Liberty Christian School Blog

Our Earth. An incredible place. 

Each year, on April 22nd people from all over the world celebrate in what is known as Earth Day! Earth Day not only raises awareness but puts words into actions to fight against things like pollution and deforestation. 

Earth Day was officially created in 1970 by a Wisconsin Senator to help raise awareness about environmental issues. (Find out more about the origins of Earth Day on their website: https://www.earthday.org/history/)

Here are some ways YOU can participate in Earth Day - not JUST on April 22nd, but any time of year to help save our planet!

This is not just a catchy alliteration, but a clever way of remembering some VERY practical ways of helping our planet thrive:

1. Reuse!
   1. Reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags.
   2. Use a Nalgene type water bottle instead of a plastic disposable one.
   3. Cut back on buying plastic items.
   4. Compost
   • This helps our planet out times TWO!
   • Don’t know what this is or how to start? Learn the basics here: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home 
   5. Get creative - instead of throwing away items you no longer want or need, offer them to someone who may find use of them (clothes, books, toys etc). OR turn them into fun craft projects or gifts - that glass jar, cardboard box or plastic bottle would be the perfect springboard for some fun art activities (musical instruments, posters, planters!)
      
1. Are there items that you can reuse instead of throwing away?
2. Reduce!
1. Turn off the lights when you are not in the room! 
2. Don’t let the water run (especially when you are brushing your teeth).
3. Walk, bike, or skate to your destination [[if possible]] instead of driving.
   
3. Recycle!
1. Today, most items are labeled whether it is safe to recycle or not! Making the process EXTRA easy!
2. Did you know that some items you THROW AWAY that go to a landfill and could take YEARS to decompose?? Research tells us that the plastic water bottle you throw away takes over 500 years to “break down” and it is still polluting our environment since plastic never really decomposes!

Other Great Ideas??

1. Plant a Tree or a Garden!
   1. Researchers say that about 15 BILLION trees are cut down every year.
      1. Trees not only absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, they also provide shelter and habitats for wildlife!
         
2. Build a Birdhouse
   1. This can help provide safe shelters for birds to nest!
      
3. Educate Yourself by Reading Books on this Topic
   1. Share what you learn with others!
4. Volunteer Your Time 
   1. Pick up trash in your neighborhood!
      1. By picking up trash, you are helping our environment be a safer and cleaner place for us and the animals that live here too. 
   2. Organize or join a park clean up.

The possibilities are endless! How will you celebrate Earth Day this year?

Now that the kids have had a few weeks to relax and enjoy “doing nothing,” parents might be feeling like it is time to be proactive about finding ways for kids to see their friends over the summer break. 

There are a variety of reasons to work on this goal:

• A desire for our kids to maintain relationships that started in school but have not continued into the summer due to schedule conflicts or geographical challenges.
• A desire for our kids to make NEW friends in addition to the kids they were with every day at school.
• A desire to keep our kids from getting swallowed up in screens for several hours a day.  

On that last point, most kids will vigorously make the case that  spending time with friends is NOT mutually exclusive with looking at screens. This is true: there is video chatting, texting, online hangouts, and of course, getting together and playing video games.  We may not be able to convince kids that there is more to life than facing a screen, so we will have to help them discover it themselves!  As adults, we know that some of the most valuable times with friends are face to face, and that when we go through a little bit of “boredom,” we can end up being very creative and having a lot of fun!.

The first step is reaching out. Social media is helpful for getting in touch with people.  If you can’t find them online, call a mutual friend to make the connection.  Most parents would be happy to receive an invitation for their child to come and hang out for the day.  It can take a few tries to make contact, and a few tries to find a time that works for everyone, but press on!  If you have never met the parents before, you might want to invite the whole family to meet your family at a local ice cream or snowball stand, so you can all be more comfortable getting in touch (and swapping kids) in the future.

Some ideas for ways that kids can spend time with their friends:

Host a party.  Let your kids plan it!  It doesn’t have to be a special occasion, or an expensive event.  Rather than do a lot of cooking, you can host a potluck meal, or an ice cream social, or have an evening party with a bonfire (and s’mores, of course) or glow sticks and popsicles. For older kids, there are “murder mystery” party kits, and you can also find online a kit for hosting your own “escape room” party.

Lawn games.  Water balloons, corn hole, badminton, and croquet are all fairly easy to obtain. Most of them can be played with just two people who would otherwise be hanging around bored. Don’t forget Nerf gun battles!

Board games.  There is an abundance of (sneakily educational) board games available. If you don’t have any, chances are your kids’ friends will!  If you want to buy some but don’t know where to start, check out some mom bloggers’ reviews of board games. Homeschooling blogs may also have some good suggestions. These personal reviews are often helpful because as you read the reviews, you will get a feel for whether it’s your kid’s style of game or not.  If you don’t have board games on hand, get creative: pull out a jigsaw puzzle, or take three easy ones and mix them together to provide a challenge.

