Got little ones? Trying to raise them green? Then you might consider adding Sesame Street’s new DVD, Being Green to your eco-teaching arsenal. Being Green stars ultra-cute actor Paul Rudd as Mr. Earth, who teaches Elmo and Abby Cadabby how to be environmentally conscious by recycling, re-using, and conserving water and energy.  In her desire to help Elmo to be more “green,” Abby accidentally turns Elmo the color GREEN and can’t remember how to change him back!  Fun and hilarity ensue and Abby eventually turns Elmo red again and Cookie Monster, Rosita, and Telly Monster pitch in, pledging to be eco-friendly because they LOVE the earth! As a special bonus feature, Being Green also contains 16 pages of downloadable activities and story sheets to extend the learning at home. In addition, Being Green is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled cardstock and is printed with soy-based ink and uses reduced-plastic as compared to other DVD cases. Once your kids have watched it eleventeen thousand times and have the being green thing down pat, pass it on to some other kids and keep the message going. We’re going to help five lucky readers get started by giving away five copies of Sesame Street’s Going Green. See details below!

Find It Here: Being Green

Win It: We’re giving away five copies of Going Green. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter GG6 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: As Mr. Earth, what does Paul Rudd wear in Being Green? Enter by 6/6/09. $16 value. Open to residents of US. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to our five winners!

If you’ve been reading the news for the past couple years, you probably already know that research has proven that plastics are a problem, particularly when it comes to food/drink storage and cooking. Many companies are now starting to phase out certain chemicals in their plastic products that have been proven unsafe for humans and for especially children but, at the same time, many companies are doing business as usual and that’s a problem. Since we don’t always know what’s in the plastics we use or which companies are doing right by consumers, we’re of the opinion that it’s best to just avoid them whenever possible. Fortunately, there are companies like Noplastic.ca that have amassed all kinds of great products to fill many of your non-plastic needs and we’ve partnered with them to give away to one lucky randomly selected winner a 12 oz stainless steel bottle with a sippy adapter and Avent sippy spout.

Find It Here: Noplastic.ca

Win It: We’re giving away a 12 oz stainless steel bottle with a sippy adapter and Avent sippy spout. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter NPL5 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are the six categories of non-plastic items carried by Noplastic.ca? Enter by 6/2/09. $19 value. Open to residents of US and Canada. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to Monica!

I know…I’m, like, the LAST person on the internet to gush over the coolness of the Color Me Houses and Color Me Rockets but I don’t care because I think these playhouses made from recyclable cardboard are super awesometastic. Why? Well, mainly because you can play INSIDE them and we all know how much kids like stuff they can get inside. And? They can color, paint and marker them them any dang way they want to, as well. The word on the street is that kids TOTALLY DIG these award-winning, imagination-stimulating and creative play-inducing toys. As a parent, I dig that they take no batteries, use no electricity and contain zero plastic. The only thing that would up the DIG factor for me is if they were made of recycled cardboard and who knows, maybe someday they will. Nonetheless, I’m pretty sure a very special soon-to-be 4 year old will be getting the Color Me Rocket for his birthday next month. Don’t tell!

 Find It Here: Color Me House

We’ve mentioned this in the past but it bears repeating…even stuffed animals, which look so cute and harmless, can be toxic. Naturally, I find the idea of my children snuggling up to poison very disturbing but luckily non-toxic and eco-friendly plush toys are out there. and right now I’m quite taken with the Eco Stuffed Naturally Bunnies from Celery Street. Extremely soft and totally huggable, they’re made and filled with an eco-friendly alternative to traditional synthetics that is made from 100% soy fiber and the stuffing is 100% kapok, a golden silky fiber known for its hypoallergenic softness.  Additionally, kapok is a sustainable rainforest crop that comes from the seed pod of the kapok tree. Green and yet affordable, these adorable bunnies would look perfect in the center of an Easter basket but little ones (and their moms) will love them long after the Peeps tummyaches are but a distant memory.

Find it Here: Celery Street

Win It: We’re giving away two Eco Stuffed Naturally Bunnies. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter CS4 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are the names of the three colors of Eco Stuffed Naturally Bunnies? Enter by 4/11/09. $30 value. Contest closed. Congrats to A.

