We are celebrating #Tree Week because Wednesday, May 16th is Love a Tree Day. We love celebrating all sorts of #happykid holidays over here, and each week we have a fun theme for you and the kids to enjoy! You can download our Factivity to get a daily dose of fun in a fact and/or activity! We also have a bunch of good stuff on Twitter and Facebook. Our goal is to be your go-to resource for family fun:)

In honor of #Tree Week, our Nugget is Adopt-a-Tree. You can print off directions here. Also, if your child completes the activity, they can earn points on www.planetfassa.com! Signing up is easy and is $1.99 or less a month! Go and HAVE FUN!

1. Find a tree to adopt. This can be a tree from your yard, from a nearby park, or a city street. Make sure to ask permission to go outside and that an adult (Village Member) knows where you are going. Or bring a Village Member with you!
2. Draw a picture of your tree.
3. Study your tree. Write down or draw anything you notice about your tree. Is it tall? Does it have leaves? Is its bark smooth or bumpy? Do any animals live in your tree?
4. There are 2 groups of trees, coniferous and deciduous. Find out which group your tree belongs to by looking at your tree’s leaves. If the leaves are pointy like needles and/or the tree has cones on it, then it is a coniferous tree. If the leaves are bigger or broadleaf (wide and flat), and the tree loses its leaves in the fall, then it is a deciduous tree.
5. Then, make a bark rubbing of your tree. Take a piece of paper and hold on the tree’s truck. Now, rub crayon all over the paper.  Also, look on the ground and see if you can gather some needles, cones, or leaves that have fallen off of the tree and tape or glue them to your tree rubbing.
6. After you’ve learned a little bit about your tree, start to think about a name for it! Is it a he or she? Does it remind you of something? For example, you could name a weeping willow tree Eeyore:)
7. Make a guess about the age of your tree and write it down in your notebook. Later, you can figure out the age of your tree with a Village Member.
8. Watch your tree through the different seasons and how it changes! Draw a picture of your tree every season and record the changes on your picture.
9. You can also spend time with your tree by having a picnic or reading a book under it.

HAVE FUN!

1. You know which group your tree belongs to but now try to figure out what kind of tree it is! Go to the library and check out a book on trees, or look it up on the internet. You may need help from a Village Member.

1. What was your favorite part of adopting your tree?

Your Fassa Kid did Adopt-a-Tree. He or she found a tree to “adopt” and then studied the tree and named it! Here are some ways to connect with your Fassa Kid:

1. Ask your Fassa Kid to take you to see the tree. Ask him or her questions about what he or she discovered about the tree and what he or she named it.
2. Help your Fassa Kid figure out how old the tree is! First, wrap a measuring tape around the tree about 3 to 5 feet off the ground. Next, measure the circumference of the tree in inches. The age of the tree is approximately 1 year of life for each inch. How old is your tree?

Would love to hear about the tree your child adopted! Please leave a comment below:-)

The Planet Fassa Team 

Here are the special Mom-ories we collected from a group of successful, helpful Moms who are all 30 Second Moms. 30 Second Mom is a site and app that gives moms on the go access to quick and helpful tips to get them through the day! A huge thank you to all who participated.

Mom-ories from 30 Second Moms

When I was a little girl, I was fascinated watching my mom put her make-up on. I wanted to be just like her so I used to pretend to put my makeup on too. My favorite part was when she would blot her lipstick on a square piece of toilet paper and her red lips would be imprinted on the sheet. ~ Mindy Hudon

Follow her on:
Twitter: @MindyHudon

Cheryl & her Mom

Weeks after giving birth to my son, I had emergency surgery that prevented me from even picking him up for a month. My mom came immediately; she cared for my son as if she were caring for me all over again. I will never forget her unwavering support! ~ Cheryl Leahy

Follow her on:
Twitter @CJAllDressedUp Website: www.alldressedupwithnothingtodrink.blogspot.com
My mom’s answer to my childhood insomnia was to ask me to join her on our front porch on summer nights after everyone else was asleep. We’d look at the stars and just talk until I got tired. It was never about anything important, but I’ll never forget the time together.  ~ Pauline Campos

Follow her on:
Twitter: @aspiringmama Facebook: Aspiring Mama

Kaira is on the right:)

My mom has a smile that lights up a room. 

