It’s May and that means that the hot summer months are right around the corner. Unless you’re in Arizona like I am and the hot months are already here. If you live in a warmer climate and the thought of high summer utility bills has you shaking in your flip flops, check out my tips on preparing your home for the hot summer months, which appears today on the SCJohnson.com Green Choices blog.

I live in Arizona and that means that I’m getting ready for the high energy bill months. As spring turns into summer, the first thing on my chore checklist is to prepare my home for the hot summer season. Anything I can do to reduce my energy use not only saves me money on my monthly electricity bills but it also helps reduce my environmental impact.

Oh…my…goodness. As a mom I like to look back at pictures of my children from years past but I love watching older videos. In April 2009 Alexander started recording green tips and what can I say – the 10 year-old Alex of today looks and acts so much more mature than this darling little 7 year-old Alex. I know that three years is a lot, nearly one-third of his life, but goodness his little voice just makes me grin. Love you Alex!!

We are excited for the new Legend of the Guardians movie. My son is a fan of the Owls of Ga’hoole books and a nature lover so imagine his excitement when he saw the latest celebrity green tip from the Mother Nature Network. It features Zack Snyder, director of the film!

If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you know that my son records green tip videos from time-to-time. He is also interested in writing blog posts and on a recent vacation, he asked me for writing prompts. Below are a few of his blog posts.

Here are five ways to enjoy the outdoors. Ride something, for an example, Dave rides his skateboard. Dance outside. Race time. Walk with style. Run with style. Now you know five ways to enjoy the outdoors.

Your blogger,

Alex

Here are facts about bees for people and children scared of bees. If bees didn’t exist there would not be a lot of food. There would not be a lot of flowers without bees. Now don’t be scared of bees they are important to our world.

Your blogger,

Alex

Note: Alex is extremely afraid of bees and he wrote this after fleeing from a bee that landed on his shoulder while we were out on a walk.

Kids can save electricity. Turn things off. For an example, Sam turns her iPod off since it is not in use. Do not use electric items much. Listen to music instead of watching TV. Use electric items for a short amount of time. Play board games not an electric item.

Your blogger,

Alex

So whaddya think? Is my eight year-old son ready to be the newest blogger for Raising Them Green? Even though I’m his mom, I think he’s ready!

A recent vacation inspired Alexander to create another green tip. This time he wants families to conserve water to help protect our natural resources. The video was taken at a lake that sits at about 9,200 feet elevation. The air temperature was 41 and it was windy. Very cold for us desert dwellers but he wanted to get out there and get this video taken.

When Alexander started his Green Tip of the Week video blog feature earlier this year, he was enthusiastic about sharing ways to go green from his perspective. After a few episodes, though, he realized that people all across the world have access to the videos and he got a little shy. Well he’s back and this time we’ve decided to do a Green Tip of the Month. To celebrate the start of school, his tip to other kids is to pack a waste free lunch.

We’ve got our reusable lunch bags, reusable sandwich and snack bags (from SnackTaxi), Klean Kanteen bottle, Built NY slinger, and lots of food to fill them with. Alex is a bit of a picky eater so he’ll probably be eating the same few food items over and over. Ava, on the other hand, is an adventurous eater. I can’t wait to have fun packing her lunch with exotic fruits and veggies and fun dip. Alexander’s food palette is improving and hopefully it continues to expand over the next year.

Note to email subscribers, this post includes an embedded video, please click through to view Alexander’s tip.

Earlier this week, my daughter was standing on my bed trying to fix a blanket (to watch a movie) and ended up getting her thumb hit by the ceiling fan (which was on high speed). After a trip to the urgent care, we confirmed that there was nothing broken and she only had a sprain. Since then, Alex has been discussing ceiling fans with me. This morning I asked him what he wanted to do for the Green Tip of the Week and he chose to highlight the importance of turning off fans when you leave a room.

Enjoy!

After a one week hiatus, Alexander is back with his Green Tip of the Week. We had fun recording this one and after eight takes, he finally made it through without laughing. I am going to be editing the other eight takes into an Alexander’s Green Tip of the Week blooper video, hopefully in time for next week’s tip. Summer is around the corner and Alexander is always brainstorming new ideas. If you’re a kid, like Alex, he’d love to hear what your favorite green tips are.

This week, Alexander explains that using reusable bags is an easy way to go green.

Welcome to the second edition of “Alexander’s Green Tip of the Week” – last week, Alexander discussed the benefits of natural light. This week, he focuses on driving habits. It warmed my heart to hear him say “greenhouse gas emissions.” We recorded the video earlier this week after discussing tailpipe emissions. I also blog about hybrid cars (for another site) and so he hears me discuss them option.

I do have to point out that yes, that is a crossover vehicle that he’s standing in front of. It is a 2005 model and keeping that and reducing our driving has a smaller carbon footprint than buying a whole new vehicle. However, when it comes time to replace the ole crossover, we will definitely be looking at a plug-in hybrid (as they will be available on a large volume basis by the time we are ready to buy a new vehicle).

I hope you enjoy this week’s addition and as Alexander says, “Join me next week.”