How to Teach a Child About Conservation

The best way to teach conservation is to conserve yourself. Thus, the first step in teaching children about conservation is living in a way that shows how much you care about the environment. Here are some practical ways for helping children learn that conservation is everyone's responsibility.

Instructions

Cultivate an Appreciation for Nature

1. Spending time outdoors in various natural settings with your child. Perhaps one of the best ways to instill the value of protecting the earth is helping children appreciate all its wonder.

2. Take a journal along when you go hiking or camping. Spend time sitting in one place and quietly and note what you observe. Record your observations about the animals you see and their habitat.

3. Spend time talking about and reflecting on what you see. Write down questions you may have and encourage active investigation through further observation, a trip to the library or Internet searches.

4. Find teachable moments to point out how our lifestyle choices impact these natural places. Remind children that conservation is necessary to ensure such places remain.

Show Children How to Use Stuff Wisely

1. Talk with your child about how to reduce the amount of waste you generate in your household. Make reusable shopping bags together to take to the store. In the hardware and the grocery store, explain why you select items that are not prepackaged and explain how buying economy-sized items produces less packaging per ounce.

2. Have a contest with your children to think of creative uses for an old item instead of throwing it out. See if you can come up with more than 9 uses for a empty peanut butter jar. Check your list against the one provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.

3. Give your child the responsibility of sorting items for recycling. If you have a scale, suggest she weigh the items your family recycles before putting them out for collection. Keep a record of how much your family recycles in one year.