She is able, with a single grin, to make babies stop crying (it’s true), disarm a grumpy teenager, comfort a friend who is feeling down and – this isn’t proven – but I think her smile is what fuels her green thumb. You should see her garden.

Growing up, I watched her smile in action and reflected in its comfort and glow. Today, because of my mom, I know a smile confuses an approaching frown and that giving the gift of a smile is a simple, but powerful way to make someone else’s day. My mom, and her smile, are a powerful loving reminder of all that’s good and happy. ~ Kaira Rouda 

Follow her on:
Twitter: @KairaRouda Facebook: KairaRoudaBooks Website: www.kairarouda.com

Saturdays were always my favorite day of the week because that meant baking with my mom. No matter what, my mother always made sure that we had a plan of attack when it came to what we were going to make. The rules were simple: sweet and delicious! Our weekly baking sessions consisted of cakes, cookies, doughnuts, peanut brittle and more. And of course, being of Caribbean background, we spent a few more hours preparing and rolling out the dough for our Saturday night meal of Jamaican Patties! I’ll never forget these precious times! ~ Samantha Kemp-Jackson

Follow her at:
Twitter: @samkj27 Facebook: Multiple Mayhem Mamma

Shannon & her Mom

For Mother’s Day one year when I was still quite young but “old enough” to just love fashion, my Mom took me to a neighborhood Mother’s Day Sale, in which all the neighborhood moms had gotten together and donated things that were still nice but that they no longer wanted. We kids got to go and do some fabulous shopping for our moms! I still remember when I gave my Mom the beautiful gold purse I bought…it was shiny and sassy, and she just swooned over it when she opened it. I was so proud. My Mom kept the purse until I was an adult and gave it to me as a gift one year. Upon opening it, she smiled and told me that this “beautiful” gold purse I had given her all those years back was the EXACT thing she had donated to the Mother’s Day Sale to get rid of and that she was just hysterical when she opened it…She never let on! I love my Mom!! ~ Shannon Guernsey

Follow her on:
Twitter @S_Moooo Facebook S.Moo Website www.planetfassa.com

If you’d like to share a Mom-ory, please leave it in a comment and your first name and we’ll add it below. On Mother’s Day you can tell your Mom to visit this post to read her special Mom-ory:)

Shared Mom-ories!

I remember my mom taking my sister and me downtown on the bus before Easter to shop for hats and white gloves. Stores were open on Monday and Thursday nights. ~ Ginger

© Dancer01

Calling all Dads & Kiddos! While being grateful to that special lady in your life should be a daily endeavor – Mother’s Day is always a day to give your wife and Mom some extra special attention. We know that sometimes it’s hard to come up with some new, creative, homemade ideas, but that’s why you have Planet Fassa!

I’ve put together 10 Sweet Ideas for your Mom, all of which have easy, simple instructions, and consist of simple, at-home materials! I always love to hear any ideas that you have, so please comment below!

10 Sweet Things for Mom

1. Give her flowers with a twist! This fun and easy activity gives you the chance to create color-changing flowers!!

2. Have Dad or an adult help you make a CD of her favorite songs or songs that remind you of her.

3. Bring Mom breakfast in bed or if she’s already up, make breakfast and eat it together at the table! Be sure to get permission & help from an adult.

© Vvvstep

4. Make a list of “10 Reasons Why I Love You.” Be sure to decorate it!

5. Make her a special coupon book. Add things like “a hand massage”, “an hour of quiet time”, or my favorite, “the do it NOW coupon” — this means do what you were told immediately no ifs, ands, or buts!

6. Make a “MOM-ory” (memory) Box. Look for things around the house that remind you of special memories with your Mom. You can also draw pictures of your special memories. Sit with your Mom as she opens it and tell her what each item means.

