Celebrate Earth Day!

Providing eco-friendly toys to you is what Kobold Toys does to “give a little bit back”. Throughout the month of April, we will donate 1% of our sales revenues to our favorite green foundation: The Nature Conservancy.

In honor of Earth day, we thought we would share some ideas and resources to help you communicate the importance of eco-friendliness to your children.

In addition to Frog Awareness Month, April is also National Garden Month! As I have mentioned in a previous blog, my daughter loves the family garden she started with my father. One resource we use is KidsGardening.org. This month's "Family Room" provides parents with a garden primer- whether you want to tackle the windowsill box or a veggie garden- this non-threatening guide will help. We are even considering creating a worm bin this spring!

Our second child is showing a sensitivity to the changing seasons. For those of you with allergies or an aversion to dirt, Mudpuppy's "In the Garden Constructible Building Set" lets you create a beautiful indoor garden complete with butterflies.

Our friend Woodsy the Owl said it best: "Give a Hoot - Don't Pollute!" For more indoor learning, our science lover Kobold suggests an experiment that will help show your kids the danger that oil spills in the ocean pose to water plants, fish and birds. (Grades 1-4)

You’ll Need:
* Four sealable plastic bags
* Water
* Marker
* Motor Oil
* 4 hard boiled eggs
* Timer

Label the bags A B C and D. Fill each with ½ cup water and ½ cup motor oil. You can use vegetable oil with a few drops of food coloring as a substitute. Place one egg in each bag. Remove the egg from bag A after 15 minutes, from bag B after 30 minutes, from bag C after one hour and from bag D after two hours. Carefully remove the shell from each hard boiled egg. Those that stay in the oil polluted water the longest will show the most damage.

Source: No-Sweat Science: Nature Experiments by Anthony D. Fredericks (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. , 2005.

Kobold Toys believes strongly in promoting environmentalism and conservation. We hope that some of our ideas and resources will help you and your child have fun learning.