What would you teach?

 For our AusPen draw this month, here’s some things that you’ve said you’re grateful a teacher taught you:

 

To succeed first you must fail.

Kristina

It doesn’t matter what level of achievement you reach as long as you can be proud to know you tried your best and you supported others in trying their best!

Julie

“If he’ll cheat with you, he’ll cheat on on you.” It may not have anything to do with math or science or English but teachers teach more than subjects. They teach us about life.

Kerri

Use metaphors and analogies to make it sink in.

Becky

I learned to love how I look by taking care of myself.

Katherine

From my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Wise who would play the piano each morning while we sang folk songs, I learned that singing your loudest was a great way to start the day, was okay even if you are a little off key, and is a great way to realize your true potential as a group or community!

KarmaKaytlyn

Have something to add? Join the conversation, and you will automatically be entered in the May AusPen Giveaway Draw! Leave a comment below, or post on our Facebook page! Can’t wait to see it!

Photo credit top of page: www.thoughtquestions.com

Those teachers just keep inspiring us

One of the greatest parts about crossing paths with so many of you, dear AusPen customers, is hearing what you are doing in your craft.

For our AusPen giveaway contest this month, we asked what lasting lesson a teacher has taught you… and you’ve been sharing your inspiring stories. Check our Facebook page to read these gems and post your own… and be entered into the draw for AusPen markers.

In honor of National Teacher’s Day (US) this week, it’s our turn to share a piece of inspiration with you.

This story shown on 60 MINUTES inspires the heart, broadens the mind and speaks of the true nature of music. It’s quite an education.

An orchestra is raised up in the Congo and the musicians go to unbelievable lengths to learn and play music, temporarily lifting them out of the conditions of the poorest nation on earth. Violin stings are made of bicycle brake wires. Broken instruments are salvaged from the thrift shop. Musicians travel up to 10 miles each day for practice.

Take a look at the link below.

And thank you to teachers everywhere!

Joy in the Congo: A Musical Miracle

by 60 MINUTES 

 

May 2012 AusPen Giveaway Draw!

AusPen Giveaways

Where it pays to go green

Welcome to EcoSmart’s giveaway program where your “Green” stories can get you great free eco-friendly products.  Each month we choose a theme, welcome your input, and have an AusPen draw!

Question of the Month: 

I’m really glad I learned this from a teacher:  ___________.

Everyone has been impacted by a teacher. What is one thing that stands out that a teacher taught you? Our AusPen marker giveaway draw question this month is: what lasting lesson did you learn from a teacher?

I learned that reading a good book again for a second time is like eating a piece of chocolate: you’d never say, ”No, I’ve already tasted that before.” 

-Maureen, EcoSmart Team

Share your fav teacher moment! Post in our comment section below, post on our Facebook page, or email us at info@ecosmartworld.com.  (You will be automatically entered into a draw for AusPen giveaways!). This contest runs throughout May 2012.

Click to share on twitter!

 

 

You are welcome to share your AusPen experiences, but your story does not have to be limited to AusPen eco-friendly markers. Please note some portion of your submission may be used by EcoSmart Products in promotional material.

A Call to Action in Children’s Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

A recent study reports an alarming increase in autism among children and suggests a key factor is environmental exposure to toxins. Parents and teachers are taking this as a call to action and searching for non-toxic products for the classroom.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report in March 2012 revealing a staggering 23% increase in autism among U.S. children since its last report in 2009. That’s 1 child in 88 with an autism spectrum disorder, or since the disorder is 5 times more common among boys, that’s 1 in 54 boys identified with the disorder. The report reveals that neither the cause of autism nor this recent surge is fully understood. But researchers are suggesting that one factor may be environmental exposure to neurotoxic chemicals – the ubiquitous chemicals that are present in our everyday products.