7. Ask your Dad or an adult to help you make your Mom’s favorite dinner and dessert. Make a special menu for your Mom, listing what is one the menu for her dinner.

8. Make her a homemade card. Yes, there are a lot of pretty cards at the store — but Moms love something right from your heart and created by your hands! You can even make and decorate an envelope, and draw a stamp on it!

© Paha_l

9. As a family, take over all of Mom’s chores for the day!

10. Thank your Mother for everything she does for you and your family. This is the best present of all!

Check back on Wednesday, because we’ll be sharing some “MOM-mories” (special memories of their mothers) from a few moms we know! As always, follow us on Twitter to get all sorts of great links, information, facts, and activities for kids! @PlanetFassa

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there!

Errin
Go2Gal

© 1_womans_dream

For #Firefighter Week, we researched a bunch of interesting facts about firefighters to share with your kids. There are 12 total facts in honor of the 12th International Firefighters Day on Friday, May 4th.  Kids love learning about firefighters; take some time this week to teach them about our brave firefighters, and maybe learn something new, too!

12 Firefighter Facts

1. The first official fire department was founded in Boston, MA in 1678. But people began fighting fires with the Boston Fire Department in 1631 when the very first fire ordinance in the United States was passed. That was almost 400 years ago!

2. Firefighters used to be called bucket brigades!

3. The first fire engine was actually a hand-operated pump for water on wheels and firefighters would often have to push and pull it to a fire.

Credit: bucks58fire.com

4. Benjamin Franklin started the first volunteer fire-fighting society, the Union Fire Company, in 1736.

5. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and George Washington were in America’s volunteer fire companies!

6. The first self-propelled, steam powered fire engine in the US was built in New York in 1841.

© Jimsphotos

7. Firefighters usually wear fire-resistant pants, a fire-resistant jacket, safety boots, suspenders, special hood, helmet, goggles, insulated gloves, and a t-shirt with their station name on it.

8. All of firefighters’ clothing has reflective striping so that the other firefighters can see each other in smoky or dark environments.

9. Firefighters clothing can weigh up to 60 pounds!

10. There are 3 common types of fire trucks. Pumper trucks are about 30 feet long and primarily rely on attaching hoses to fire hydrants for water. Tanker trucks are also about 30 feet long and can carry more than 1000 gallons of water. Ladder trucks are about 40 to 50 feet long and have a long telescopic ladder on top, called a town ladder.

© Roughcollie

11. There are about 1.2 million firefighters in the United States. About 330,000 of them are career firefighters and about 812,000 are volunteer firefighters.

12. Dalmatians are known as firehouse dogs because of the important role they played in the past. Originally firefighters would drive horse-drawn fire engines and the Dalmatians would help the firefighters get to the fire faster by nipping at the heels of the horses as they ran.

Sources: National Fire Protection Association, autoevolution

Be sure to check out our fun kids activity that teaches kids about bravery & conquering their fears! We also have an adorable interview from 8-year-old Ben who has dreamed of becoming a firefighter since he was just 2 years old!

You can also follow us on Twitter to get all sorts of great links, information, facts, and activities for kids:) @PlanetFassa

In honor of International Firefighter’s Day (and #Firefighter Week on Planet Fassa!) we interviewed 8-year-old Ben, whose dream has been to be a firefighter since he was only 2 years old. We absolutely love to hear kids thoughts, dreams, and opinions in their own words!

What would you like to be when you grow up?
A fireman. 

What do you like about firefighters?
Because they blow out fire and they hold hoses at the fire. They go in buildings to find people, like kids or dogs or cats. Because they save people.

Do you think it’d be a hard job? Why?
No, because it sounds so fun.

What do firefighters have to do?
Exercise, make dinner, I read this book and it says firemen make their own dinner and they take turns. They make dinner for each other.

Would you be scared sometimes?
Yes, if there was a really big fire.

How could you help yourself to be brave when you need to be? 
Breathe in and out.

Have you met a firefighter before? Where?
Yes! We went to this place for an open house for fireman, so we went and I met a real fireman. And I met more at my brother’s birthday party. And we rode in the truck. I think I met the Fire Chief.

