Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

There is nothing like getting dirty and finding things in nature. Children learn when they see, do, touch, and experience. To be a green mom, I have to let my kids just get dirty. They have to dig for worms, feel the soil, sometimes taste it and figure out what those worms are doing. It means scrubbing finger nails and taking long baths to soak but it helps the children understand for themselves what a worm is, how nature works and exactly what it feels like to figure something out. From all of my children’s exploring they have figured out, without me teaching them, that worms like dark, moist places to live. They know where the slugs are and which rocks to turn over. I did not teach them any of this but through exploration they have learned.

This has also taught my children empathy. They realize that worms are used for fishing or that birds eat them and they handle them gently. They want to know what worms eat and this led us to the discussion of composting and how soil breaks down. I found a neat power point presentation that helped teach my son about composting and then we took a trip to the library. He has now started asking us if we can make a compost bin and what are some ways that we can compost at home. One thing has led to another and now I am learning more about composting so maybe as a family we can begin using a compost bin or building one of our own.

Read more about composting at Green and Clean Mom!