At Earth’s Kids we believe that children are our
future. Their creativity, values, and choices will shape our society and
create waves of impact that may some day be felt all over the planet —
perhaps for centuries to come. It's up to us help them make that impact
a positive one.
And as research has shown, what kids learn in the
first five years of life, and the quality of care they receive in that
period, will form the core of who they become, as teenagers and as
adults. We believe this makes teachers and caregivers vitally important
guardians and shapers of the future. And we at Earth's Kids are
committed to connecting them with the information and resources they
need to do this job capably and joyfully.
We also work with children, directly and through
the materials on our website, to teach them to value themselves, the
environment, and their connection to all living things. An important
part of our focus is to help young people understand the power that they
possess to do good, and to connect them with opportunities to get
involved with important causes and volunteer their time.
Finally, we know that right now world events are
setting the stage for the challenges our children will face as adults,
and for the quality of life they will enjoy, or endure. So we at Earth’s
Kids are committed to working together with educators, scientists,
activists, and other community leaders to share information, take
action, and positively shape the world that our children will inherit.
We hope you will join us.
On this site you will find an
wide array of resources &
information on topics of use to parents, teachers, child care providers,
as well as to social and environmental activists, and of course to
children and young adults. Many of the articles are unique to Earth's
Kids, representing more than a decade of experience working with
parents, teachers, and young children.
Other articles are
hyperlinked texts available elsewhere on the world wide web. In both
cases, we have utilized our professional knowledge of child
development, education, and spiritual ministry to select what we believe
is the most
insightful, solidly proven, and effective information currently
available on each topic. We do this so that you can avoid the frustration of wading
through dead links, vacuous content, and the perky but inaccurate
fluff that clutters both the typical display of search engine results
as well as many commercial parenting and educational sites.
Instead, you can get on with something really important -- taking care
of yourself and the children in your care.
Please remember that
although it is our desire to always connect you with the best
articles, books, and links currently available, we are now living in
an information transformation that is growing and evolving
exponentially -- literally! So try as we might, it is unlikely that
we will meet this goal all of the time, especially on our own. This is
why we encourage and appreciate your feedback about new
information and other useful resources currently available. Together
we are more than the sum of our separate abilities.
Site Organization
This site is principally
divided into two sub-sites:
Here is an exciting world of exploration and
growth -- science, history, art, books, nature and pets, as well as social and
spiritual awareness.
Additional
Features Include:
An
Integrated Focus On Environmental Issues
including educating children to appreciate the natural world
and its creatures, and to be active caretakers of the
Earth's resources.
An
Emphasis On Giving Service,
including links and advice to help kids and adults get
involved both in their local communities and with causes
both global and international.
This not-for-profit
bookshop is provided to help you find the books recommended by
ourselves and our contributors. It contains some of our favorite
books on child development, positive guidance, spirituality,
education, and so much more!
We got so much mail about our bunny page that
we finally expanded it into a whole site of its own! What
started out as a hobby has become a very popular website to learn
rabbit care.
We are glad that so many people love their
animal friends enough to learn proper care techniques, and of course, who doesn't like cute bunny pictures?
Browse Earth's Kids new holiday-themed learning
pages -- each one is chock full of lesson plan
ideas, online activities, printables, and great
resources to download or order online.
Be sure to check the Earth's Kids
News & Updates page each time
you visit
so you can find out
What's
New
Earth's Kids was started in 1999 in
response to to four developing factors:
the rapid expansion of the World
Wide Web, and the explosion of sites aimed at parents
and children -- with no mechanism provided for filtering
this material according to accuracy or quality.
a growing scientific consensus
that the quality of care and guidance received by
children in the first five years of life -- including
the period of infancy and toddlerhood -- drastically
influences a child's core personality and ability to
achieve a high potential, both in school and later in
life.
the prediction, by demographic
forecasters, that by 2011 the U.S. would have a larger
percentage of teenagers than it did in the 1960s
(Read
More), with all the potential for extreme
social change that goes with it, and...
the awareness that our world was
entering a period of climate instability and natural
disasters, a development that would surely threaten
children more than any other group.
It was clear that both some tremendous
threats, and tremendous opportunities lay on the horizon.
It raised the question: could anything be done to help
children become more effectively prepared to face this
future? And to support parents and teachers working
toward this goal?
Our response to both was the
Earth's Kids website, a project that combined environmental
and social consciousness with positive parenting techniques,
premium educational resources, and an emphasis on youth
activism.
Most importantly the process of
creating and selecting materials for Earth's Kids was, and
is, grounded in sound, well-accepted principles in child
development and early childhood education as well as in the
collective experience of effective, and highly regarded
educators.
At the same time Earth's Kids reflects
the conviction that we are each spiritual beings, and
through the nurturing of our inner life, and our
relationship with our higher power, we are all more fully
empowered to live well, live safely, and to create positive
solutions to life's challenges.