Today is Earth Day, “designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.” My son and I plan to check out the local events in our community. If you’re struggling for ideas on how to “celebrate” or otherwise help your children understand what Earth Day is all about, here are a few ideas from Goddard Schools:
- Create the Earth. Eco-friendly coffee filters make great miniature earths. In two separate cups, use food coloring to make blue and green colored water. Then allow the children to use eyedroppers to drop the colors on their Earth (coffee filter). When the colored water is dropped on the filter it spreads a bit and the children can create land and water shapes on their “little earths.”
- Lights Out, Flashlights On. Play “I Spy” in the dark. Have the children use flashlights to locate objects they can use to become more “green,” such as a light switch or recycle bins.
- Go for a Nature Walk. Place tape, sticky side out, on the children’s wrists and take them outside to collect things in nature. You could also decorate a sack and go around the neighborhood picking up litter.
- Dress It Up! Hold a fashion show using old newspapers as the runway. Create vests by using grocery sacks decorated with recycled supplies such as used yogurt cups, etc. Glue recycled materials to the vests and decorate with paint. Then let your kids show off the “beauty of recyclables” while learning what items can be recycled.
- Make Rainsticks. Recycle old paper towel rolls by making rainsticks. Have the children close the bottom of the stick with paper and tape. Then fill with beans or rice. You can also crumple up some aluminum foil to make a louder sound. Let the children decorate the rainsticks with construction paper. Use this activity to talk about the importance of clean water and water conservation.
If you’re looking for more ideas on how to raise awareness within your children, check out Earth Hour Kids. The site features lesson-plans, games and songs children can download.
So…how are you celebrating Earth Day today? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Caryn is a NICU nurse by day, blogger by night and mom 24/7. She savors the warm Southern California sun and loves to travel, shopping, baking, reading and frequenting her local tea room. Caryn created the column Lavishly Green for Peekaboo Picks Magazine to share her best tips for going green in style, she is the Former editor for Family Review Network, former OC Family Magazine online contributor, former Orange County Moms Blog contributor, former Evenflo Savvy Parent contributor, former member of the Totsy Advisory Board and former freelance writer for CBS Los Angeles.
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Many People really neglect the fact , that this earth is an indispensable asset to all, it is our duty to protect it, we need to find out a concrete solution to the pollution, otherwise what ever measures you take will be a failure, All the people in the world should unite and work for the safety of this world. Its is the only big asset we save for future generations.