Involve me and I will learn

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Involve me and I will learn

Our kids are at such a great age- an age where they are learning and taking in so much, every single day. There is a quote that I just love by Benjamin Franklin: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

This could not be more true for children. I saw it when I taught elementary school and I see it in my own children. If I tell them something, it goes in one ear and out the other. If I teach them or demonstrate it, they might retain the information. If they do it with me, they will probably learn about it and be able to do it again. If we can let our kids be involved in everyday activities, think of the wonderfully well-rounded, well-educated children we will all have. From simple things like changing a light bulb to more meaningful things, like saving an animal’s life.

Mickey and I love to give our kids as many opportunities as we can. Personally, as a former teacher, I value the whole child, which means that I want our kids to learn more than just reading, writing and math… I want to enrich the whole child. I want them to experience all that they can- to be the best person that they can be, in whatever area they choose. This happens through hands-on experiences.

Last week, I teamed up with Stonyfield to teach our kids about the importance taking care of animals and saving their lives. Stonyfield YoKids is sponsoring the AZA SAFE program, and through their work together, both organizations are on a mission to help save endangered species. This was a great opportunity to involve our children in the movement to save animals. We were able to talk about Stonyfield’s mission and think of ways that we can help. A person is never too young to learn or to become inspired to help.

We decided to take our kids to the Greensboro Science Center. It has a science area, a zoo & an aquarium. We were able to receive a discount because of Stonyfield Organic’s YoKids on-pack offer. They want to get families out to visit AZA member zoos & aquariums, which is important to really help to inspire our children to learn to love animals and learn to save them, even from an early age. You can see all of the AZA-accredited zoos here. Now through the end of August, families who buy two YoKids yogurt packs will receive a free kid’s admission to their local AZA-accredited zoo or aquarium. Also, if you buy an adult ticket, you will get a free child’s pass through September.
Our kids already love Stonyfield, so we had several coupons on hand. 🙂 I love it because it is so convenient and has lower sugar. Plus, since it is always made with USDA organic, non-GMO ingredients, Stonyfield YoKids yogurt now features as much as 40% less sugar than the leading low-fat kids’ yogurt. Win-win!

So, I grabbed my coupons and we headed to Greensboro. When we arrived at the Science center, our kids were immediately drawn to the aquarium.

I loved that there were so many hands on activities and even classes going on, so our kids could really get in there and learn. Children who are engaged in learning are more successful, academically, than those who are not. Give the kids many chances to experience new things… things that they wouldn’t see every day (like this octopus!). They will be more inspired to help if they understand why they are helping.

If you can involve your children in different learning activities, you will really ignite a passion for learning and an inspiration for betterment. The kids were able to read about all of the animals and watch them play for hours on end. They were the most captivated by the penguins. In fact, Stonyfield has committed funds that will be used to reverse the decline of the African penguin. When we were able to see the penguins, the kids were very intrigued, because they were able to really ‘get into’ the habitat of the penguins and see it through their eyes. Stonyfield YoKids’ sponsorship of AZA SAFE will support conservation efforts for 10 endangered species, including the African Penguin.

As the country’s leading organic yogurt maker, Stonyfield has long been focused on conservation and sustainability. Each year they keep over 185,000 pounds of toxic pesticides out of the environment, helping to safeguard species and their eco-systems. Learn more here.

Seeing these animals in person was a great learning experience for our kids. They understood how important saving these animals was and why they need to become involved. We made several plans of how we could help, too, during our hour-trip back home and they have been busy working on those plans all week.