National Skip the Straw Day - post

What Is National Skip the Straw Day?

Think Globally, Act Locally

Use Skip the Straw Day to encourage environmental awareness, responsible reuse, and sustainability in early learning.

Early Childhood Education Buy Now $99.00$84.00 and Beautiful Junk: Using Recycled Materials in the Classroom Buy Now $16.00 can help educators plan engaging learning experiences about sustainability and reuse; confirm whether any training fits your professional-development needs. (National Day Calendar) In 2017, a group of teenage activists called the Coral Keepers established National Skip the Straw Day to recur every fourth Friday in February. The article’s historical account says that high school students from Whitehall, Michigan, established the day to raise awareness about plastic waste and alternatives to disposable straws. Click for full article...

Why Do People Choose to Skip the Straw?

Think Twice Before Your Next Sip and Skip the Straw

The Forest Preserve District of Will County encourages people to think twice before using a disposable straw when one is not needed. Educators who want to build broader environmental learning into their practice may also explore Roots & Resilience: Understanding What Shapes a Child Buy Now $55.00; verify its relevance to your own professional-development goals.

National Skip the Straw Day, an event held the fourth Friday of every February to raise awareness about how many straws end up as litter and how these straws ultimately affect our environment. 

Plastic straws have become the new plastic bags, the focus of laws and mandates to regulate and — ultimately — eliminate or greatly reduce their use. In July 2018, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to ban plastic straws, but others laws have followed suit. Click for full article...

How Can Child Care Programs Mark the Day?

Use the day as a starting point for observation and problem-solving, not as a lecture or a demand that every child avoid a straw. First, invite children to notice what happens at snack or lunch: Which items are reusable, recyclable, or disposable? Use picture cards or clean examples to sort materials, and let children explain their choices. Connect the conversation to familiar classroom routines, such as using washable cups when appropriate and putting waste in the correct bins.

Offer a short, hands-on investigation. With adult supervision, compare a clean reusable cup, a disposable cup, and a straw; ask children what each item is used for and what might happen after it is thrown away. Use simple, accurate language and avoid frightening descriptions of injured wildlife. For infants and toddlers, keep the activity sensory and brief, using safe, large objects that cannot become choking hazards. For preschoolers, invite predictions, sorting, drawing, and a class chart of ways to reduce waste.

Make the activity inclusive and practical. Some children may need a straw or a specific cup to drink safely or comfortably; never withhold an assistive or medically necessary item to meet a waste-reduction goal. Ask families about relevant needs, follow program food and safety procedures, and choose reusable materials that can be cleaned and sanitized according to your setting’s practices.

What Everyday Steps Can Reduce Single-Use Plastic?

When choosing alternatives, evaluate the full routine rather than assuming that a reusable item is automatically the best fit. Consider how often it will be used, whether staff can clean it safely, and whether the program has the time and facilities to maintain it. For disposable supplies that remain necessary, review product instructions and local waste guidance before making environmental claims. A brief staff discussion can identify practical barriers, such as family preferences, accessibility needs, storage, or sanitation capacity, before a change is introduced.

Start with a small audit of the waste your program actually produces. Over several days, staff can note common disposable items and identify one change that is safe, affordable, and manageable. Consider asking families to decline straws when they are not needed, choosing reusable service items where permitted, and purchasing only the disposable supplies the program requires. Check local waste guidance before labeling an item recyclable or compostable; disposal options vary by community, and products marketed as biodegradable may require particular conditions.

Invite children to contribute without making them responsible for solving an adult or community-wide problem. Rotate classroom helper roles, such as reminding peers where reusable cups belong or helping sort clean materials for a supervised art activity. Revisit the change after a week: Did it work for children and staff? Did it create a new cleaning, accessibility, or cost concern? Adjust the plan based on what the group observes.

How Can Educators Extend Sustainability Learning?

Connect activities to #learning, #reuse, #stewardship, #sustainability, and #accessibility through observation, discussion, and play.

Connect the straw discussion to broader learning goals. Children can count and compare classroom materials, use reused packaging for construction, dictate a class message about caring for shared spaces, or observe litter during a supervised walk without handling it. These experiences can support language, early mathematics, inquiry, and cooperative problem-solving while keeping environmental learning concrete. For additional ideas, see how child care programs can teach sustainability to young children, explore ways to help young children care for the environment, and try simple sorting activities that build sustainable habits.

Programs can also connect this activity to everyday operational choices. Learn more about practical sustainability practices in early childhood programs, using recycled materials in learning centers, and reducing food waste in a child care program. Choose only materials that are clean, safe for the age group, and suitable for the planned activity.

How Can Programs Keep the Lesson Accurate and Inclusive?

Present Skip the Straw Day as an awareness opportunity rather than a licensing requirement. The draft names Michigan, but no Michigan childcare regulation is established here as applying to straw use or this activity. Before describing any legal obligation, check the current Michigan licensing rules and confirm that a rule specifically covers the practice being discussed. Likewise, do not characterize a product as biodegradable, recyclable, or environmentally preferable without reliable evidence and local disposal context.

Keep the focus on choices children can understand: using what they need, caring for shared materials, and noticing how everyday decisions affect the environment. Adapt participation for developmental level, disability, sensory preferences, and family practices. A successful activity gives children room to ask questions and make observations while adults remain responsible for health, safety, access, and purchasing decisions.

What Is the Takeaway from National Skip the Straw Day?

National Skip the Straw Day can prompt a useful classroom conversation about single-use materials, but its value comes from thoughtful, ongoing practice. Choose one safe and realistic reduction step, involve children through observation and play, and review the results with families and staff. Keep access and individual needs central, check local disposal guidance, and verify any claimed state requirement with the appropriate agency before presenting it as mandatory. Small, consistent choices can help children connect classroom routines with care for their community.

For more ideas, read about Earth Day activities for early childhood programs.