. It's not easy, but with education and and a willing mind, it's possible and so, so important to the future of our world. We are making education a priority for ParentGuide, as a way of encouraging our readers to join us in being a little more green everyday for today's children and all the generations to follow. We hope you enjoy our special Earth Day ParentTalk Newsletter. Stay tuned to ParentGuide.com for more!
Jack and Linda Hall
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 Win some Green products for your home!
In honor of Earth Day, ParentGuide.com is giving away a set of Seventh Generation cleaning products.
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Get in the Game The Endango Board Game that is. Kids save endangered animals with this new environmental board game that teaches kids how to go green. With a unique game strategy it links the child's behaviors to their indirect environmental consequence - the fate of endangered animals. Targeting ages 6+, Endango is fun for the whole family. |
 Planet Earth: 25 Environmental Projects You Can Build Yourself
Kids can explore their planet with this activity book. In the first half, kids learn about the natural world, animal life, the power of the wind, water, and sun and how it all comes together. Then, in the second half, they explore key environmental issues such as wind and solar power, pollution, endangered species, global warming, recycling and more. Kids will enjoy making projects like a wind-powered bubble machine, a worm composting castle, a garbage picker-upper, and a life-cycle habitat. Available now online and bookstores.
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Earth Day - Disney Style!
 Walt Disney Studios will celebrate Earth Day 2009 with the debut of Earth, the first feature-length nature documentary from its new production banner, Disneynature. The film takes moviegoers on an extraordinary tour of our home planet as it's never been seen before.
Using the sun as a guide, we set out on a global journey, following three mothers struggling to bring up their young: a polar bear and her two newborn cubs; an elephant mother and her calf and a humpback whale mother and her calf.
This amazing new film is from producer/director Alastair Fothergill of the "Planet Earth" series and "The Blue Planet." It is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones.
Products to enhance the experience:
Earth Interactive DVD Board Game: Parents and children explore the Earth and work together to answer a range of trivia questions based on the movie.
Earth Digest Puzzle Books: Based on the new movie, these digest-sized puzzle books feature puzzles, mazes and fun facts.
Earth Deluxe Activity Padded Board Books: The film is captured in these deluxe padded board books, featuring large, colorful wildlife pictures and fun facts.
Products available at Wal-Mart, Target, Borders, Barnes & Noble, CVS, Costco and Sam's Club. |
Wow! No Polluting Paint Fumes!
 Chemicals emitted by paint can be hazardous to any set of lungs, but particularly to young, developing ones. Fumes can also be hazardous to the air, so parents concerned with health and the environment can now choose Olympic's Premium Interior Paint/Zero VOC/low odor formula. Use it in the nursery, a child's room or the whole house without the smell and risk. More than 1,200 sheens and colors are available starting at $18 per gallon. Breathe easier and know that you can decorate beautifully while maintaining good indoor air quality. Find it at Lowe's. |
Spring Cleaning can be Green Cleaning Most American adults are unaware of the chemicals found in their daily household cleaners, leaving them unaware of the dangers and risks. And the average home has 63 hazardous chemical products within arm's reach. In homes with children under age six, a startling 70 percent keep cleaning products under the sink.
As part of its commitment to empowering people with the knowledge of maintaining a healthy, safe home for their family, Seventh Generation -- in collaboration with WebMD, and Healthy Child Healthy World, -- is providing personalized education on WebMD called the Health eHome, found at www.webmd.com/healthyhome.
Set up as a virtual tour, Health eHome enables users to visit each room of the home to uncover potential dangers and hazards that are identified as "hot spots." Clicking on the "hot spot" opens an information window which explains the potential hazard and tips on eliminating it to improve both personal and environmental health. The information window also provides videos with real families confronting these issues in their homes. An expert blog provides information on creating a cleaner, greener lifestyle. Parents can also test the safety of their home by doing a "Health eHome Check," where they can get personalized results and an action plan for their home. |
13 no-cost ways to celebrate Earth Day in ten minutes or less
- Adjust your thermostat to a higher setting or turn it off altogether and enjoy the fresh air.
- Send Happy Earth Day e-cards to a half dozen friends.
- E-mail your state or national representatives about a green initiative.
- If you're in the supermarket, track down the manager and encourage him or her to source local products.
- Make signs to put on the mirror over faucets to remind family members to turn off water when they are brushing their teeth. (You can save an average of nine gallons every time you do this.)
 Cancel subscriptions to newspapers or magazines you don't really want.