Have you been to a Fire Station? Was it cool?
Yes! It was very cool. And I saw the rooms that they sleep in.

What were they like?
They were like little apartments.

What was the coolest part of the Fire Station?
Riding in the firetruck. What’s kind of funny and really cool is that you get earphones to talk to people in the fire truck.

Did you get to talk to people on the earphones?
Mmm-hmmm. My friend and my dad did too!

What do you think about firetrucks?
I think firetrucks are very cool and fast. And I like the sirens because they make really cool sounds. They put them on. It was very loud when we were close to them!

What do you think is the best part about being a firefighter?
Shooting the water at the fire. Saving people. And riding the firetruck!

What do you have to do to become a firefighter?
Practice. When we went to my brother’s birthday [the firefighters] showed us how to use the jaws of life for practice. Practice shooting water. They shot the water when they were practicing out at a little house to practice. They put fake fires in the house to practice.

What would you say to all the firefighters out there if you could say something to all of them?
I would ask them a question: Is the water really fast? How fast is it? Does it pull you backwards sometimes?

Thank you for your great interview, Ben! We think you are super awesome, and we love your dream. Never give up on what you want to achieve!

Ben also did one of our activities (called Nuggets), Fear Not, which focuses on conquering your fears. Check out Fear Not to see how Ben helped Fassa (our lovable main character of our books, The Fassa Tails series) to overcome one of his fears! This is a great activity to do together as a family.

We also have a blog filled with fun facts on firefighters for kids!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter to get all sorts of great links, information, facts, and activities for kids! @PlanetFassa

Rainy Day Fun:

We have another great group of guest bloggers this week, sharing their thoughts and ideas for Earth Day. Below you’ll find a quick description and a link to each blog. Take a moment to check them out!

First, here’s a couple things you can do this week:

1. Calculate your ecological footprint
2. Do “Be an Earth Protector” Kids Activity
3. Give your bikes a tune-up
4. Color a picture for Earth Day
5. 28 Earth Day Activities for Kids

And here’s our awesome Guest Bloggers!

Composting with Kids by eco ike
@ecoike
Learn some easy ways to compost with your kids! They’ll have fun and learn, too:)

Spring Cleaning and Earth Week from Greening Tomorrow
@greening2morrow
Greening Tomorrow shares some great tips for Spring Cleaning as a time to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

Earth Month at Kids for Saving Earth from Tessa Hill
@kidsforsavingearth
Tessa shares the story of her son and his mission to change the world by starting Kids for Saving Earth.

365 Earth Days from Free Rangers Nursery
@freerangersbath
Charlotte talks about the Earth Days she’s celebrated in the past as a teacher, and the way they are embracing Earth Day today!

Saving the Earth…One Craft at a Time from Two Sisters Creations
@TwoSisters2sis
Twins, Geneva and Angela taking reusing to a whole other level with their crafting!

We’d love to hear what you do for Earth Day or a special story of yours. Please share below or leave a comment on one of the blog posts. Enjoy and have fun this Earth Week!

Help your kids develop their green thumb by teaching them to compost.  Composting is a fun family project that’s easy to do and great for the environment. Teach your tykes how simple it is to recycle waste and turn it into nutritious soil for your yard or plants. The micro-organisms that make the compost, need an even mixture of “greens” and “browns”. They also need water and air for a perfect compost formula. Here’s the compost recipe:

One part “brown” (dead dried plants – they provide the carbon): dried leaves, pine needles, straw, hay, wood shavings or chips.

One part “green” (fresh living plants – they provide the nitrogen): grass clippings, vegetable and fruit leftovers, plants, coffee grounds.

Place layers of brown, green, brown, green, brown into the composting bin, being sure to add water after every layer – make sure that the compost is always moist so the microorganisms can do their job. Stir every 3-4 weeks and voila… nutritious, rich soil!

