It’s no secret that my kids love the holidays. Whether we’re talking about Easter or Christmas, they’re always more than happy to participate. But when I brought up celebrating Earth Day. The excitement wasn’t the same. So I went to work to figure out how to make it interesting enough for them to want to celebrate a day we are focused on celebrating environmental protection and an eco-friendly lifestyle.
With that said, I believe that you can get them excited if you jazz it up with some Earth Day activities, and as long as you have the right approach. And if you’re not sure how to do that, keep reading, and you’ll find out!
What Is Earth Day?
Let me start by making sure you know what Earth Day is. As its name implies, Earth Day celebrates our planet and environmental protection, encouraging everyone to incorporate eco-friendly practices in their lives. This annual event started on 22nd April 1970, when environmentalists decided to publicly raise their concerns. As it turned out, the interest in this topic was massive, and 20 million Americans took to the streets to protest against destroying the planet.
And it seems that their voices were heard. By the end of 1970, Congress passed several new environmental laws, the first of their kind in the US. Also, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was formed to ensure that these laws are actually enforced.
This initial success of Earth Day prompted environmentalists to keep celebrating it every 22nd of April from then on. Nowadays, the topic of environmental protection is hotter than ever, so Earth Day has the potential to become even more impactful. If nothing else, it can certainly serve to raise awareness of pollution, global warming, and the excessive use of plastic. The more conversations we have about the environment, the better.
How to Involve Your Children
Obviously, environmental protection is a complex topic that requires extensive knowledge and research. Still, that doesn’t mean only adults can understand and discuss it. On the contrary, with the right approach getting our kids involved is vital, for the next generations. The earlier they start, the more likely they are to adopt good habits and an eco-friendly lifestyle.
I know my kids would never be interested if I sat them down with a long and dull lecture about the environment. In fact, it is more likely to be counterproductive and cause them to lose all interest. So to make it interesting you have to make the lessons and activities fun.
Now you may not know what activities could be fun or how to come up with them. Don’t worry I got you covered. Here are a few excellent Earth Day activities every child will enjoy!
Get Them to Plant Seeds
There’s hardly a better way to teach your kids responsibility toward nature than getting them involved in gardening. You can start a garden at home on your own or buy a kit with everything you need to start a garden. Take simple vegetable seeds — for example, maize or beans — and let your kids place them in soil. Then, they can water the seeds and observe them every day, taking note of the progress.
For some extra fun, ask your kids to draw the sprouts at different stages of their growth. If each child has their own plant, they can even give it a name! Write the names on popsicle sticks and put them next to the sprouts. That way, the whole experience will become even more personal for your kids!
Make an Earth Day Collage Together
You can never go wrong with DIY activities such as making collages or drawings. Kids absolutely love anything that allows them to express their creativity, and with some direction, they can make amazing things. So grab some paper, scissors, cardboard, and glue, and get started!
Before you let them unleash their creative energies, make sure they understand the task. For instance, you can tell them that Earth’s birthday is coming soon and you want to make a present to celebrate it. Then, ask them to share their ideas on the kind of collage you could make.
As they do this activity, children will learn more about Earth Day and the importance of celebrating our planet. But of course, don’t expect them to do some extensive research — you need to be there to educate them and answer their questions!
Earth Day Inspired Picture
Learn how to make an Earth Day inspired picture. This is a great craft that can be done while teaching your children a little more about Earth Day.
Make DIY Reusable Gift Wrap
An eco-friendly lifestyle promotes using reusable or recyclable products whenever possible. That includes shopping bags or totes, glass or stainless steel water bottles, and items with minimal packaging. In fact, the most dedicated environmentalists avoid gift-wrapping altogether — after all, this practice is quite wasteful.
But sometimes, you might want to nicely wrap up a gift regardless. Somehow, it feels more special than if you were to just hand over a present without wrapping. So, is there a way to both wrap your gifts and be eco-friendly? Luckily, there is — just use reusable gift wrap.
Reusable gift wrap can be bought in stores, but you can easily make it on your own. In fact, it’s simple enough that children can do it too, so if you’re looking for an Earth Day activity, there’s your answer!
All you need is white or single-colored fabric, paint, and brushes. Explain the purpose of this task to the children and let them be as creative with the designs as they want to. Soon enough, you’ll have dozens of colorful reusable gift wraps!
Once everyone’s done, you can ask the children to wrap presents for each other and exchange them. They are sure to love this part, and you can show them how easy it is to reuse the same gift wrap whenever they need it!
Earth Day Book Ideas
I know my kids love learning about things through books. Here are 3 of my favorite books related to Earth Day that your kids will love too!
Outdoor Activity Printables
Use some of these activities to get your kids outside exploring nature while teaching them about Earth Day and the importance of being eco-friendly. Just click images to go to our shop page.
In Conclusion
The conversation about our environment and climate change has never been more relevant than now. For that same reason, we can’t ignore Earth Day this year or any year that’s to come. And since we’re celebrating it, why not include our kids too? After all, they’ll inherit the planet with all its environmental problems, so we should instill in them a sense of responsibility as early as we can.
