Earth Month Fun with Elias & Adeline
With Earth Day being last week (and April being Earth Month), Elias and Adeline have been doing a lot of activities related to the Earth, conservation, learning about waste, etc. at school.
It’s been fun listening to them, especially Elias, talk about the importance of caring for the earth. I totally saved some of his schoolwork for Project Life.
This weekend, we did some further application at home thanks to Tom’s of Maine.
Tom’s of Maine is a new Mom Creative partner and I am grateful to be a member of their blogger Goodness Circle this year. While I have been aware of Tom’s of Maine products for many years, I had no idea of the scope of their dedication to caring for the earth. I’m excited to share their programs and products with you today and in the coming months.
For instance, this month Tom’s of Maine partnered with TerraCycle to encourage families to fill a free box of old and broken toys. These items then get recycled into park benches, picnic tables and more.
We have been doing a lot of purging of excess in our home lately and so filling up a box from TerraCycle was an awesome exercise. I talked with Elias and Adeline about how cool it is that we could send away their old and broken toys and they would be recycled into something else.
They loved the idea and immediately started going through their toy chest looking for toys to send away. It was amazing to watch – and amazing to get a big box of junk out of our house!
According to a Tom’s of Maine study, more than half (55%) of parents frequently throw out toys to reduce clutter in their home. I know I have!
The good news/bad news is that the recycled toy program was so successful for Tom’s of Maine that they don’t have any more free boxes at this time. However, if you still want to do something to teach your kids about the importance of recycling, you can sign up for the Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade.
This is the next exercise I am doing with my kids to teach them about the importance of recycling and I’d love for y’all to join me.
I need to be honest. I always toss empty containers from things like deodorant and mouthwash. But not anymore! The Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade collects and recycles these products – and you can send them in for free.
Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Brigade accepted waste:
- Mouthwash bottles and caps
- Deodorant containers and caps
- Toothpaste tubes and caps
- Soap packaging
- Floss containers
- Toothbrushes
So cool, huh? Three cheers for helping the earth, teaching our children well and having less trash!
How have you celebrated Earth Month with your children?
This post is sponsored by Tom’s of Maine. I am very intentional to only partner with brands that I use, love and believe in. I hope you are inspired by this post.
I have to admit, I don’t do much for Earth Month. However, we are HUGE fans of Toms of Maine in our house. Love that you’re working with them!
Thanks, Jo-Lynne. We have really been loving their products. My son says their toothpaste tastes like candy canes. 🙂
We have been talking a lot about Earth Month. It’s so sweet to hear my 8 year old talk in earnest about making little changes to help. I had no idea you could collect and send in home care waste products – the Natural Care Bridge sounds awesome!
I felt a pang of guilt when reading this because I’ve done a few purges where toys were thrown in the trash. It’s really so lazy and wasteful. This was a great reminder to find new uses instead of taking the easy route. Thanks Jessica!
More than anything, I love both that the program was so successful that they ran out of boxes and that your sweet kids embraced the idea of helping. We have been in the process of purging excess in our home as well and I think it is fantastic that Tom’s has so many programs that make the world a better place. Thank you so much, Jessica.