Plastic baggies…we know they’re convenient for packing lunches because, well, we’ve used them. I mean who hasn’t, right?  There’s just one problem…they aren’t recyclable. The end result is that every day of the 180 day school year, millions of plastic baggies are thrown away and will live on for hundreds of years in a landfill. But it doesn’t HAVE to be that way. There  are lots of reusable options available for packing waste-free lunches and one that we especially like are Fresh Snack Packs. I like them because you can see what’s inside them but equally awesome is the fact that they’re phthalates, PVC and BPA and lead free. Oh, and did I mention they’re reusable? Yeah, they are and we think they’re so groovy green that we’re giving away a couple sets of Fresh Snack Packs to one lucky winner!

Find It Here:  Fresh Snack Pack

Win It:  We’re giving away two sets of Fresh Snack Packs (4 snack and 2 sandwich packs) to one winner. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter FSP3 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Fresh Snack Packs are made of what material? Enter by 3/25/09. $29 value. Contest closed. Congrats to Tammy!

When heading to the park, a walk, or long car ride a snack becomes a necessity in my world. Sometimes, I even share them with my 3 yr old (ha!) which is why I like to make sure, if I am not packing homemade treats, that I buy quality organic and natural snacks.  Thank goodness companies are hearing the cry for wholesome snacks that are not loaded with high fructose corn syrup and other artificial additives I can hardly pronounce. Here is a rundown of a few sure-to-satisfy goodies.

If you prefer a little crunch and salt in your snack, then Happy Herbert’s offers over 30 fun-to-eat snacks. Happy Herbert’s Organic Spelt Mini Pretzels are a crunchy and tasty alternative to conventional modern wheat pretzels.

Find It Here: Happy Herbert’s

Or maybe you are the fruit and veggie type person? That’s cool and lucky you, Sensible Foods offers a line of Crunch Dried snacks. Each bag is fat free, 100% natural, gluten and GMO free and nothing but fruit or veggie. Choose from flavors such as 100% Organic Sweet Corn, Cherry Berry, or Apple Harvest. Don’t be surprised if your kids mistake them for candy instead of something healthy. We won’t tell if you wont!

Find It Here: Sensible Foods

Finally, I know there are parents out there saying, “Hey, my kid is allergic to peanuts. What about us?”  Well, a mother in 2005 started a company for that very reason.  Nonuttin’ Foods is a family-run business producing 100% peanut-free snacks, including granola bars. Nonuttin’ Foods maintains very high standards for making sure their products do not come in contact with anything nut-related which means parents of peanut-allergic kids can dole them out, worry free!  As an added bonus, all three of the aforementioned companies are involved with giving back to the community and providing an environmentally-friendly workplace. Happy snacking!

Find It Here: Nonuttin’ Foods

Drinking on the go just became the “funnest” activity for my son. But then again, how could drinking from a flip-top, stainless steel Spiderman canteen with a pop-up straw NOT be fun for a little kid? His eyes practically jumped out of his head with excitement when he saw it for the first time and he hasn’t let go of it since. *I* love the fact that it’s stainless steel inside and out and free of BPA, PVC and phthalates. Add to that the fact that it’s virtually spill-proof and super easy to clean and you’ve got a winner in my book. If Spiderman’s not your thing, you can get these FUNtainer Straw Bottles (with matching insulated and equally fun! food jars)  in a bunch of different styles for boys and girls, such as princess and Cars patterns. The straw bottles keep contents cold for 12 hours; the food jar keeps food cold for 7 hours or hot for 5 hours. Both will keep kids having fun for a long, long time.

Find It Here: The Soft Landing

Deal! Receive 10% off at The Soft Landing with code “GMF109″. Expires 2/28/09.

NOTE: The straw for the Funtainer includes a small piece attached from the outside of the bottle, which can be a choking hazard for young children. If you’re shopping for a child 3 or under, please choose another product.

