Thankful Activities For Kids For Thanksgiving

Looking for inclusive and meaningful ideas to do with your kids for a more meaningful and playful Thanksgiving this year? Planetpals has it covered with these adorable and thoughtful Thanksgiving lessons that teach lessons and show them ways to give thanks.

Thanksgiving Activities  Meaningful, Design & Color. Construct A Thankful Turkey:

Get the Thankful Turkey Activity

Thanksgiving Lesson Share Piece of Thankful Pie. A Life Skills & Writing Activity:

Get the Thankful Pie Activity

Thanksgiving Activities & Writing Page. Design & Color. Learn Meaningful Words:

Get The Thanksgiving Sign Coloring & Writing Activity

Planetpals: We help your make holidays happy and fun!

Planetpals puts an 'E" in your Thanksgiving To Make It Greener

15 great 'E'cology tips to help you make a greener world this holiday!

1.     When food and holiday shopping combine trips to save gas and energy

2.     Buy in bulk: Use large soda containers instead of many small cans.

3.     Bake your pies and dishes in reusable pans not disposable aluminum 

4.     Cook Many things in your oven at the same time to save energy

5.     Light a fire in the hearth to save on energy. Even better, make newspaper logs!

6.     Have a cooler with drinks for a large gathering-opening and closing the refridgerator let's the cold air out  and uses more energy

7.     Have  a designated Recycle Bin for guests Use Planetpals Free Recycle Sign

8.     Use cloth napkins, placemats and table covers. It not only makes the day more special, it saves paper!

9.     Make your own paper place cards and menus. Make them from your own handmade paper.  See Planetpals Paper Making Recipe.

10.  Make a delicious recipes from those decorative pumpkins, berries and gourds (yes, you can cook some varieties) after the holiday. Don't just throw them away!

11.  Recycle your decorations from year to year.

12.  Make decorations from recycled materials. this is a great craft for kids. 

13.  Make paper mache decorations such as paper mache pumpkins. They not only can be reused, you are reusing paper! See Planetpals Paper Mache Recipe.

14.  Make decorations from edibles such as fruit and cloves. The options are endless, just use creativity!  

15.  It takes a lot of energy to make new containers, paper products and packaging. Be diligent in recycling all your newspapers, cans, bottles, plastics, cardboard and other materials.

 Lastly, learn all kinds of eco friendly and fun Thanksgiving  tips, tricks and crafts - Read the Thanksgiving Journal.

Always Remember the 4 "R"s. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repair!

Want to learn more TIPS for a greener Thanksgiving?  Check out oor tips for kids featured in this article:  Creating a sustainable Thanksgiving celebration: Q&A with the experts

Clean and Green Ideas For Back To School!

Here are a few ways you can help the planet this school year...Remember, every litter bit helps! 

• Reuse backpacks, and containers for school items, sports items instead of buying new ones.
• Use up last year's school supplies before you replace them
• Take your lunch in a reusable lunch box, or cloth bag instead of paper bags..
• Recycle any packaging in your lunch box.
• Pack a cloth napkin instead of paper napkin. You can reuse it! Just count all your school days...that's how many paper napkins you saved.
• Cover your books in recycled paper bags or wrap... decorate them yourself, they could look fun and you might start a trend!
• Use the reverse side of scrap paper for your first drafts of writing, art and math projects.
• Keep a "craft box" of discards you think might be handy for class projects during the year...mark it "my craft box" so no-one will mistake it for trash! Keep things like empty yogurt containers, elastics, string etc...that might interesting and useful for your art.
• Take the bus or Car-pool with friends...have your moms take turns...It's fun to go to school in groups and you save lots of gas!.
• Remember masks, use reusable ones!
• Ask your teacher to put up Planetpals recycle kits posters to remind everyone at school about recycling.
• See below here for more recycle ideas for everyday!

Use our teacher tested #backtoschool World Healthy & Happy Activities in the classroom, at home, anytime! We love Earth and you!

See our #backtoschool board on Pinterest for more back to school ideas! 

We have over 100 boards of educational content on Pinterest

and over 1,000 pages of educational content on Planetpals.com 

Free Healthy Kids Checklist For Earthday And Everyday

Kids Can Be Healthy Inside And Out!

Learn good habits when you are young!  We're here to help your kids be healthy inside and out with this healthy kids checklist.

One of the best ways to be healthy inside and out is to be a Planetpal every day! That means eating healthy and doing healthy things. Take care of your body and take care of the earth.

We have designed this free printable healthy kids checklist--kids can put it on the fridge or tape it to the wall and remind themselves to be a Planetpal, everyday in every way!

Download this Free Printable Activity Now

Free download! Healthy Planet Healthy People That's What Planetpals Is All About.

To Learn more about Healthy Eating and staying healthy check out Planetpals Healthy Lifestyle Pages.

• Planetpals Healthy Lifestyle:
• Health and Food Precautions
• Food Pyramid 
• New Food Pyramid " MY Plate"
• Healthy Lunch and Green Lunchbox
• Healthy Kids Checklist
• Healthy Food Recipes
• Healthy Edible Food Crafts

Rah Rah Real Green Dorm Room Decorating

Creative Upcycling for Dorm Room Decor

Loads of creative recycle decorating ideas to make a personal statement in the college home away from home. 

How are you going to get there? Here is one fun way to go back to school waiting in an upcycled school bus - bus stop from fastcompany.com 

There's nothing like those years in college!  It sure is fun to decorate your dorm room today with a myriad of designer lines available to coordinate everything from a shower caddy to closet organizers.

