Spring has finally arrived, winter has left us and with that comes a new appreciation for nature and all its beauty. Earth Day is a day that was created to celebrate and promote awareness for the environment. It occurs every year on April 22 and is celebrated worldwide. It’s an important time to teach our children about protecting their Mother Earth and showing appreciation for the ecosystem. Engage your children to take part and celebrate this special day as a family. Being a mom of two children under the age of 5, I thought of some easy ways to celebrate Earth Day with them. Keep it simple and have fun!
Here are some ideas I plan to do with my children:
Plant a small garden – Get some small clay pots to paint and decorate together. Add soil and seeds and place them near a window seal so you and your children can watch them grow. Show your kids how to care for the seeds and water them daily. They will love to see how their care
Pick up garbage in your neighbourhood park – You can buy fun robot claw toys from Toys R Us or Mastermind Toys that your young children can use to help pick up garbage around their community park and walkways. Pack some snacks to go and after all their hard work is done, they can enjoy some play time on the slides.
Sort recyclable items in your house – Get a couple of boxes or recycling bins and make a game out of sorting bottles, plastics and paper. Take turns tossing them into the appropriate bins and count points for getting the correct one. The player to win gets fun Earth Day theme prize! I love the recycling truck by Green Toys.
Create a nature journal or picture frame from collecting leaves, rocks, flowers – You can take your kids on a natural hike around your community to collect items they love. Add them to an empty egg carton for storage and sorting. Talk to them about the items they collected and what they are used for. Get some glue and markers and create a beautiful masterpiece with them.
Make a craft re-using items found around the home – Do you have empty soup cans? Cereal Boxes? Teach your kids about re-using and turn these items into a fun craft. Make binoculars out of old toilet paper rolls, soup-can flowerpots and a guitar out of cereal boxes. Pinterest has some great ideas for this!
Sort and take bottles to the bottle depot for recycling – Sort all the empty bottles around your home or take the kids to search for bottles around your community. Let them collect the money they receive from the bottle depot and teach them how recycling can “pay off” by adding to their bank account.
Have more fun ideas to enjoy Earth Day as a family? Share them below!
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Photo Credit: Heima Photography