Dance party.  Get a few tweens together -- especially girls -- and play some of their favorite songs from your favorite music streaming service, and it will soon turn into a singalong.  Add a twist by playing “freeze dance”-- everyone dances while the music plays, but  freezes when the music stops (at random intervals). Depending on the group, they may soon be playing one song over and over so they can choreograph their own moves to it.

Share a good deal.  Check Groupon, LivingSocial, Certifikid and similar sites for great deals on camps, trampoline parks, plays, or local fairs.  Invite a friend to join your child on one of these. Vacation Bible school or other church-sponsored camps are another great opportunity to invite friends to join your child in some fun.

Make a video.  Rather than simply consuming media, let your kids experience the work and play that goes into creating it!  If your kid and his or her friends are so inclined, give them a camera and let them make videos, just for fun.  From stop-motion videos to tutorials, almost any interest could become inspiration for a video. If you have software and the kids have the interest, the video could even get edited and shared (with your approval, of course).

Don’t let the summer slide by.  Make a phone call or two today, and get some “play dates” on the calendar!

Celebrate this Martin Luther King Jr. Day with your children in a way that reflects what he stood for: standing with and serving our fellow people. It’s not uncommon for us to volunteer or do charitable acts during the holiday season. But in the New Year, there tends be a lull in acts of kindness. While you have your children home from school on MLK Day this year, why not take the opportunity to instill a giving and serving spirit in them? Here are three ways to teach your children more about Martin Luther King Jr. and his “dream” while also following Jesus’ command to love thy neighbor.

1. Find a Way to Serve Your Community

Volunteer opportunities are always abundant in any community, but take a moment to pinpoint the needs that serve people different than you and your family. Find a soup kitchen that needs volunteers, bring baked goods and spend time with the elderly at a nursing home, help build a house with Habitat for Humanity or sort through the clothing donations with another non-profit. For a more low key and easy-to- do service project, pass free water bottles out to people at a safe park or mall on the other side of town.

Showing kindness to strangers teaches kids not to be closed off to those different than them and to be sensitive to the needs of others. MLK Day is a great time to get out there and serve where you’re needed most.

2. Find a Person To Give To

Giving to strangers is one of the most important skills we can teach our children. This MLK Day, have your children get involved in picking random strangers to bless. Maybe it’s buying the coffee for the person behind you in the drive-thru or going out to dinner and anonymously paying for a family who seems to be having a rough day. Or, for a bigger project, take your children to the Dollar Store to pick out affordable necessity items like socks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, combs and granola bars. Together, sort them out into large Ziplock baggies, roll them up and rubberband them so they’re easy to toss or hand off, and stash them in your car for easy access when you run into a homeless person begging on the side of the road instead of driving by.

Making giving to others more tangible than a monetary donation helps children associate value to the act while also making memories together as a family.

3. Find a Cause to Speak Out About

Martin Luther King Jr. was also known for his involvement in the Civil Rights movement. Teach your children about being involved in causes worth fighting for by spending your day off talking to them about the news and other issues going on in society today. Together, pick a cause they’re passionate about and brainstorm ways they can be involved. Look up your local senator’s contact information and have your child call or write a letter about the cause. If your child is passionate about the environment, find local clubs or organizations they can join to be a part of the change.

Finding ways to be involved in society on an ongoing basis prepares children to be lifelong servants and leaders in the community. Martin Luther King Jr. Day can be more than just a day for your children to be off of school. Make it a valued experience by teaching your children how to serve people different from them and set them up for a life as adults involved in the wellbeing of their local and national communities.

Family Fun Reading Night Featured Author:  Wayne Thomas Batson

Liberty Christian School’s annual Family Fun Reading Night will be held on Tuesday, March 4th.  This event offers students and their families the opportunity to participate in author presentations, book signings, ice cream eating, and fellowship.  As one of our presenters, we are excited to welcome back local author Wayne Thomas Batson.

Wayne Thomas Batson is the Bestselling author of fourteen adventure novels, including the fantasy epic Door Within Trilogy and two books in the Adventures in Odyssey The Imagination Station series.  A middle school Reading and English teacher for over 20 years, Batson loves to challenge and be challenged by his students.  

When he began writing stories to supplement his school district’s curriculum, Batson’s students were so taken by one of the stories that, over a period of years, they pushed him to make it into a full-length novel.  The story became The Door Within.  Since then, Batson’s students continue to be his frontline editors.

With over a half a million books in print, Mr. Batson believes his books appeal to so many kids and adults because, at a deep level, we all long to do something that matters, and we all dream of another world.  To learn more, please visit his blog at http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/