“This study is really a wake-up call for everyone to examine the safety of the products they use and are exposed to, especially where children are concerned,” says Kerry Tuttle of EcoSmart Products, distributors of AusPen eco-friendly markers. “We receive calls daily from parents who are concerned about their children’s reaction to regular dry-erase markers used in the classroom.” A seemingly small and harmless product, dry-erase markers appear in every classroom that has a whiteboard – classrooms that are usually poorly ventilated.

“Often children get headaches, or they experience ‘brain fog’, or their asthma is triggered,” explains Tuttle. When the regular dry-erase markers are removed from the classroom, and they are replaced with non-toxic markers, children are often relieved of their symptoms. “It can be very upsetting to parents to find out that their child is not actually having a behavioral problem or is predisposed to headaches, but only reacting to VOC [volatile organic compound] vapors from dry-erase markers.” says Tuttle.

Take Margot Boyd, who immediately searched out a non-toxic alternative when her 7 year old felt unwell after a lesson using dry-erase markers on the whiteboard. “He came home reporting that he had a headache,” explained Boyd, who connected his symptoms to the use of the pungent-smelling dry-erase marker. “It’s just ridiculous,” says Boyd of children’s exposures to harmful toxic products. Boyd purchased a set of non-toxic markers for the grade 2 classroom in Toronto, Ontario and is hoping the idea will catch on.

“These stunning new figures are a call to action among our elected leaders to minimize our children’s exposures to mercury and other toxic chemicals,” said Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook. The recent report by the CDC recognizes that while researchers know more about the possible effects of some neurotoxins, like mercury, lead and cadmium, others have been less studied.

Among the chemicals in this group are aromatic solvents – chemicals used in paints, glues and markers. Other studies that have followed offspring of women occupationally exposed to these solvents have found that, compared with unexposed children, their children obtained lower scores on tests of intellectual, language, motor, and neurobehavioral functioning.

“With so much on the minds of school administrators and educators, rethinking the products used in the school can get put on the back-burner,” says Tuttle. “But every time a classroom or a school switches to a less toxic product, from their markers to their cleaning supplies, it’s a step in the right direction.” It’s a step that Margot Boyd intends to take in her son’s classroom.

###

To view this on PRLog, click here.

 

Sales of Green Gifts for Grads on the Rise

Students graduating from college and high school are increasingly being given green gifts that reflect their values and satisfy their passion for eco-conscious products. Recent sales from distributors of AusPen eco-friendly markers indicate that people are looking for grad gifts that will meet the demand of Generation Y graduates: that the products they use are sustainable, healthy and cost-effective. Millennials are well educated and resourceful in finding green products, and family and friends giving grad gifts are catering to their eco sensibilities.

 

“Our sales this graduating season are already ahead of other graduating seasons,” explains Kerry Tuttle of EcoSmart Products. “As grads get ready for that next step in their careers, studies or travels, they are being gifted according to their heightened awareness of non-toxic and eco-friendly products.”  The 2012 cohort of graduating students are well connected to social media and internet marketing, where the health, safety and sustainability of everyday products are examined and often exposed.

 

“Social media plays a huge role in driving the trend towards eco-friendly products,” says Tuttle. “Just as recent studies into the potentially harmful effects of fragrances and beauty products have created a stir in the cosmetics world, so has negative attention on the toxicity and wastefulness of products created a stronger demand for non-toxic and less wasteful alternatives.” Traditional brands of everyday beauty products, cleaning supplies and school and office supplies are being forced to adapt or lose their market share.

 

This year for graduation, EcoSmart Products is selling approximately twice as much of its flagship product – non-toxic and refillable dry-erase markers. “We are seeing that students setting out into the fields of teaching, business and health are asking for a set of refillable markers and inks that will eliminate pounds of discarded markers and harmful toxins in the air they breathe,” says Tuttle, referring to the regular disposable markers that can be found virtually everywhere a whiteboard is located. And parents are responding to this green consumer trend and equipping their grad for the future.

