This week my girl is learning more about Earth Day at school. She came home yesterday saying that if we turn the water off while brushing our teeth (something we already do), we can save 18 gallons of water. At least, I think that’s what she said, it’s hard to remember the exact number she gave me. I think it’s great that she learn more about little things we can do to help save resources and love that she’s so excited about what they’re learning.

In celebrating Earth Day and learning more about it, their teacher is doing a variety of activities with them this week, including reading The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. We also have a copy of the book here at home, thanks to Walmart and Seventh Generation, who have asked us to try out some of their products in an effort to spring clean like the Lorax. I admit that I don’t regularly use planet-conscious cleaning supplies, so I took this opportunity to do so and see how well they work.

But, besides the cleaning challenge, I thought this was more of a good opportunity to read The Lorax with my daughter and talk with her about the story’s message. Something they’ve been doing in class recently is discuss the meaning behind books they read and explore why the author wrote the story. After reading The Lorax with my baby girl, I asked her just that – “Why do you think Dr. Seuss wrote this book?” Her response: “So people would care more about trees and not chop them down so much.”

We discussed further and thought of things we can do to help the planet more, like making sure we turn off lights and electronics when not in use or reusing jeans if clean and only worn once. These are simple things, but they are things she can easily do and feel proud of, much like using friendlier cleaning products.

Using the Seventh Generation products was much like using any other product. I haven’t tried them all just yet, but did get a chance to use the dish-washing liquid and disinfecting wipes. In fact, baby girl liked the lavender/mint scent of the dish liquid.

Have you read The Lorax with your children? Do you believe they get the message of the book? What about Seventh Generation products – have you ever used them?

Disclosure: As a member of the Walmart Moms program, ModernMami™.com was compensated for this post. As always, all opinions, ideas, and stories are our own.