A couple of composting no-no’s: NO meats, dairy, oil, fats, diseased plants or pet droppings!

ecoike™ is for families with eco tykes!  Keep your happy child healthy with natural ingredients and family-friendly recipes.  Keep your healthy child happy with  playful eco tyke & eco-living tips.  Grow, live, eat & play green with eco ike™!

Spring is here and it’s that time of year again when everyone starts to do their spring cleaning. Spring also means another thing; Earth Week. This is a week that we celebrate year round at Greening Tomorrow but, officially, Earth Week is from April 16 to 22.

If your family is like mine, spring is the time when we do our cleaning. It’s amazing how much we can accumulate over the course of a year. I grew up in a family with five kids including myself so we were always outgrowing clothes, shoes, bikes, roller blades, etc. We were also buzzing through the latest fads of video games, Beanie Babies, Pogs, and much, much more.

Now, as I consider the environment more and more, I value the sentiment of “spring cleaning” as an opportunity to truly embrace the motto of REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE.

We’ll start with REUSE:

Reusing items to their fullest extent is not only good for the environment, but is also smart for your wallet. Being the youngest in my family of five kids, you can bet I saw my fair share of reused items. Winter jackets, boots, bikes, toys, and clothing are all items that are more often than not just simply outgrown rather than broken or unusable. Every kid has big growth spurts and there are always fads/trends that pass quicker than you would have hoped. The key is to take care of these items and either reuse them within your own family, friends or make it so they see another owner.

Garage Sales: A lot of home owners associations put on annual or bi-annual garage sale events that attract lots of people looking for what you likely have. Put out your items and make your old possessions pay off for you.

Resale Shops: There are a lot of resale shops that you can take clothing, toys, and exercise equipment and receive a payment in return. These shops often have refurbishing aspects to their business that can fix your items up as good as new to sell to the next owner.

Donation Centers: Items that you feel better about giving to someone less fortunate can be dropped off at donation sites like Goodwill or Salvation Army. There are tax benefits to donating, just be sure to ask for a receipt.

We’ll address RECYCLE next:

Going through your spring cleaning, you are bound to come across items that have seen their useful life come to a close. Don’t rush to get out the trash bag for these items. You would be surprised at the amount of materials that can be recycled. Any item made of metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, wood, Styrofoam, rubber, or glass is a perfect candidate for recycling. Some materials may even hold a scrap value that you can redeem at a recycling center (e.g. some states reimburse $0.05 – $0.10 per glass bottle).

At-Home Recycling: Recycling doesn’t have to take place at big facility or scrap yard. You can do it right in your home. Save newspapers to use as packing materials when you ship out presents during the holidays. Save items like bottle caps or yogurt lids to make shiny ornaments for the holidays.

Curbside Recycling: A lot of curbside programs are set up for paper, plastics and metals. You’ll want to check with your local waste authority to see what items are accepted curbside as it varies by area.

Recycling Centers: If you have items that aren’t accepted curbside you’ll want to check an online resource like www.Earth911.com to see where these can be recycled properly.

The final step is REDUCE:

This step is more mental than anything. Take a look over all the items that you evaluated during your reuse and recycling phases. This step is all about thinking about what you have that actually went to good use. There are always items that don’t end up getting used as often as we originally planned. Maybe there were items that broke earlier than we would have liked because we didn’t take enough care in maintaining them. Whatever the reasons are, the important thing is to make changes within you so that you simply avoid generating waste if you can avoid it. This is the most important and useful step. If you can eliminate ever owning an object, you can essentially eliminate it ever being a waste material that you create.

Spring cleaning can be a lot of fun and if you follow the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle hierarchy you can feel great in knowing that you did right by the planet.

Greening tomorrow is a not for profit corporation dedicated to educating today’s youth on the importance of recycling and energy conservation and how that affects our tomorrow. Our mission at Greening Tomorrow is to educate children on the current environmental concerns so that we may able to utilize our youths for a greener tomorrow with the help of our mascot, Tommy Tomorrow! Check us out at www.greeningtomorrow.com, Fan us on Facebook, and Follow us on Twitter @Greening2morrow.

Happy Earth Week!