Happy 50th Earth Day!

Here is a photo of one of my favorite pillows. I smile looking at it every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s such a beautiful and gentle reminder to pause, look up, notice all that’s around me and savor it and say…..thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever listened to Louis Armstrong’s version of “What a Wonderful World”?  Mmmmm….give it a go…grab your kids and dance….

What a gift to focus on this week….the Earth all around us!  Today, Wednesday, April 22nd is the 50th anniversary of the celebration of Earth Day!  I wonder how you will celebrate it with your families?  There are endless options, so simple and right at our fingertips… (in my mind and heart EVERY day is earth day!)

Here is a silly reading of Todd Parr’s “The Earth Book” to get you started.  Warning:  we will be talking about underwear so get ready to giggle!

There are SOOOOOO many fabulous books I just couldn’t stop at one this week so I have another by the unbelievable author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers.  I have no words to capture the talent of this man. “Stuck,”  “ The Incredible Book Eating Boy,” “How to Catch a Star,” “This Moose is Mine,” “Once Upon an Alphabet” are just a few of his others.  Please read as many as possible!

My choice in celebration of our most wonderful Earth is… “Here We Are, Notes for Living on Planet Earth.”  Here it is.  Settle in and enjoy.

How about a few earth jokes?

What’s brown and sticky? A stick!

How can you tell that the ocean is friendly? It waves!

What kind of shorts do clouds wear? Thunderwear!

A huge discovery this week: Oliver Jeffers reads one of his very own books in person, live on Instagram every day! And, in the spirit of Earth Day, he has offered this family challenge on Twitter:

He also just released a movie version of the book I read above this week on Apple TV.  It is a wonder! I took this photo with his inspiration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder if you can tell me what it is? The patterns of nature are breathtaking.  Do you see any patterns emerging?  When you look closely can you feel movement? This is Mother Nature at her best! What patterns are you finding in nature outside and inside your home?

Perhaps in celebration of Earth Day you getting down and dirty in the garden and planting some new friends? Maybe thinking about starting a vegetable garden? Can you guess which vegetable this is?  (another amazing nature pattern I just love…)  Hey, if you dipped this into paint, what cool prints you could make! Hint, try celery too….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(It’s the base of a head of romaine!)

If you are able to swap perennials safely with neighbors, that’s a great way to love our earth. Maybe you are starting a pollinator garden for our beloved bees, butterflies and other insects? If you need a little help where to find plants, here are a few simple thoughts that support small local folks and are focused on “native” plants for our area.

Marano Gardens in Fort Washington. On Bethlehem Pike between St. Thomas’ and Zake’s Cakes. You can pull into the lot and call two cell numbers listed on the sign and Joe and Mary will take good care of you, safely during this time. Joe grows much from his own seeds and my children went to preschool with all of his!

Primex in Glenside has just started curbside pick up. Check out their website…a caring, family owned business for over 75 years! I have learned so very much from them as well as have enjoyed the wonderful plants I’ve purchased there.

One I’ve just learned about but have not visited, Edge of the Woods in Orefield, PA. (near Allentown) .  All native plants and well organized for curbside pickup.

How about finding ways to use what we have on hand to create joy at home? Well…I happen to love finding new ways to use my recycling!  How about stacking your red solo cups for a game of “wrecking ball?”  (this site has really hopeful ideas for bringing joy into the lives of struggling children).  This is a video from Life is Good Playmakers.

I personally love a plastic cup, or yogurt cup stacking game in the theme of speed stacking….have you ever tried it?  If you look up speed stacking it will give you an idea.  We’ve just had lots of fun doing it at home!  Or building with cups and popsicle sticks or even strips of cardboard from shipping boxes.  What huge towering structure can you create? Maybe you will be inspired to create a pinwheel “wind turbine” to explore how we create energy by harnessing the wind.

Oh, and my other secret collection is bottle caps from milk jugs, seltzer bottles, actually any plastic bottle lids I can salvage. Can you imaging gluing a mosaic with them? Even just sorting by color, size, shape…they are so cool. Stringing them on wire or string would be beautiful hanging from a tree branch. Or, they do make awesome wheels for homemade cardboard cars (on skewers and powered by balloons). Phew.  So many possibilities! AND, any aluminum cans from canned tomatoes, etc….offer the best opportunities for robot and magnet building for our little ones…if you have an oxo can opener, it removes lids of tin cans without sharp edges so you can stack away safely with loads of cans. Pull off a bunch of your fridge magnets and let your imagination soar! Then explore your home with your fridge magnets and see what sticks where….and why! Magnetism is another superpower that powers so many aspects of our everyday life…

Well, I hope you know how I think of all of you as “superheros” of our Earth.  Thank you for being so thoughtful of it and doing your best, whatever it is, to love it the way you are able. Maybe you’d like to make some superhero arm cuffs from the center of the toilet paper rolls (I hope you all have been able to find some TP J). Here is a picture…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And…..I’m excited to tell you that we are redesigning a way to have our “Superhero Night” even though we are all at home right now! Please look for email this week. Think about what you might wear that makes you feel like a superhero. Your Halloween costume? Maybe your Star Wars footie pjs? Or your dance tights? We have superheroes all around us….doing many, many things to help us all and keep us safe. You are ALL superheroes doing what you are doing, wherever and however you are doing it. Thank you!

“Most big transformations come about from the hundreds of tiny, almost imperceptible, steps we take along the way.”  Lori Gottlieb

Wishing you laughter and joy in your moments together. Stayed tuned for our Superhero Night email!

 

Big hugs (by air for now)  xoxo,  Miss Amy

P.S.  If your family would love to take a trip to take in the wonder of this amazing planet Earth we are so fortunate to call home, check out this article in Insider.com. Using the google earth app, you can take in the sights of over 32 of our national parks, without causing any pollution!  It’s breathtaking.

If you’d like some book suggestions for reading about the climate and global warming, I found this list helpful. In addition to this, “Our House is on Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis” by Greta Thunberg is a courageous and hopeful read.