It wasn’t too long ago that Moms would scour the TV looking for wholesome shows that their kids could watch and learn from. And while all time favorites like Sesame Street and The Wiggles are still very much part of educational kids’ TV, newer shows focusing on environmental edutainment are bypassing the Idiot Box in favor of internet as their main method of distribution. After all, why bother with TV in an age when kids are becoming increasing net savvy?

Take for example “Gorilla in the Greenhouse,” an environmental themed web animation launched on Earth Day 2008, that inspires kids to take real-world steps towards a healthy planet. The pilot episode is about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (also known as The North Pacific Gyre), a growing collection of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. More than just a seven minute animation, this show and the green gorilla website (www.greengorilla.com) includes interesting tidbits such as information about the gyre, the case for eco-friendly re-usable bags, actions that kids can take in their communities not to mention some very catchy ‘Jack Johnson’ type music with a great environmental message.

The Green Gorilla website even includes two curricula for teachers, specifically tailored to this issue of plastic waste. A handful of elementary schools in San Francisco have recently drawn from the Green Gorilla curricula to conduct in-classroom activities focusing on the issue of plastic waste. A second grade classroom at the French-American International School conducted an art project based upon what they learned from the Green Gorilla show. Erika Katz, the teacher, had her students create posters made from paper grocery bags, promoting the use of recycling and reusable bags. “It is important for the kids to know and understand the issues around recycling and plastic waste,” says Ms. Katz, ” The Gorilla story makes the issue of plastic waste so accessible to the kids.” The posters made by Ms. Katz’s students were subsequently presented to and posted in several local grocery stores ranging from corner shops to Whole Foods Market.

Heartwood USA is another brand new kids’ animation about kids taking action to investigate and solve environmental mysteries and crimes to help their community. Heartwood USA plans to produce cartoons for kids ages 8 to 80 that will entertain, educate and inspire us to take action about pressing environmental issues. Their pilot episode entitled ‘Cow-a-dunga’ is about global warming.

National Geographic Kids, an all time favorite website for kids provides the ultimate edutainment media for kids focusing on environmental education and beyond: geography, history and culture, science and more. In addition to featuring a range stories, videos and interesting animal trivia, their website includes games and tips that get kids thinking about issues. For example, their ‘Get Green tips’ that actually get kids thinking about issues like recycling and improving the outdoors. Their ‘Car Wash Kit’ has not only peaked my kids’ interest in washing our car on weekends but it has also helped instill in them a genuine interest in keeping the car clean. As an international parent who is constantly faced with the challenges of multicultural parenting, I particularly love their ‘People & Places’ section, a relatively new addition to their website that focuses on various people and cultures.

So, if you are wondering about positive environmental media for your kids, you might want to consider adding parental controls to your computer so that they can access these great new web resources. Before you know it, they’ll be singing songs about the North Pacific Gyre and giving you tips about how to stop Global Warming. And you can sit back and marvel at the environmental edutainment tools that make parenting so easy!

Contributed by Reenita Malhotra (www.reenita.com)

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Tags: edutainment, environmental education, environmental edutainment, Frenc-American International School, Global Warming, gorilla, green parenting, multicultural parenting, national geographic, plastic waste, websites for kids, Whole Foods

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