Back to School

Outdoor Time Boosts Academic Performance

Just because it’s back to school time, doesn’t mean it’s back to indoor time. Sadly, that’s what many kids are exposed to. Schools rarely offer adequate outdoor time for kids. In a race to win the best test scores and prep kids for “Real life” many schools limit outdoor, nature time in exchange for more [...]

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Eco-Friendly DIY Waste-Free Packed Lunch Supplies

The other day we started looking at how to assemble your own reusable lunch kit. For this you’ll need a stand alone reusable lunch bag or box. Then you’ll need to gather some extra supplies, such as a water bottle, food container, cloth napkins and more. Choose a few items from each category below and [...]

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Most Adorable Packed Bento Box Ideas Ever!

Since it’s Labor Day, how about a cute break? If you use bento boxes for your child’s packed lunch, you must check out gamene’s Flickr pages for the MOST ADORABLE bento box ideas ever. Honestly, I never knew food could be so flipping cute. I had no idea you could do such creative stuff with [...]

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Green School Audit: School Cafeteria

The lunchroom is a huge part of a green school audit, because there are plenty of cafeteria areas that can usually be made more sustainable, it doesn’t take much to get a greener cafeteria going and this is an area that really matters for kids. After all, your children eat day in and day out [...]

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Stand alone reusable lunch bags and boxes

When it comes to packing an eco-friendly packed school lunch you’ve got three options. Two, we’ve already looked at. You can purchase a ready-made lunch kit – see 12 Reusable Waste-Free Lunch Kit Choices, or you can make your own waste-free lunch kit. The last option is to purchase an eco-friendly lunch bag or box [...]

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Gear up with non-toxic, eco-friendly school supplies

When choosing greener back-to-school supplies it’s easiest if you follow these steps: Make a list of all the school supplies that your child is required to have. For example; backpack, crayons, glue, pens, pencils, notebooks, paints, markers and tissues. Take a look at your list. Which school supplies are healthy for the environment? Which school [...]

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Green School Audit: Eco-Friendly School Grounds

Many schools are trying to green it up inside, but totally forget that they can also make a difference outside. School grounds offer an excellent chance to green your school. School grounds are very important – not only do your kids play on the school grounds, but how the grounds are cared for affects the [...]

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How the USA can afford healthy school lunches

Kids all over the United States are served disgusting, unhealthy school lunches daily. Why? Because the government can’t afford to make the changes needed to support healthy meals in schools. I wonder though, how much know-how does it take to figure out budget changes? Is the government really this hard up for ideas? First – [...]

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The Massive Disgusting School Lunch Issue

Although Growing a Green Family is a newer blog o’ mine, I’ve actually been a pro green blogger and freelance writer for many years and I’ve covered tons of school lunch issues. Since we haven’t looked at school lunch problems here though, and since it’s back to school time, I figured it’s due. Read other [...]

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12 Reusable Waste-Free Lunch Kit Choices

When it comes to packing a waste-free school lunch you’ve got three options. 1. Make your own waste-free lunch kit. 2. Buy a complete waste-free lunch kit. These kits usually cost $40-$70 but tend to be overall easier and a better deal than option two (see below). The downside is usually the storage and water [...]