But what if you want to show some originality, save some money and be green? Repurpose! Upcycle! Reuse!

Here are some of our favorite "simple to do" repurpose ideas that work perfectly for the dorm room or college apartment. 

Arty T Shirt's Framed

Your Country, City or State in a Frame.  How Great!

 A Bike Rack!

 The new meaning of a book case!  A Hiding bin for more than books

A Patchwork of T-shirts-Warm n Cozy

Creative study nook from www.quoleshnablog.wordpress.com  

Perfect for the musician a guitar case book case from /www.recyclart.org/ 

Let them know what you read with an upcycled books headboard from www.womantribune.com - you could use anything for this, even maps, adds or posters!

Use your old skateboards with  this skateboard book shelf from www.skatestudyhouse.com 

Show where you are from with these license plate bookends from www.funinthemaking.net 

Need a file cabinet?  Make this handy portable file cabinet with a vintage suitcase and always be ready to go from www.poetichome.com

Also from www.poetichome.com  this clever recycled record book end...just heat and bend.  You can make bowls from records , too.

Need a table?  Make one with an old sign or recycled framed print. So simple from www.iamanangelchaser.com  You can use many things for a base. 

Don't overlook that old wooden ladder give it a college life as this upcycled book case from www.southernliving.com 

Sew you need a needle and thread...here's one for the guys made from your treasured matchbox or hot wheel  from www.handmadenews.org  

Perfect for the art student or crafter.  A great way to organize paints, spices or other items.  A soda crate from www.school1 everythingesty.com

Let's not forget memos  and momentos a simple way to make a personalized bulletin board from countryliving.com.  Just choose a fabric to match your room or make a statement.

Want more great dorm ideas?  See our Pinterest DORM Board and our Man Cave Board

© jag www.planetpals.com all rights reserved 

How Important Is Caring For Earth - Let Kids tell Us!

Teachers Help Kids Illustrate How Important Environmental Responsibility Is!

Kids around the world illustrate how important caring for the planet can be.

Canton Elementary School Student Andrew , first grade, drew his rendition of Planetpals Earthman.  

Muzak thought up his own Planetpals Characters....and shared them with us. This creative poster idea was part of an art compitition organized by HRCA mega events, Pakistan. Muaaz Salman and in the first grade received silver medal for this.

Simple ideas by using newsprint and printed type, teach us to plant trees. Drawing by Christie.

Division 1,  K-1st grade student Jonathan R. from Samoset Elementary Manatee County teaches us about water conservation.

Teaching us many things!  This clever poster by first grader Rachel Watson illustrates everything we can foo to help Earth.She won first prize.

There are many more great ideas for Teachers to Teach responsibility at Planetpals.  All Earth all the time!

Changing Seasons Are A Great Time For A Nature Journal

Journals can be a great learning experience all year long

For links to these projects go to Planetpals Pinterest Nature Journal Board

What better learning experience is there than to document nature's splendor, with a nature diary! It's a great project for any age including kids!  Anyone can draw, write, record and photograph what they see.

Any season is a season for Journaling; 

Spring means outdoors for many who have cooped up all winter, like birds and bugs, trees and plants.   Summer is a time for thriving for many plants and animals, caring for their young, plants blooming and harvesting.  As well, Autumn harvests and the storing and shedding of animals and plants.  Winter is time for hibernation and wild weather patterns. Let's face it, all year long nature evolves, the skies not only change through the seasons, but change day and night, as do the tides. 

The changing seasons are a perfect time to think of Journaling.  

Journaling is a wonderful pastime and an educational hobby. With the changing season comes changes in nature. You can track the seasons of trees and flowers.  You can track nature's life cycles like that of a butterfly from and egg to a caterpillar to a full grown butterfly. You can watch animals come out of, or prepare and go into, hibernation.

Things you can record in a Journal:

Learn to look for patterns in nature such as heart shaped leaves, camouflage or repetitive patterns. Find nests and cocoons, take photos of changing leaves, sprouting flowers and new blossoming plants. Watch gardens grow and the changing seaside.  Learn what different species eat, which ones are endangered,  and learn about the food chain. Collect different kinds of natural species or their parts such as shells or barks from trees. Or simply find the beauty in any natural thing!

Here is a list of additional ideas for a Seasonal Journal:

• Color in Nature
• Art in Nature
• Anatomy and Architecture
• Planted Seedlings
• Budding and Blooming Flowers
• Budding and Blooming Trees
• Birds and Nests
• Bugs and Insects
• Cacoons and Bee Hives
• Hybernation and Habitats
• Otters and Damns
• Breeding and Birth
• Sky and Clouds
• Changing Leaves
• Collecting bark, leaves, insects or shells
• More 

© Judith Gorgone Designs www.gorgone.com

How to document in your Journal:

• Draw
• Paint
• Photograph
• Write Stories
• Write Poems
• Write Haiku
• Describe Objects
• Color Match
• Collect specimens
• Save seeds
• Collect images from magazines
• Decorate

How to make a Scrapbook:

• Buy a notebook or scrapbook
• Use any kind of paper
• Use paper 
• Use cloth
• Recycle papers, scraps and bags
• Recycle cardboard

See many more ideas and download helpers here:

• A Printable Nature Journal for you to download for free.
• Free Nature Discovery Kit to Download
• Our Nature Magazine of additional articles and ideas for you to explore.
• DIY Nature Journal Ideas Pinterest Board
• Our Creative Art Journal Ideas Pinterest Board

Be a Planetpal!  Come up with some natural ideas and recycle ideas you can use in your journal and share it with us!