Abby Klein - Save the Earth!

A great place to start is Scholastics Act Green website: Scholastic.com/actgreen. This website lists over one hundred things kids can do to be more green and help the environment. Just like Freddy, you and your class can become members of the Green Team. So get involved and make your voice heard! Participate in a neighborhood cleanup, make a compost bin for your home or classroom, or start a Green Team club at your school. One person can make a difference. Hope you have as much fun reading Save the Earth! as I had writing it. Wushy. Wushy.

I know why! I know why! said Chloe, waving her painted red fingernails in the air. You do? asked Mrs. Wushy. Would you like to tell the class why it is so special? Friday is my dance recital, and I am the star of the show! Is she for real? whispered my best friend, Robbie. Its always about her, said Jessie, shaking her head. I can do some of my dance for you, said Chloe, jumping up.

Right here. Right now. Sit down, Dancypants, said Max. No one wants to see you dance. Says who? asked Chloe. Me! said Max, getting up out of his seat and walking over to her.

Get away from me, you big bully, said Chloe. Max, said Mrs. Wushy, please go back and sit down. Yeah, said Chloe with her hands on her hips. Go back and sit down. Chloe, said Mrs.

Wushy, you are not the teacher. You both need to sit down. But what about my dance? Chloe whined. Maybe you can show us another time, said Mrs. Wushy. I want to talk about the special day on Friday.

I know you have your dance recital on Friday, but that was not what I was thinking of. I know why Friday is special, said Robbie. Its Earth Day. Earth Day? Whats that? asked Jessie. Its like a holiday, to celebrate our amazing planet, Earth, said Robbie. Wushy. Wushy.

Earth Day is celebrated each year on April twenty-second. Is it kind of like the Earths birthday? said Max. Do you eat cake and ice cream? Oooh. Ice cream, said Chloe. I love ice cream. Cotton candy is my favorite flavor, because its pink, and pink is my favorite color.

You dont eat cake and ice cream on Earth Day, said Mrs. Wushy. You think about our beautiful planet, and you come up with ways you can help take care of it. That sounds cool, said Jessie. People all over the world celebrate Earth Day, said Mrs. Wushy.

When I looked on my computer, I saw that over one hundred countries celebrate it, said Robbie. Over one hundred! I said. Thats a lot. What are we going to do to celebrate? asked Jessie. Well, were going to be doing different activities all week to celebrate and to help the planet, said Mrs. Wushy.

But what can kids do to help the Earth? I asked. A lot! said Mrs. Wushy. Even little things add up to make the world a better place. Youd be surprised. Like what? asked Max.

You tell me, said Mrs. Wushy. I know, said Robbie. We can recycle. I recycle cans at home, said Max. Wushy. Wushy.

What else can you recycle? We recycle cans, plastic, glass, and paper at my house, said Jessie. Us, too! I said. You recycle all that stuff? asked Max. Yep, I said. We just have to look on the package or bottle to see if it has that recycling triangle on it. If it does, then we can put it in our recycling bin.

Good, said Mrs. Wushy. What else? We can save energy, said Robbie. How do you do that? I asked. Its easy. You can save a lot of energy by turning off the lights when you leave a room, or turning off the TV or computer when youre done with them.

Leaving your computer on wastes a lot of energy. My dad always forgets to turn off the lights, said Chloe. Well, then, you can turn them off for him, said Robbie. Can you think of anything else? asked Mrs. Wushy. I know! said Jessie.

We can save water. Saving water is very important, said Mrs. Wushy. Jessie nodded. My abuela, my grandma, always turns off the water when she brushes her teeth. She said that when she was a little girl in Mexico, her family didnt have a lot of clean water, so they had to save as much of it as they could.

She also taught me to take a shower instead of a bath. Why? I asked. You use a lot less water when you take a shower, said Jessie. I never knew that, I said. Ill have to ask my mom if I can take showers from now on. I know something, said Chloe.

Yes? said Mrs. Wushy. We can pick up trash. I think it is really yucky when people throw their trash on the ground, said Chloe, holding her nose. Its stinky and makes the park dirty. Wushy. Wushy.

I just thought of something else! I said. We can keep the air clean. What can kids do to keep the air clean? asked Jessie. We can walk or ride our bikes instead of driving somewhere. We can also carpool when we go places, said Robbie, instead of taking separate cars. Wushy. Wushy.

So you see that kids really can make a difference. Even the little things add up. But I dont do all of those things, I said. Me, neither, said Jessie. Well, said Mrs. Wushy, over the next two days youre going to get a chance to try doing many of them during our Earth Day Challenge.

Whats that? said Max. Its kind of like a contest, said Mrs. Wushy. Oooh, I love contests, said Jessie. Me, too, said Robbie. What do we have to do? asked Max.

Its time for recess, said Mrs. Wushy, so I will tell you all about it when we get back to the room.

When we got back to the classroom after recess, Jessie pulled a bunch of stuff out of her jacket pocket. Look what I found on the playground, Mrs. Wushy. What is it, Jessie? A bunch of trash: a chip bag, a candy wrapper, a napkin, and a spoon.

Eeeewwww, said Chloe, backing away. All that stuff is full of germs. Why did you pick it up?