How to Compost 101: A Beginner's Guide "Kids are very passionate about taking care of the environment," explains Stacey Antine, founder of HealthBarn USA, who's been teaching kids to compost for more than 10 years. "Composting is one way that they can do it." Show your enthusiasm for composting and your kids will be excited [...]
Meet the recyclers! Let's Reduce Food Waste Together! I'm so excited to share with you the No Waste Challenge that we have implemented at the Barn this summer. The campers have readily embraced the challenge to the surprise of our counselors. Recycling is one of HealthBarn USA's 7 healthy habits and we empower [...]
We're Busy Practicing the 3 R's! The HealthBarn USA kids have taken Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to a whole new level by doing, not by talking! While each week at camp has a different theme, practicing our 3 R's is a common thread that weaves all the weeks together. Bringing awareness to our "use or [...]
Tin Can Planters display creativity and grow herbs! A traditional garden may be outside, in the ground, but at HealthBarn USA, we love to get creative with planting! We’ve shared activities about making eggshell planters and newspaper planters, and now we wanted to show you how to make tin can planters. Place them [...]
The sun is the source of most energy on earth, including energy from wind and waves. Plus it provides a natural source of vitamin D for our bodies. This activity introduces kids to the power of solar energy in an easy-to-understand way. They’ll learn how the energy of the sun can be used to heat [...]
Broccoli in the garden (www.grow-it-organically.com) My daughter came home from her HealthBarn Seedlings graduation with a baggie full of broccoli seeds. She’s so excited to plant them, but I have no idea how! What should we do with the seeds? I’m so glad she’s excited about planting her broccoli seeds! This is the [...]
Make art out of nature! (craftsbyamanda.com) Combine nature and art with these awesome nature mobiles! They can be hung inside for decoration, or on the porch so they can twirl in the breeze. Instead of objects from nature, you might also try this activity with recycled materials or things that might have otherwise [...]
Flower shaped recycled seed paper This activity is part arts and crafts and part gardening! At HealthBarn USA, we soak old newspaper, blend it into a pulp, mix it with seeds, and end up with cool, personalized paper shapes that can be planted directly into the garden. Kids love the idea of [...]
Kids making newspaper pots at HealthBarn USA! I bet you never guessed you could make a planting pot out of newspaper! There’s a great wooden gadget called the Paper Pot Maker that we use at the Barn for this activity, but you could also use any metal can. The basic idea is that [...]