Teaching Reusable Habits: Saving Energy

One of the main components of living a sustainable life is learning how to conserve resources. Saving energy is a simple way to help protect the environment, and this week’s Lunch Bites Highlight focuses on tips to teach your students how to save energy both at home and in the classroom.

Learning how to be environmentally conscious can help encourage others to do the same. Teaching young students about the benefits of saving energy encourages them to keep the health of the environment in their minds. It only takes one person to promote an eco-friendly lifestyle to young learners! So what are some ways that we can save energy? Here are two easy habits that children can start to build. 

1. Turning off lights after leaving a room. While a simple habit, different types of light bulbs produce different amounts of energy. Understanding cost vs. benefits when choosing a bulb can help save energy and money on your power bill. This website details different types of light bulbs that can be used in your home. Having a child turn off the lights after they are done in a room is an extremely easy way to involve them in energy-saving behaviors. 
2. Take short showers. According to the EPA, the average shower is around 8 minutes long and uses about 16 gallons of water. That’s a lot of water! Energy is needed to bring clean, warm water into your home. Taking shorter showers is another simple way to teach children the importance of conserving water and energy. Explaining to them that water is a precious resource can help them better understand why it shouldn’t be wasted. The EPA has a document where you can calculate how much water a person uses when they shower, along with tips on how to reduce that number! Other habits that children can learn is turning the water off while brushing their teeth, and making sure the faucet is turned all the way off after using it.

Students from the Bend La-Pine Elementary Schools made a video explaining how they are working on saving energy at their schools. Click here to watch that video for more inspiration on teaching students how to save energy!

For more Lunch Bites with fun activities in both English and Spanish, click here.