Green Team Gazette Season 3, Issue 4 Dec. 2010

1. Re-Think the Grinch
A timeless holiday classic: The Grinch
Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. This
year, reread it with your favorite young
friends, looking at the moral of the story: it’s not about the
greediness of the gifts but it’s about the size of your heart.
Pair it with a viewing of Annie Leonard’s “The Story of Stuff”
(http://www.storyofstuff.org/). I think Annie & Dr. Seuss
would see eye to eye!
Reduce, Reuse, and Wrap It Up!
Just ask Dr. Seuss…gifts from the heart are the best! Make
some this year! Reuse Connection is a good place to start
(http://www.reuseconnection.com/index.html). From their site,
link to their Facebook page. Here you will get a wealth of ideas
on how to turn recyclables into great gifts. Planet Pals also has
a bounty of crafts at http://www.planetpals.com/ppreuse.html.
Might make the perfect in-class holiday gift-making activity!
But don’t forget to wrap it up! Keep your home from looking
like a destruction zone after all the presents have been
unwrapped. While many municipalities WILL recycle the
wrapping paper, you might want to consider creativity as your
way of uniquely wrapping things up. Box up small gifts in excess
Lego. Wrap using newspaper. Decorate pillow cases (that can
be reused) and wrap your gifts in those. Purchase Terracycle
Pencil Cases to use as your wrap and part of your gift.
Purchase reusable totes at grocery or department stores so
they can be reused again. Think out-side the box for less
packaging & waste!
One-Stop Shopping
A visit to the Green Team Gazette webpage & the archives
will bring you to a bunch of additional resources
(http://greenteamgazette.blogspot.com/). In the “GTG Cloud
Labels,” click on any of the following topics for some good
finds: “recycling,” “reduce,” or “reuse.”
From Landfill-Lover to Eco-Warrior!
I haven’t met an elementary student who doesn’t love a game!
Print off the game board from page 2 of this month’s Green
Team Gazette. Grab some game counters, a few dice, and get
ready to roll! Each game board is best suited for 2-4 players
at a time. Have the players start at the landfill in the top left
hand corner. Players will take turn moving along the path
(Chutes and Ladders” style) following the arrows as they go to
make their way to the bottom right hand corner. Of course
there will be slips and slides along the way, but in no time your
students will become Eco-Warriors!
The Green Team Gazette
Volume 3, Issue 4, page 1 December 2010
„Tis The Season
December is the time of holidays & gift
giving. It also can become a very greedy,
over-consumption kind of month if you
aren’t careful. This month’s GTG is
dedicated to helping you encourage your youngsters to
think a little lighter on the side of consumption &
packaging, by encouraging the 3R’s!
Marvy Multiplication
In my 3rd
grade class, December is about the time we
introduce multiplication. One of my favorite ways to build
the concept is with a game called “Circles & Stars.” In this
game, we roll a dice and draw that many circles. For
example, a roll of 4 means 4 circles. Then we re-roll the
dice to draw that many stars within each circle. Let’s say
we roll 5 at this point—then we make 5 stars within each
circle. Repeated addition gets us the answer to 4 x 5 = 20
stars. This year I’m turning “Circles & Stars” into
“Landfills & Trash.” Following the same premise, it will be a
good way to show students a real-world tie in on how fast
pollution can multiply, and how quickly those landfills can
get filled! Plus, my kids might learn some multiplication
along the way!
4 landfills x 5 loads of trash per landfill = 20 loads of trash
The Green Team Gazette is a publication
co-sponsored by the founders of CynerGreen
CGKidz, and Eagle Cove School (formerly
“Gibson Island Country School”), a Green
School in Pasadena, Maryland. Our mission is
to educate and share ways to “go green”—both big & small--
and be environ-mentally-proactive at home, in school, and
beyond. It is written by Vicki Dabrowka, 3rd grade teacher
& co-Green Team Leader at Eagle Cove School. To learn
more visit www.cynergreen.com, www.cgkidz.com, and
www.eaglecoveschool.org. You can also follow us at
http://greenteamgazette.blogspot.com/ or find us at “Green
Team Gazette” on Facebook.
Please print on recycled paper. Copyright © 2010 Vicki Dabrowka
T T
T T
T
T T
T T
T
T T
T T
T
T T
T T
T
T T
T T
T

2. Directions: Play with 2 or more players. Begin at “start.” Roll a dice. Follow the arrows to leave the landfill
and make your way to becoming an Eco Warrior! Keep up your good habits & don’t slide backwards!!
Start
Leaving
the Landfill!
All your 
groceries are in
cloth bags!
Buying recharge-
able batteries
 was smart!
You changed 3
lightbulbs to
CFLs! Yes! 
You have more
recycling than
trash! 
Drat…you
littered trash in
 the creek.
A fast food belly
ache!  Veggies
would have been
healthier!
Trashing your
toys trashes the
planet 
 You refuse
Styrofoam as a
doggie bag!
You composted
an apple core!

You biked to
school instead of
driving! 
Is that a 
plastic bottle in
a plastic bag?
No baggies for
your lunch--all
 reusables!
You brushed
your teeth with
the water
running! 
Oh no! You left
the lights 
on all day
You are an
Eco Warrior!!
The Green Team Gazette
Volume 3, Issue 4 , page 2 December 2010
Copyright ©
2010 Vicki
Dabrowka