Children learn through play, this is a popular topic among parents and educators. Playing hands on improves motor skills in young children, pretend play develops social skills and imagination, while arts and crafts projects make our kids creative. Because of the nature of playing there are a lot of activities and play idea for toddlers and preschoolers. What about older kids? Although they already know the ABC and are able to read their own books, it doesn’t mean they suddenly have to stop learning through play. With the right direction and a little imagination learning can continue to be fun even as kids grow up. Reading and writing become important tools in the educational games they play to learn about science, geography and a subject close to my heart: the environment. Today I was having a look online for some educational games about recycling and I found two good ones.

Recycle Roundup from the Kids National Geographic website is a free online game where players have to pick up as much rubbish as possible against time and put it in the correct bins. This is a simple game that requires good mouse skills.

The Greenway House from the National Wildlife Federation page dedicated to kids is a good game for children who are already fluent readers. It is a challenge set in a family home with actions, highlighted by numbers, that are unfriendly to the environment like letting the water run unnecessarily or leaving the lights on in a room when no one is in. Players must find all the actions that are harmful to the environment and as they do a window pops up with the wrong action explained and with advice on what should be done instead for a healthy planet.