5 Fun Earth Day Activities for
Kids to Help the Planet
Toddlers are naturally curious and inquisitive, which gives us a unique opportunity to start teaching them about their responsibility in caring for planet Earth.
Every year on April 22nd, Earth Day brings the world together to celebrate, and it’s the perfect time to educate kids about climate change and how they can work to protect our home with Earth Day activities for kids.
Fortunately, there are lots of spring crafts and activities we can use to inspire our little ones to care for the environment!
We’ve put together a list of Earth Day activities perfect for you and your family to explore how you can be better allies for the Earth.
So dust off those 3 R’s, reuse, recycle, reduce, and let’s get started!
1. Connect with nature
Wouldn't it be fun to take a walk through a local park? The first and best way to celebrate Earth Day is getting outside and exploring nature.
As they explore, kids can birdwatch and observe wildlife in natural habitats found throughout city parks and conservation areas.
There are countless ways to show kids how nature wakes up. In the spring, newly forming buds appear on trees. Birds chirp more often as the weather warms up. As they observe nature, kids just might develop a love for nature and our planet.
As you walk, be sure to remind students about the golden rule of nature exploring: “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.”
Speaking of which...
2. Organise an Earth Day scavenger hunt
While your little ones are exploring nature, have them catalogue what they find!
There are lots of ways to observe and record nature that don’t involve disturbing the environment or taking things out of it. Create a list of things for them to do and spot as they walk, including:
- Drawing pictures of flowers and plants
- Spotting birds (and identifying them if they can)
- Writing down or taking pictures of any wildlife they spot
- Collecting litter and recycling — with the proper equipment, of course
3. Build a vegetable garden with your family
Get back to basics by starting a vegetable garden with the entire family. Make family time feel more significant by showing kids how to grow and care for their vegetable gardens.
Like we mentioned above, it's important to stress creating "bee" gardens filled with lots of snacks for our favourite pollinators.
4. Clean up a science experiment
The words "science experiment" conjures up thoughts of cool and exciting things to try at school or with parents at home.
Involve your mad scientists in an oil spill and clean up experiment to enhance their awareness of environmental accidents.
What you need:
- Water
- Spoon
- Dish soap
- Cooking oil
- Paper towel
- Cotton balls
- Two tin pans
- Medicine dropper
Oil Spill and Clean-up Science Experiment:
- Fill the pan halfway with water.
- Squirt some oil in the water.
- Now comes the fun part! Experiment with ways to clean up the oil spill using cotton balls or trying to suck up the oil with a medicine dropper or paper towel.
- Drop dish soap on the oil to see how the two elements react. The soap helps the oil to break apart so that clean up becomes an easier task.
Students will gain a better sense of how oil spills poison marine life and birds.
5. Take an Earth Day pledge
Rainbow Ready for Adventure Rucksack
Since kids love to draw and doodle, put those talents to good use by creating an Earth Day pledge.
Make a list of the things kids would like to do to maintain the health of our environment:
- Plant trees
- Go paperless
- Turn off lights that don't need to be on
- Use cloth grocery bags instead of plastic ones
- Try shampoo bars instead of the bottled variety
- Make cleaning products using lemon and vinegar
- Stick to the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
- Lower your carbon footprint by reducing trash output
- Spend more time outside than playing video games indoors
- Use energy-efficient LED bulbs -- they last much longer than traditional bulbs
Or anything else you can think of!
Feed kids' imagination with a shortlist of ideas they can use today for their Earth Day pledge. Encourage them to come up with ways to minimise their carbon footprint, then write them down on a colourfully decorated paper.
Final thoughts: Earth Day activities for kids
There are lots of ways we can motivate kids into caring for our planet.
Earth Day activities teach kids how to reduce their carbon footprint, appreciate everything the earth gives us and take steps towards protecting the environment.
When we share information in a manner that is both fun and enlightening, it will inspire kids to do more to make our world a healthier place for future generations.
Page created using Blog & Page Builder by Reputon
