Learn Earth Science While Reducing Your Footprint!

Earth Science is an important part of the third grade curriculum, and it's also a great way to learn about how to protect the planet! Here's a list of key environmental vocabulary words to go over with your child:

Non-renewable resource- a natural resource that cannot be re-made, re-grown or regenerated in the same way as before. It exists in a fixed amount that is being used up faster than it can be made by nature.

Landfills- A method of solid waste disposal in which trash is buried between layers of dirt so as to fill in.

Greenhouse effect- The rise in temperature that the Earth experiences when certain gases in the atmosphere trap energy from the sun.

Incinerated- To burn completely.

Mining- the act, process, or industry of extracting ores, coal, etc., from mines.

Harvesting- to catch, take, or remove for use.

So, how can we decrease the use of non-renewable resources that need to be mined and harvested, reverse the Greenhouse Effect, and minimize the amount of trash that needs to be incinerated or sent to landfills? Recycle! Search through cupboards with your child to become more familiar with items that can be recycled or, better yet, reused. This is a great opportunity to teach your child to identify the recycling symbol. Have you found items that cannot be recycled? What would some alternatives be to these products?

Now, search under your sink, or wherever you keep your cleaning items. This is often where the most environmentally dangerous products live. Below are a few examples of common household products, and environmentally sound alternatives for you and your family to think about.