During Social Distancing and Distance Learning Why Not 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

Download Planetpals Free Nature Diary FREE Here.

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

Planetpals New Eco Friendly Products And Activities Store For A Healthier World

The Best Way To Play On EARTH!

A world full of new activities for school, home, homeschool at our latest Store!

Earthday, America Recycles Day, Peace Day or Just Any Day Planetpals Eco Friendly Activities Encourage Kids have Fun While Learning About Healthy Living!

Planetpals adorable characters, Earth friendly messages and cute characters are the most unique way to teach kids about their world. Each character engages them with humor and fun facts and encourages stewardship, caring and responsibility.

Now you can take their unique engagements home and to the classroom with a new world full of new activities for school, home, homeschool are available at our latest shop on TeacherPayTeachers.

Stop by and find an activity for Any Holiday or Any Day...make it a Greener day!

Other Planetpals products available here

Learn how you can to SAVE MONEY and SAVE EARTH This Holiday!

Gift Giving, Wrapping, Cards, Trees, Lights, For Family and Kids, Before and After The Holiday Ideas

Saving money and the planet for the holidays can be easier with these simple tips!

These ideas and suggestions are just the beginning of things you

can do for your pocket and Mother Earth. The biggest step of all is simply to cut

down on the amount of things -- presents, decorations, and just

plain "stuff" -- you buy.

  

That's hard during the holidays. So, to help you cut down where you can, we have compiled one of the best list of tips on earth:

Gift Giving:

*Make it! Have a talent for baking, crocheting, knitting, artwork. stained glass or wood    crafts? What could be nicer than a scarf on ones favorite color made by you?

* Choose or make gifts that are practical and consist of environmentally friendly materials.

* Make a gift basket tailored to the recipient. Home made cookie mix and baking pan, A lovely plant and garden tools, Vintage candlestick and candles. Be creative!

* Instead of exchanging unwanted items with coworkers or extended family, suggest donating to a charity as a group.

*Have a good old-fashioned Yankee swap, exchanging unused items that might be useful to someone else! Think about doing a theme—for instance of you all love books do a book swap.

*Give the gift of an heirloom! Does a niece or a friend admire your mother’s old cookie jar or uncle al’s old trinket box? Pass it on! Put a treat inside!

Wrapping:

* Use recycled or recyclable materials for packaging gifts; reuse a nice tin, box or gift bag

* Use your newspaper's comic section as a cheery, bright, and recyclable wrapping.

* Select uncoated giftwrap that can be recycled and/or burned safely.

* Make gift tags from small pieces of the existing wrap or from old holiday cards.

Cards:

* Many people still enjoy sending and receiving holiday greetings. Consider cutting back your list, choosing cards made of recycled materials, or even buying them from a charity that benefits the environment.

* If your friends are Web-savvy, skip the Post Office altogether and send cards via email.

Trees:

* Consider a synthetic tree or wreath that can be used year after year.

* Buy a potted tree with roots that can be planted after the holidays

* Decorate with recyclable, compostable, or bird-friendly materials

* Instead of buying new ornaments use family heirlooms or buy them in thrift store.

Lights:

* Trade in your energy guzzling lights for the newer energy saving lights

* Use less lights overall

* Use smaller lights

* Light more candles (but please be careful!)

With Kids:

Get kids involved! Have the kids make gifts for one and other or help you.

They will learn the joy of gift giving as well as learn new skills! Try to incorporate earth-friendly ingredients or recycled as well as reusable items.

* Make cards from craft supplies or make cards from last year’s cards and wrap.

* Make homemade cookies or breads and decorate them

* Grow plants or herbs from seeds starting early!

* Plant small seedlings in hand painted pots or recycled pots

* Make ornaments from paper mache and hand paint them (See Planetpals.com for the best paper mache recipes ever including lint dryer clay).

* Make origami ornaments

* Print gift wrap, using nontoxic paints on recycled (and recyclable) craft paper. Use potato prints or rubber stamps.

