September marks the beginning of Intergenerational Month. During this time, people from varying age groups are encouraged to befriend, connect, and learn from each other.

This month, try electricity-free ways to connect with people from different generations. You’ll not only be forging new relationships but also helping the planet and cutting back on your electricity cost for the month.

Electricity-free activities

Use one or all of the following ideas for an unplugged Intergenerational Month that minimizes electricity cost and usage:

Write a letter

Slow down and take part in the lost art of letter writing. Exchange handwritten letters with someone from a different generation and forge a deeper connection than email or text could ever provide. Plus, who doesn’t love opening their mailbox and finding a note from someone special?

Play a board game

Memory©, Rummikub©, Checkers, Monopoly©, Trouble©, Chutes and Ladders©… the possibilities are endless, and so is the fun. A little friendly competition can create laughter, conversation, and a shared experience to reflect fondly on.

Take a walk

Go for a leisurely walk in nature and let the conversation energize you. In addition to promoting physical health, walking is a low-stress, low-pressure way to bond.

Make friends with a retiree

Making friends with a retiree is a great way to brighten a senior citizen’s day. If you listen carefully and ask questions, you’ll learn something new — and leave with a smile.

Share memories

Take turns describing meaningful memories from your past. Sharing stories can bridge generational gaps, reveal fascinating insights, and fuel interesting conversations.

Take a class together

Look for a mutually enjoyable class at your local community college, YMCA, or library. Experiencing a new subject together can help you connect and spark new interests.

Paint, draw, or color

If a formal class isn’t your cup of tea, get artistic through painting, drawing, or coloring together. These self-expression activities can help you relax, forget about your problems, and let creativity reign.

Play 20 questions

Get a conversation flowing by taking turns asking each other 20 questions about the other one’s life, interests, and preferences. You may learn you have more in common than you think. And the electricity cost for a good chat is $0.

Do a puzzle

Whether it’s a crossword, jigsaw, or other puzzle, solving something together will be entertaining and satisfying. It may also reveal surprising differences in how you approach and solve problems.

Read aloud

Take turns reading out loud from a new book (or old favorite). This activity is great because you’ll spend hours of cozy, quality time together during your reading sessions.

Have a dance party

Music is universal, so grab your battery-operated device and turn on music from both participants’ generations and boogey down. Dancing together to the oldies, punk rock, 90’s pop, and today’s hits is a joyful way to get together.

Garden

Planting, pruning, harvesting veggies, or even weeding in the garden can bring generations together in the Great Outdoors while producing something beautiful.

These are just a few of the many energy-free ways that people of all ages can get together during September’s Intergenerational Month — and all year! With some creativity and planning, we can all get back to connecting face-to-face without any electricity cost involved.

Compare power plans no matter your age

Anyone renting or owning a home, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers, must choose an electricity plan to power their abode. Search Everything Energy today for electricity rates in Texas and compare power plans to find the one that best meets your needs.

Commercial electricity rates can be a significant line item on a district’s budget. The nearly 100,000 public K-12 schools in the U.S. represent about 5% of commercial building energy consumption. These schools spend more than $8 billion annually on energy — yet up to 30% of school energy is wasted!

This means there’s room for energy-saving efforts, which can help save money. The savings could be allocated to more beneficial school resources or used to lessen residential school taxes.

With a new school year just around the corner for many Texas teachers and students, it’s the perfect time to think about ways to help the planet by saving energy in the classroom.

Back-to-school power tips

Here are some helpful tips for teachers and students to help save power in schools:

Explain the importance of energy conservation

Teachers can plant a seed in young minds for a brighter future by explaining, in an age-appropriate way, why it’s important to conserve resources like electricity. Students will start understanding the “why” behind energy-saving efforts instead of just seeing them as more tasks to complete.

Practice energy awareness

Once students know better why they should conserve electricity, everyone can have their energy radars on alert and look for ways to use less energy. Whether it’s turning off the lights while watching a video, upcycling materials (since it takes energy to create them) during arts and crafts, or sharing a classroom laptop with a classmate, being energy-aware will become automatic as the weeks go on.

Turn off electronics and lights when not in use

Speaking of electronic devices, turning them off after use will help save energy. Many classrooms have one device per student. Think of all the power that could be saved if the more than 75 million U.S. students made this a classroom habit.

While energy use varies from school to school, lighting is typically one of the top energy end uses. Turning off lights in bathrooms, unused classrooms, and during recess can make an impact.

Make a game of it

Fun lessons are lessons that stick, so make learning about saving energy enjoyable. Who will be on energy patrol in the classroom each day? How many ways can students brainstorm to be more energy efficient at school or home? Could the class earn a party after a month of their energy awareness efforts? Having students get creative and become part of the solution empowers them to see things differently than older generations.

Discuss energy across subjects

Energy is everywhere, from science and math to social studies and language arts. Why not incorporate energy conservation into lesson plans? Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling:

• Science: Build a solar oven or conduct an energy audit of the school
• Math: Graph the school’s energy usage over the last 12 months or calculate how much electricity a school appliance costs to operate using a watt meter
• Social studies: Compare energy usage in different countries or discuss how electricity usage has changed over time
• Language arts: Write a persuasive essay about the importance of using less electricity or create posters to hang around the school encouraging energy conservation

In addition to these tips, check out the thorough ENERGY STAR® Energy Efficiency Student Toolkit for more ideas and valuable information for students of all ages.

Energy providers that offer commercial electricity rates in Texas

Many retail electricity providers who supply homes across Texas with energy also offer commercial electricity rates for businesses, organizations and public schools. Trusted residential power providers like Direct Energy, Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy also provide power in schools and other large groups.

School districts can potentially save money by switching to a better commercial electricity rate from one of these providers, in addition to energy-saving efforts by teachers and students.

Streamline your home energy search

Check out Everything Energy’s powerful search tools to find the best electricity plan for your home and needs. You can easily filter, search and compare electricity plans and providers here.