 

Tuttle sees no end in sight for the demand for her eco-friendly markers. Part of the reason is that celebrities are increasingly raising the profile of products, companies and projects that are benefitting the earth and human health.  “But it’s often the students themselves who put the pressure on their teachers to consider green alternatives to toxic markers,” says Tuttle. “And this trend will only increase as recent grads reach their own full purchasing power as young professionals”.

 

To read this post on PRLog, click here.

To tweet this post, click here.

The paradox of a simple act of green

I just love the paradoxes of the green movement:

• it’s a global problem most effectively addressed at the grassroots level
• it calls for the preservation of nature, yet urges us to use state-of-the art technology
• it requires a united vision, yet depends on a diversity of actions
• it’s the complex challenge of our times, yet it draws on ancient wisdom and attitudes

and last but not least,

•  it’s the simplest acts, of seemingly little consequence, that can create a staggering difference:

Fun Earth Day Ideas and Activities for the Classroom

With Earth Day around the corner, you may be looking for another few ideas to go green with your class and inspire the students to think critically, creatively and realistically about how they can work towards environmental sustainability. These fun ideas can be used as short classroom activities or as a springboard for deeper discussions, projects and action plans. With the goal of empowering, mobilizing and inspiring students towards stewardship of the earth, this can be the most memorable Earth Day yet.

 

1. Idea #1: Turn school trash into treasure.

 

To bring attention to the waste created in schools, try creating art from discarded school materials. There are plenty of eco artists and designers who make an earth-friendly statement by transforming trash into treasure. Supplies can be glued onto a footprint to symbolize our ecological footprint, or they can be assembled into an interesting structure. Class discussion can focus on what is creating waste at school and steps to reduce it. Consider the following materials that can be collected from classrooms and the office during Earth week:

• ink cartridges
• keys from junk keyboards
• disposable dry-erase markers and pens
• lunchables, like yogurt containers, lids, and plastic spoons, that can be washed out
• paper, shredded paper
• discarded library books
• single items, like a shoe, that has been in the lost & found for a long time
• discarded art supplies like old paint bottles and brushes

Idea #2: Become very calculating this Earth Day.

 

Nothing will prompt us more to reduce our ecological footprint than finding out what our own impact is, how we are contributing to pollution and the use of resources. For Earth Day, try calculating just how many resources the students, their families or the school are using, and even better, how many can be saved.

 

A grade 10 math class in New York calculated the number of disposable dry-erase markers that were thrown out each year in the school district, and the cost associated with those markers. Then the students calculated the waste savings if the district purchased refillable dry-erase markers. The waste and cost savings were staggering – enough to cause a district-wide movement that saved hundreds of pounds of waste and hundreds of dollars spent on throw-away markers. For tips on how to figure this out, visit www.ecosmartworld.com, distributors of AusPen refillable markers.

 

To get an idea of the size of the students’ individual ecological footprint, use the free online calculators from the Global Footprint Network. The site offers a kid’s version with questions such as: How often do you eat meat products? It also gives tips on how to reduce your environmental impact. Similarly, Myfootprint.org offers quizzes to find out your demand on resources.

 

 

Idea #3: Go green in the school yard.

 

Whether it’s simple school yard maintenance with your students, the creation of an outdoor classroom space, or a full-on gardening project, getting the students involved in school yard greening will have lasting educational value. Here are some ideas, big and small:

• Order bags of soil, compost and mulch for the students to put around the trees or garden beds.
• Have the students plant flowers, bulbs, seeds or plants in border gardens.
• Older students can measure the quality of the soil with a home soil testing kit purchased at a local nursery.
• Raise money to buy a bench, canopy, bags of mulch, river stones or other materials for an outdoor classroom space.
• Raise money for rain barrels or children’s gardening tools.
• Create a school yard garden box for fresh vegetables. The harvest can be shared among the classes, sold at the farmer’s market, or donated to local food organizations.
• Take a field trip to a local nursery or to another school that has its schoolyard greening projects well under way.