- Go online to CatalogChoice.org to free your mailbox from junk mail.
- Call several people and arrange to carpool for an upcoming event such as a child's sporting activity or a club meeting.
- Go online and join a group like Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Kids for Saving the Earth, the Wilderness Society or Co-op America.
- Make a family pledge to walk everywhere today.
- Talk to the principal at your children's school about instituting environmental education in the curriculum.
- Check to see that your tires are correctly inflated.
- Sign the "Healthy Yard Pledge" at Audubon.org.
Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net
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Pinellas Living Green Expo
 If Earth Day gets you motivated to make a commitment to do more, then plan to stroll through the Harborview Center in Clearwater to learn about products and activities that can help you live a greener, cleaner life. The event is May 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This popular event is getting bigger every year and it's a great educational outing for parents and children. Read more. |
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Check Your GREEN Commitment
 Pinellas County Extension Services is asking families to take a pledge to help save the planet as part of their sustainability education program. They offer a comprehensive website with information on sustainable living for your family and the workplace. Find tips, classes and an informative blog. Go to their webpage and click on one of four optons for taking the pledge: home, work, play or kids. Visit them on a regular basis to stay current. |
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Rain Barrels Can Save Your Garden
 Rain barrels are a convenient and efficient way to collect clean rain water that runs off your roof. You'll not only help to reduce the storm water runoff, but you'll have a free source of chemical-free water to use for irrigating your landscaping and gardens. To learn more, pre-register for a free Rain Barrel Workshop with Hillsborough County Extension Service. Each household in Hillsborough County receives 1 FREE 55-gallon barrel (includes spigot and screen) when you attend a workshop. Note: if you live in a county other than Hillsborough, you must pay $20 to receive the rain barrel when you attend the workshop. With the drought, these popular workshops fill up fast and the next openings are in August, so enroll today to get your space! You can also watch their instructional video and purchase a rain barrel from a retail outlet if you want one right away. |
Love Your Mother Earth at Local Earth Day Events
Earthfest at Sweetwater Organic Farm
Saturday, April 18th from 11-4
6942 W. Comanche Avenue, Tampa
The event is free and activities include a Kid's Corner, children's parade, Green Market and demonstration area.
Island Earth Days 2009
Honeymoon Island in Dunedin
Saturday, April 18th and 19th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Two days of family fun, live musical entertainment and exploring the park.
The event will also feature plenty of seafood and other tasty treats, artists and crafters, environmentally conscious vendors and a Hawaiian Outrigger Race on Saturday and Kayak competition on Sunday. An impressive list of entertainers will bring in the sounds of the tropics, some reggae and even some Celtic. Admission to Honeymoon Island State Park is $5 per vehicle, with up to eight people allowed in each vehicle.
For more information, call 727-738-2903
We are the Earth
Crystal River Preserve State Park
Sunday, April 19th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3266 N. Sailboat Ave., Crystal River, FL, 34428
A free Earth Day Celebration at the Crystal River Preserve State Park and Big Bend Seagrasses/St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserves Visitor's Center. This year's celebration features many fun and educational activities at both the Crystal River Preserve State Park and the Crystal River Archaeological State Park located just two miles apart.
Earth Day Tampa Bay 2009
Lowry Park in Tampa
Sunday, April 19th from 11-4
Exhibitors with products and information about a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Arts and crafts, educational games, information about recycling and more. Sponsored by the Sierra Club.
Earthfest
Hough Quad at Eckerd College
4200 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg
Wednesday, April 22nd, 12:30 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
An Earth Day celebration promoting environmental awareness featuring environmental organizations and clubs, organic food and environmentally related crafts.
Kid Craft at Lowe's
Tampa Palms Lowe's only, 6201 Commerce Palms Drive
Saturday, April 25th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kids will participate in a fun hands-on painting activity with environmentally-better products and learn along with their parents solutions to preserve the Earth while creating long lasting memories. This fun and free event is an opportunity to encourage parents to explore solutions in creating a healthy environment for their families. Sponsored by Olympic Paint.
Green Thumb Festival
Walter Fuller Park
7891 26th Ave. N., St. Petersburg
Saturday and Sunday, April 25th and 26th
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days
Free plant and landscape festival celebrates Arbor Day and Earth Day with colorful array of flowering plants, trees, orchids, herbs, garden art for sale, soil and water testing, tool sharpening, horticulture exhibits, Children's Plant Fair, Garden Club of St. Petersburg Flower Show (9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun.), recycling andmuch more.
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