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Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day With Family
Youth often catch ideas on how to commit to caring for our Earth. Adults can teach the importance of reduce, reuse and recycle, but we must to model daily. What better way to help your children foster an empathetic relationship with our planet than by celebrating Earth Day together with some fun activities! These activities will help get our youth back outside enjoying nature and help foster conversation about why it’s important to take care of our planet long after Earth Day is over!
Enjoy these fun activities provided by PBS Kids!
- Make your own paper. It’s surprisingly easy to give “trash” a new life! Making homemade paper provides hands-on examples of how we can help save the environment, one tree at a time.
- Craft a cloth bag. Invite your child to make a reusable cloth bag out of an old t-shirt for your next shopping trip.
- Plant a terrarium. A terrarium is a micro-environment: moisture evaporates, then condensates and falls back down (just like rain) in an enclosed glass container.
- Feed the birds. With common household items, you can help your child create a bird feeder that birds will be chirping about! While you’re crafting, ask your child to describe different birds that they’ve seen in your neighborhood. What color are the birds? What sorts of chirping sounds they make.
- Get composting! What happens to a pile of old leaves outside when you add a dash of time, maybe some worms, and a healthy splash of moisture? Celebrate Earth Day by making soil perfect for a garden.
- Create a nature journal. An animal observation journal is a great way to keep a record of the amazing animals you observe where you live and for sharing those observations with others.
- Ready, set, grow. Learn about the basics of botany and plant growth by growing a simple herb garden with your child. Then, browse through these seed-filled reads and explore the outdoors through books.
- Print a field guide. Identify insects in your neighborhood and then create a field guide with this activity from Elinor Wonders Why.
- Visit National Parks from home. You don’t have to leave your living room to explore the National Parks! Read about how the Everglades were formed, meet a young woman who survived the Alamo, and visit with a mail carrier who takes mail and more to his village in the Grand Canyon.
- Try your hand at nature bingo! Encourage your child to embrace their curiosity by creating a nature bingo game to take outside to practice observing and exploring together.
- Take a closer look. You can make a DIY magnifying glass with a plastic bottle!
- Embark on an adventure. Here are seven simple tricks that turn a family nature walk into an enjoyable adventure for everyone.
- Play with puzzles. Complete a puzzle to explore parts of plants. Ask questions like, What parts does a plant have? What parts does a tree have?
- Throw an eco-friendly party. By making more environmentally friendly choices, you can keep the earth green — and save a little green in your wallet, too!
- Learn about ecosystems by planting a seed. Seeds simply need three things to grow: light, food and water. In a small pot or plastic cup, help your child plant a few grass, bean, or flower seeds.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of A Second Chance, Inc.