Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Earth Day is on April 22^nd each year – every year. This year, it happens to fall on a Saturday. Which makes a perfect opportunity to show those beautiful kiddos of ours the beauty and importance of Earth, and help them to develop an understanding of why Earth Day is so important. Earth Day always has a central theme, signifying a new focus on a particular environmental concern. The 2023 theme is ‘Invest in Our Planet’. This theme is designed to persuade businesses, governments, and citizens around the world of the need to invest in our planet to improve our environment and give our descendants a better and safer future.

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Just in case you are not really sure what types of things you can do with your kids. Or, that your kids would enjoy doing – I’ve put together a list of a couple of super super easy activities that can be done with the kids to celebrate the day:

Earth Day Activities

1. Learn About Nature with A Nature Scavenger Hunt

Make a list of things found in nature around your home, neighborhood, or local park. Next, go out for a walk or hike with the family and see how many items you can find. Be friendly to the environment and don’t use paper to write your list down. Or, you could make it on a reusable writing board. We love this boogie board scribble and play LCD writer for things like this! 

2. Cleaning Up The Environment Starts Near Home! Do a Neighborhood Cleanup.

Improve your environment by taking a walk around your neighborhood and cleaning up all the trash you can. Make it a contest to see who can fill their trash bags first. I have 2 four-year-olds. See, everything is a contest with them. They absolutely love doing things like this! You can also keep some of the items you find. Like bottles, cardboard, and beads as inspiration for our future art projects. Just make sure you wear gloves. Also, wash/sanitize anything that you intend to keep. Before letting the littles play with them.

3. A Healthy Meal For The Birds With This Easy Bird Feeder.

Making bird feeders is good for your local ecosystem in so many ways. Seed-eating birds leave seeds behind in their droppings and this helps disperse plants to new places, which helps rejuvenate ecosystems that have been damaged.

You can make bird feeders out of so, so many things. One quick Google search will give you endless DIY how-to articles. Here is a good one on how to make a bird feeder out of toilet paper rolls. I’m sure everyone has one or two of those around the house and you might even find one when you’re out cleaning up your neighborhood.

If your kiddos enjoy this little craft, be sure to check out this recipe on how to make a muffin bird feeder. See, It is just so cute. It is fun for those kids that like to help in the kitchen.

4. Help The Bee Population By Planting Flowers This Earth Day!

Many people fear bees. A lot of people now know we would be lost without them. Bees drink the sweet nectar from the flowers, they get covered in sticky pollen. Bees are responsible for pollinating the plants that produce many of the fruits and vegetables we eat.

You can help to provide food and shelter for these vital insects by installing bee-friendly herbs and plants in your garden which include lavender, allium, cotoneaster, foxglove, hollyhock, lupin, lambs ears, geraniums, oregano and wisteria.

Allium flowers are beautiful and easy to grow with little concern for soil conditions. They will even repel insect pests.  One option to get them is from K. van Bourgondien’s selection of Allium bulbs for sale.

DIY Earth Day Magnifying Glass. 

You can make a DIY magnifying glass with a plastic bottle! Give your kids a reason to get outside and help your budding scientist get a closer look at the world around them with this fun activity from PBS Kids. Remind your kids about Eleanor. When she finds something interesting. How she likes to get a closer look. Now, Grab that LCD writer and make notes on what you see, then compare. (Check Out More Activities to Do with Your Kids From PBS Kids Here.)

Materials You Need:

Directions

1. Take the empty bottle and draw a circle on a curved edge.

2. Using scissors, cut out the circle drawn on the bottle. 

3. Carefully, smooth sharp points with your scissors.

4. You should now have something that resembles a shallow bowl.

5. Now, hold the shallow bowl you have made and fill it with water.

6. It’s time to check out some items! Hold your magnifying glass over one of your objects, being super careful not to spill anything. Ask your kiddo questions about how the object looks different with the magnifying glass. You can ask things like, “Do any patterns or textures stand out that you didn’t see without the magnifying glass?” Record your observations together on the chart.

7. Have your child think of different tools that can help us to see things better. Show your child examples. Such as eyeglasses, binoculars, or magnifying mirrors. Ask your child questions to get those wheels turning like, “What kind of things do you notice about the tools? What kind of features do they have? Flat or Curved? Can you name some differences? Can you name anything that is the same?”

8. Pick out the items your child wants to observe. Talk about what each item is and what part it plays in our ecosystem. Have your kiddo look at them without using the magnifying glass. Then, write down what you see. For smaller children draw pictures of what they see.

7. Next, Compare what you observed. Ask your child, “How are the observations about the objects similar and different with and without the magnifying glass? Did your magnifying glass help you learn more about the objects?” Continue the fun by getting a closer look at all the different items you gathered in the beginning.

Summary

No matter if you do just one or all of these activities, there is always a benefit to unplugging, being outside, breathing in the fresh air, and helping your children learn about the world around them. They will have a blast spending time with you. The Earth is the only home we have and it’s up to us to teach our children how to take care of it. And they can live their best lives possible. Have a happy Earth Day!

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