by Rachel Wells
Every year on April 22nd, people come together to celebrate Earth Day. Earth Day was first held in 1970, and is now celebrated globally. It’s a perfect time to talk to kids about how they can take care of our environment, and learn about the 3R’s – reducing, reusing, and recycling.
With so many Earth Day projects, experiments, and activities, it’s easy to inspire your child to take action and celebrate our beautiful planet.
Check out this video to learn a little more about the history of Earth Day:
Then check out these fun and easy ideas to celebrate Earth Day below:
Connect with Nature
One of the best ways to celebrate Earth Day is by getting outside and exploring nature! Spend the day taking a walk through a local park where you can birdwatch, check for signs of spring, observe wildlife, or check out the uniqueness of the natural habitats in your area.
Go on a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are super fun, and bring an extra engaging element to time spent outdoors. Some fun Earth Day scavenger hunt items may include:
- A yellow flower
- Trees with buds
- A ladybug
- A black rock
- A white rock
- A pink flower
- A cloud that looks like an animal
- A worm
- A spider web
- A mushroom
- An animal
- A pinecone
- An ant
- A bird
- A house with solar panels
- The recycling symbol
- Something you can be recycled
Make Birdfeeders
You can make simple birdfeeders using craft pipe cleaners and Cheerios cereal. Simply have your child string Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner, and twist the ends together to make a circle that can be hung from any tree or branch.
Plant a Garden
Head outside and help your child plant a small food or flower garden of their own. If it isn’t warm enough where you live to start an outdoor garden, start some seedlings in plastic cups indoors that you can move outside when the weather warms up.
Take an Earth Day Pledge
Take a pledge together stating ways you can all help take care of the earth. Your family pledge may include planting trees, turning off lights that don’t need to be on, using cloth grocery bags, making your own cleaning products, reducing, reusing, recycling, and/or spending more time outdoors instead of with electronics. Be sure to take time to talk about how your family will work on these goals together!
Visit National Parks Virtually
Celebrate the natural beauty of our country by visiting National parks virtually from the comfort of your own home.
And you check out some amazing animals that roam the earth on a virtual field trip to the San Diego Zoo.
Create with Recycled Materials
Give your child a variety of recyclable materials and see what they can create. A robot? A musical instrument? You barely have to prep for this activity and the possibilities are endless!
Make a Fairy Garden
Use a small flower pot to plant and decorate a fairy garden. Plant local flowers that attract butterflies to make it even more magical!
Salt Dough Earth Craft
All you need is 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water. Mix all the ingredients together until they form a dough consistency similar to Play Doh. Roll the dough flat and cut out circle shapes. Place the cut outs on a baking sheet, and place them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. The baking time varies depending on how thick your pieces are, so keep an eye on the oven to ensure they don’t burn. Once the circles have cooled, use acrylic paint to decorate them to look like the earth.
Make a Nature Lion
Grab a piece of cardboard, draw a face, poke a circle of holes around the face, and head outside. Have your child collect fallen leaves and petals and stick them into each of the holes to create the lion’s mane. What a cute way learn about recycling, and to enjoy the beauty of nature together!
