You Pinspire Me
In our house, every day is Earth Day. My little Hendrik is a sponge, on the lookout for new knowledge to absorb wherever and whenever he can. He wants to know about where squirrels live and what they eat, what frogs eat and how do their legs hop so high; how does grass grow, and where does the water go after he’s finished with it in the bathtub. This means that I am constantly learning new things, too, but sometimes it’s nice to have someone to share the job of teaching with me during the days – enter Sesame Street! This was one of my favourite shows growing up, and I’m SO glad that Netflix Canada carries it! One episode in particular that I enjoy watching with Hendrik is called Frankly, It’s a Habitat (Season 40, Ep 1). Big Bird considers migrating to somewhere warm and learns about different habitats. The Word on the Street is Habitat, so the concept really gets hammered home.
During morning snacks, Hendrik watched the Habitat episode of Sesame St. After he was finished, 
I asked him several questions about where Big Bird was going to go, what is a Habitat, etc. He’s not normally very forthcoming with answers to these types of questions and answers with a “I just don’t know!”, but when I tell him that I guess his movie watching days are over if he’s not paying attention to what he’s watching, he gets right down to business & talks about the show! 😉
Later in the day, we dug out some crafting supplies and decided to make a habitat for Butterflies. We’ve been talking about Monarchs lately because I want to plant some milkweed in the back yard to hopefully attract some butterflies this summer, so it seemed like a good fit.
We didn’t have a shoe box laying around, but I did find a donut box in the recycling, so I taped the lid up with the sides, and we had our Diorama! I put out one colour paint at a time, and he painted the the sky and the grass himself. He also wanted to make a pond so that the butterflies would be able to get some water, so I drew a circle & he made it into the pond.
While the paint was drying, we went on a walk around our neighbourhood and picked up some ‘trees’ for the habitat. Then we dug out the stickers and pulled out our foam butterflies (from the dollar store!) and found lots of different flowers – since that’s what butterflies rely on for food!
I used the hot glue gun to secure the trees, though Hendrik told me where they should all go. One last addition of a turtle to the habitat, and we were finished!
Besides Sesame St, I also love Magic School Bus & Go Diego Go! for educational content that really appeals to kids. Which shows do you feel good about your kids watching? Have you talked about Earth Day with your kids?
Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #streamteam and I receive special perks due to this affiliation. HOWEVER. All thoughts & opinions on this post are entirely MINE. And my son’s. Cheers!
Jenn vanOosten
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I completely forgot it was Earth Day today. Usually the kids bring home some crafts or paperwork to remind us. Hmm, will have to check their backpacks.
I love the project and the story. I haven’t watch Sesame Street in years but I love the educational value.
Thank you so much for sharing this project with us!
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