It’s raining outside and your kids are complaining that they’re bored. Again. They want to go outside and splash around in rain puddles. Fun? Sure. For them. But this morning you’d really rather stay inside, dry, and enjoy your coffee. That’s when you pull out your surprise stash of Happy Fun Dough and everyone is, well, happy! Happy Fun Dough is made using water, flour, salt, cream of tartar, canola oil, and citric acid. All-natural plant extracts are used to color the fun dough. And yeah, you could make it yourself, but just this once it might be nice to let someone else do the work!

Find It Here: For My Kids

Win It: We’re giving away a $38 Super Mega Fun Pack of Happy Fun Dough which contains one 4-oz tin of each of the colors (Natural, Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Yellow) in a reusable cotton drawstring bag with a super-cute little rolling pin. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter “FD45” as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Is there a gluten-free option for Happy Fun Dough? Open to US residents only. Enter by 12/22/08. Contest closed. Congrats, Donna K.!

He sleeps with it, he eats with it, he wishes he could take a bath with it. “It” is my son’s new Eco-Rocket—a toy so exciting that he has been playing with it for two days straight! It’s not often that I find a toy that my three-year-old still wants to play with 20 minutes after opening the box. I love it because it lights up and speaks to you — all without batteries. Yeah, this toy may look and sound electronic, but it’s actually eco-tronic! Just crank the little side-lever a couple times and it powers itself. Made of recycled non-PVC plastic, this little Eco-Rocket is now my go-to-gift for all the little astronauts in my life. I guess it’s safe to say we think the Eco-Rocket is out of this world!

Find It Here: Green Party Goods

Deal! Receive 15% off Green Toys and Gifts from Green Party Goods. Use code “save15″ at checkout. Expires 1/18/09.

The pitter-patter of little feet just got prettier thanks to a line of children’s shoes designed to be as fun as they are earth-friendly. Made of premium leather remnants, Pedoodles eco-friendly children’s shoes are safety tested to be free of harmful toxins like lead, arsenic and mercury and the soles are made of recycled rubber. Not every style of Pedoodles are groovy green so be sure to look for the ECO-friendly symbol to be sure. And don’t worry - there are lots of different styles to choose from in both their walking line (8 months to 2 years) and their running line (2-4 years). They’re so incredibly cute that the hardest part will be deciding which ones NOT to get!

Find It Here: Pedoodles

We’re tipping our hat to SafeMama today for finding one of the coolest, non-cartoony yet totally fun lunchbox lines for children that we’ve seen. The lunchboxes are PVC and phthalate free with lead-free linings and meet U.S. and European Consumer Product Safety Standards. Now that we got all the important safety stuff out of the way, we can gush about the bright colors and fun designs on these babies. The girls of the world box is my fave for girls, while boys will probably have trouble deciding between dump trucks and dinosaurs. And that’s just for starters. With more than 15 styles available, your child should have no problem finding one she or he will love. And for mom? You’ll feel good knowing that your child’s lunch is going to be free of icky chemicals. All that for under 20 bucks. This might just be the best back-to-school deal around!

Find It Here: Crocodile Creek

According to my son, bathtime is waaaay more fun when bubbles are involved. Unfortunately, I banned the bubbles for a long time because I was having a hard time finding a bubble bath that didn’t contain toxic ingredients. Then I stumbled upon Little Twig. Little Twig is this really fun line of children’s bath products that includes a bubble bath line without synthetic fragrances and artificial colors, which by the way, is totally hard to believe when you smell their Tangerine Bubble Bath. The scent is so yummy and fruity that is just doesn’t seem possible that it could not contain phthalates. But no! As confirmed with the company, none of their bubble bath products contain phthalates, parabens or sulfates. And for those with allergies, the Little Twig Extra Mild Unscented formula is also wheat, soy and nut free. And before you worry too much about the plastic bottle it comes in, Little Twig bottles are totally recyclable. They also donate a portion of their proceeds to the Everychild Foundation. But the best news for my kids is that bathtime is fun again thanks to Little Twig!

Find It Here: Cocotier Kids

Win It! We’re giving away a Little Twig Gentle Care Gift Pack worth $40! The pack includes unscented bubble bath, body milk, body wash and a ladybug washcloth. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter “CK21” as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What is your favorite Little Twig product available from Cocotier Kids? U.S. and Canadian residents eligible. Enter by 8/14/08. Contest closed. Congrats, Lily K!