I’ve been looking for new Earth Day activities this year. It’s not that I don’t like what we’re already doing, but I’m just feeling a little bored… like when you finally get tired of that couch you thought you’d love forever. It’s time for a change.
Younger me probably would’ve spent hours coming up with my own ideas. Now me is tired. And I was pretty sure someone else would have just the thing to inspire me.
That’s when I landed on LITTLE BINS FOR LITTLE HANDS. Sarah’s collection of kid-friendly Earth Day activities is what I needed. In her post, you’ll find great ideas you can sift through when you’re making your lesson plans. What caught my eye?
- Earth Paper – Making Paper from Recycled Materials
- Shells in Vinegar – Observing the Effects of Ocean Acidification
- Ocean Oil Spill – Understanding the Harmful Effect of Water Pollution
- DIY Bird Feeder – Using Recycled Materials to Support Animal Habitats
- Bee Hotel – Constructing an Easy Bamboo Structure for Local Bees
EARTH DAY CRAFTS
I will never stop thinking arts and crafts activities are important. The value of giving kids time to be creative and use their hands to create something beautiful is often overlooked in scripted schedules. If you have the flexibility to squeeze in a few hands-on art activities, I highly recommend it.
Stef from Non-Toy Gifts features paper plate crafts on her site and I love her EARTH HEART CRAFT . Because it’s not a pattern, each child’s finished project is unique. For a wider variety, let children mix colors to achieve different shades of blue and green. You can also provide optional yarn colors… there’s no rule saying hearts have to be red.
I also love this super simple EARTH DAY POP ART project inspired by Andy Warhol. Sarah provides the free template on her site, so all you need are some watercolor paints to bring this idea to life.
And if you have a bunch of plastic water bottles, consider upcycling them into these really fun WATER BOTTLE WIND SPIRALS by Happy Hooligans. When you talk about the concepts of reducing, reusing, and recycling, this art project is a beautiful way to show how to reuse plastic water and soda bottles.
BOOKS TO READ ON EARTH DAY
When you’re planning your Earth Day activities, don’t forget to choose a few books to share. These are some of our favorites to share with the kids. It’s a diverse list in terms of specific topics and length, but they’re great titles for K-2 classrooms.
- This Class Can Save the Planet by Stacy Tornio
- What If Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernick
- I Love the Earth by Todd Parr
- Our Planet! There’s No Place Like Earth by Stacy McAnulty
- What a Waste – Trash, Recycling, and Protecting Our Planet by Jess French
- The Earth and I by Frank Asch
- One Earth by Eileen Spinelli
- Follow the Moon Home by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson
MORE EARTH DAY RESOURCES
Depending on your setting, you may need to tie your Earth Day activities to specific instructional standards. If that’s the case, check out these resources for 1st and 2nd grade teachers.
- EARTH DAY – READING PASSAGES WITH COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS 👆
- EARTH DAY FLIP BOOKS – REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE (Pictured at the top.)
- EARTH DAY POSTERS – ENVIRONMENTAL SET FOR K-2 CLASSROOMS
A FEW PINTERESTING IDEAS
Pinterest is still one of my go-to resources when I’m planning. There’s a seemingly endless supply of ideas on there and I’m drawn to almost all of them. On my EARTH DAY PINTEREST BOARD, I’ve collected some of my favorite activities… from Earth Day cookies, to wildflower seed bombs, to wind socks made from recycled materials, it’s all there!
And now I have a new problem… how am I going to fit all of this into one day?
I’ll figure it out.
Until next time, happy teaching!
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