Earth Day 2010 is just around the corner and this year is a big one — the 40th anniversary of the celebration. My kids are happy that Earth Day is older than I am (I’m not that old, but they seem to think I am), and they are looking forward to the day. Since it falls on a school day, the kids will spend the day at school, which will no doubt come with fun Earth Day-themed activities. While I try to make environmentally conscious decisions in my everyday living, and share these choices with my children, I’m planning on being more vocal about it on Earth Day. As I pack their waste-free school lunches, I’ll be sure to point out the benefits of reusable snack and sandwich bags, a BPA- and phthalate-free lunch bag and our stainless steel water bottles. They see these things every day, but we’ll actually get into the reason why they use these products instead of the good old-fashioned brown lunch bag. For me, Earth Day is an educational opportunity. A day to help foster my children’s love of learning about the earth and how the choices they make can have long-lasting effects. Of course, I’m doing all of this on their level. At only 8 and 6, they don’t need to know about the rising oceans, the melting glaciers and a lot of the doom and gloom that is out there. Instead, we play seek and find with pictures of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. See that plastic water bottle, how do you think that got there? What about the plastic bag? Again, I avoid the morbid images of birds that have died due to plastic ingestion — they don’t need to know that, yet. Since I’m already living every day like it is Earth Day, I don’t do a whole lot different on April 22. I do try to focus more on the educational aspects of environmental advocacy, and help spread the word about why it is important that we take care of the earth. By taking care of our planet, we are taking care of ourselves and ultimately ensuring that our children will have a better place to live.