* Kids love making a good old-fashioned popcorn balls or popcorn tinsel and it can be yummy!

* A no cost solution: Have them write a poem or story and illustrate it! Use a recycled frame and frame it!

After The Holidays:

What you do with your tree, wreaths, ornaments and wrap after the holidays is as important as how you decorate for the holidays.

* MULCH: If you have use of a shredder: Mulch the trees into chips that can be used for landscaping. Many towns will have the sanitation department pick up and mulch trees.

* When tossing decorative trees, wreaths and plants, Be sure to remove all decorations, including tinsel, before you recycle your tree.

* If you live in a nice climate, plant that Poinsettia, don’t toss it!

* Recycle those gift bags and Christmas cards by putting them away and reusing them next year…or giving them to someone who will.

* Have left over decorations, boxes wrap or unwanted gifts? Keep on giving by donating them to a recycle center, swap shop, freecycle.org, or a thrift store.

* Donate used cards to St. Judes who reuses them to produce new cards,

* Flatten all gift boxes, packaging and cartons and dispose of by recycling. If you are not sure what you can recycle…contact your town.
* Don’t know what to do with it? Post it on Craigslist or Freecycle for free. Someone else might have the perfect use!

For more tips and fun facts about earth consult Planetpals.com 

The Ultimate DIY Recycle Costume

Make GREEN the New Color of Halloween

The best way to celebrate any holiday is to be earth friendly, creative and have fun.  

Planetpals fun solution for your costume this halloween is just that!  Planetpals  exclusive costume ideas for Halloween include two RECYCLE BIN costumes that are easy to make and are made out of recycled materials, too! 

For instructions check out Planetpals Costume Page

For more Halloween Ideas see Planetpals Green Halloween Journal and Green Halloween Board on Pinterest.

Like Planetpals! Join US:

PP  on FB / PP on Twitter / PP on Pinterest   / PP on Instagram

© judith gorgone www.planetpals.com all rights reserved

National Costume Swap Day Sweeps USA

We Give a Big Hooray to National Costume Swap Day for a BOOtiful Idea

When:

Costume Swap Day is : Saturday, October 11, 2014 

About:

Green Halloween has organized a bundle of locations all around the USA, available for you to swap or donate used costumes. 

If you can't get to a local swap, Green Halloween has a list of swap locations online, also.  

Better yet, start your own event, swapping with family, friends and neighbors, or talk to your children's school leaders and suggest they hold a swapping event at school.  It's a green lesson for kids, too! Here Planetpals simple guide to having a successful swap.

We love the idea of swapping costumes to make Halloween greener.  You can also make your Haloween greener by making your own recycle costume and other ideas available on  Planetpals Best Green Halloween Guide Ever:

It's your complete Green Halloween Guide to Halloween Recycle Crafts, Healthy Halloween Food Crafts and Food Art, DIY Recycle Costumes, Green Party ideas, Tips and More! 

Have a Green Halloween! 

For more Halloween Ideas see Planetpals Green Halloween Journal and Green Halloween Board on Pinterest.

Like Planetpals! Join US:

PP  on FB / PP on Twitter / PP on Pinterest   / PP on Instagram

© judith gorgone www.planetpals.com all rights reserved

The Complete Guide To A Green Halloween

There are tons of ideas for you at Planetpals Green halloween Guide
Stop by Planetpals for your complete guide to Green Halloween ideas, Crafts, Food, Tips and Suggestions.

Hand selected tips and tricks to make your Halloween Holiday greener, cleaner and healthier!

Just a few of the ideas you will find: 

• Have a party full of healthy Halloween food art to scare up the smallest of appetites!  
• Decorate with our exclusive collection of recycle crafts that won't get boos
• Make your own recycle costumes from our list and get patterns, too. 
• Learn how to Recycle Pumpkins
• Have a Costume Parade at school, your neighborhood, group or church
• Lots More!

 Be green this holiday and everyday! practice the "r's"

  Go to Planetpals Green Halloween Page