 

 

Idea #4: Look to the stars.

 

Many celebrities have used their fame and fortune to crusade for planet Earth. To give your students a good reason to look at celebrities as role models, why not let your students study the environmental acts of these actors, athletes and socialites? Rodale.com has assembled a list of 50 environmentalist celebs and their favorite causes, organizations, products and green lifestyle tips. Discussion questions can include which initiatives are the most inspiring and the power that resides in the individual – famous or not – to effect positive change.

 

Idea #5: Write your own plea.

 

In 1992 at the UN’s Earth Summit in Rio, 12-year old Severn Suzuki, daughter of the famous environmentalist Dr. Suzuki, made a heartfelt plea for the environment… and silenced world leaders for 7 minutes. Her now-famous speech called on world leaders and adults everywhere to consider the younger generations and become true stewards of the earth. She told them sternly, “If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it.”

 

For a powerful exercise, watch and discuss Severn’s speech (Click here for Severn Suzuki’s famous speech) at the UN Earth Summit in Rio. Consider having your students write their own heartfelt pleas to world leaders or their local officials.

 

With these classroom activities, your students will be able to express their concern for the planet, their love for nature and their passion for sustainable choices. This way, Earth Day can serve as an opportunity to reflect on green actions taken throughout the year and new commitments to be carried out in the months to come.

Green Celebs – Earth Day Tips and Ideas

…a blog series by EcoSmart Products for the love of planet you-know-who

Idea #6: Look to the stars…

My parents often lament the excessive attention given to Hollywood celebrities… but in this case, maybe they can really be viewed as role models. Rodale.com has assembled a list of 50 environmentalist celebs (…ok, so they’re the sexiest environmentalist celebs) who are using their fame and fortune to crusade for planet Earth. This Earth Day, why not let your students study the environmental acts of these actors, athletes and socialites?

You can find the full article and slide show here: The 50 Sexiest Environmentalists

Great questions for follow-up:

What environmental acts would you do if you were a celebrity?

Do you have to be a celebrity to be an agent for positive change?

Which ones of these initiatives inspired you most, and why?

All photo credits can be found at Rodale.com .

 

Turning Trash into Treasure – Earth Day Ideas and Tips

…a blog series by EcoSmart Products for the love of planet you-know-who

Idea #5: Turn school trash into an Earth Day treasure!

To bring attention to the waste created in schools, try creating art from discarded school materials. There are plenty of eco artists and designers who make an earth-friendly statement by transforming trash into treasure. Consider the following materials that can be collected from classrooms and the office during Earth week:

• ink cartridges
• keys from junk keyboards
• disposable dry-erase markers and pens
• lunchables, like yogurt containers, lids, and plastic spoons, that can be washed out
• paper, shredded paper
• discarded library books
• single items, like a shoe, that has been in the lost & found for a long time
• discarded art supplies like old paint bottles and brushes

Great questions for follow up:

What makes up most of the garbage at school?

How can this waste be reduced?

Are there alternative products that are reuseable?

How can our art be used to educate the school about reducing our waste?

Credits for above photos can be found here. and here

 

Earth Day Quick Tips and Ideas

…a blog series by EcoSmart Products for the love of planet you-know-who

 

Idea #4: Listen to Severn – and write your own plea!

Hard to believe we’re coming up to Rio+20! It was at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 that a 12-year-old Severn Suzuki, daughter of the famous environmentalist Dr. Suzuki, made a heartfelt plea for the environment… silencing world leaders for 7 minutes.

This Earth Day, for a powerful exercise, watch and discuss Severn’s speech at the UN Earth Summit in Rio. Consider having your students write their own heartfelt pleas to world leaders or their local officials.

Click here for Severn Suzuki’s famous speech.

“If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it.”

-Severn Suzuki, Rio Earth Summit 1992

 

 

Next Page »