Archive: earth day

Easy Earth Day Snacks for Kids

All the Earth Day education can be exhausting and make little ones hungry. What better way to reenergize then munching on some easy Earth Day snacks for kids? Here are a few simple ideas for Mother Nature oriented eats to nibble on:

All Organic

Go natural with back-to-basics fruit and veggie platters. Throw in some humus to dip the veggies in.

Dirt Pudding

Pour chocolate pudding into a cup and spring crushed chocolate cookie crumbs on top. Then throw in a gummy worm and voila! Dirt pudding!

Pine Nuts

They’re part of pine trees, after all! Plant some evergreens in your local park and then feed your kids pine nuts.

Earth Krispie Treats

Make Rice Krispie treats following your regular recipe. But to make them a bit more festive, add a few drops of blue and green food coloring. Then swirl the colors throughout before setting the bars.

Ants on a Log

Bust out the classic ants on a log. Smear some peanut butter on slices of celery and place a few raisins on each.

Trailmix

Mix together some dried bananas and apples with a variety of nuts (be sure to check if anyone has peanut allergies first!) and pretzels.

Sources:

-“Earth Day snacks and treats” Spoonful

-“Any good ideas for a class for Earth Day snacks?” Fertile Thoughts

-Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

Earth Day Crafts for Kids

What better way to teach kids about Mother Nature than getting their hands dirty? Mom Trusted has put together a list of Earth Day crafts for kids to help celebrate the holiday and the environment:

Papier-Mâché Globe

Blow a up a balloon and cover it with blue and green strips of tissue paper dipped in watered down glue. Let the project dry completely before drawing continents on it. Dry time usually lasts over night.

3-D Forest

Help your kids make a 3-D forest out of construction paper. For each tree, cut out two evergreen shapes out of green construction paper. Cut a long, vertical slit in one of the trees, leaving a ½ to 1 inch portion still connected at the top. Outline each side of the tree with glitter glue and let it dry. Then slide the slit tree down the center of the uncut one. Secure with glue or tape it needed.

Rainsticks

Make rainsticks by securing squares of wax paper with rubberbands on either end of a toiletpaper roll. Pour a handfull of beans or rice inside first. Then decorate the outside with painted images of nature.

Coffee Filter Earth

Make beautiful works of art our of markers, water and coffee filters. Color on the coffee filters with blue and green washable marker. Then dip the edges of the coffee filters in water and let it seep up the filters, blending the marker colors together. Let them dry and you’ll have beautiful Earth crafts to hang near a window (they look especially pretty when light shines through them like stained glass).

Sources:

-“Earth Day crafts and ideas” Pinterest

-“Earth Day crafts and projects” Enchanted Learning

-Photo courtesy of Grant Cochrane/freedigitalphotos.net

Earth Day Activities for Kids

Celebrate Earth Day with some of these fun Earth Day activities for kids:

Clean up the outdoors

Grab everyone in the family and head to a local park, bike path, pond, lake or river. Grab some gloves to stay clean and some paper or reusable cloth (just wash them after!) bags. Spend a couple hours picking up trash and reducing litter in natural areas within your community.

Ditch the car

Vow to spend the day carless if you can. Rely on long walks and bikes to get around. Not only is this a great way to stay fit, but explain to your kids the negative impact of cars and how minimizing their use can benefit the environment.

Have a blackout party

Teach your kids about conserving energy by hosting a blackout party. Grab some candles and leave all the lights off when it gets dark. Don’t use any electricity and spend the evening playing games and telling stories by candlelight.

Plant a garden

Dedicate a special, small garden in your yard to Earth Day. Spend the day laying fresh soil and planting flowers, vegetables and herbs.

Plant a community tree

Contact your local park or community center to see if your family can help plant trees or flowers at any public locations. Then, every time you walk by it you’ll be reminded of the Earth Day you spent together.

Sources:

-“Earth Day for kids” Activity Village

-“Get your kids involved for our planet” She Knows Parenting

-Photo courtesy of pat138241/freedigitalphotos.net

Earth Day Resources for Kids

Looking for some great places to visit to help teach kids about the environment and Mother Earth? Look no further than Mom Trusted. Here are some great Earth Day resources for kids:

Helpful Hits for Planet Earth

Helpful Hints for Planet Earth has a whole variety of activities for children. It has a list of fun ideas to do, all themed around Earth Day, from puzzles to maps. It offers an online quiz to help teach valuable, green lessons. It even offers a full list of books related to Earth Day.

 Earth Day Games by PBS

PBS offers a colorful page filled with fun, online, Earth Day games. Learn how to garden with Caillou Gardner. Have Sid the Science Kid help teach how to plant veggies. Go on a Sesame Street Earth Exploration. Learn about recycling with Gabriela Cleans Up.

Earth Day Activities from DLTK’s Crafts for Kids

Check out DLTK’s Earth Day page for a long list of crafts and activities. They offer everything from coloring pages to games and puzzles. There’s also a list of Earth Day crafts where kids can make earths out of coffee filters and festive wreathes and pinwheels.

Earth Day for Kids from Activity Village

Earth Day for Kids from Activity Village has a whole list of interactive Earth Day activities. Choose from one of the fun coloring pages or watch a few of the Earth Day videos. You can even read a recycling poem to the kids.

Photo courtesy of ddpavumba/freedigitalphotos.net