Earth Day Celebrations for Kids
In the late 1960s, Gaylord Nelson wanted to wake up the world to the need for clean air, nature preservation and safe water. Thanks to the environmentally conscious vision of the former Wisconsin Senator, Earth Day has been observed every April 22, since 1970. Kids, in particular, enjoy the day. Modern children, raised in a culture of environmentally friendly products and lifestyles, relate to Earth Day's meaning and ideals. Get green-minded kids in a party mood for Earth Day this year. Plan a celebration for kids, full of Earth-friendly things to do. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
Activities
-
Set copies of an Earth Day word search on a table near the entrance to your celebration. Kids will have something to do the minute they arrive. Find Earth Day word search printables at the DTLK Kids website. Provide crayons and earth-themed coloring sheets, available online at the Kaboose website.
Pop an Earth Day appropriate movie in the DVD player. Visit the library before the celebration. Borrow copies of kid-friendly flicks with an environmental theme. Ask your local librarian for recommendations. Borrow picture books about the Earth while you are there. Set them on a table at the party for kids to browse.
Crafts
-
Create take-home crafts at an Earth Day celebration for kids. Provide terra cotta pots, soil and seeds for preschool age children. Before planting, let the children dip sponge-shapes into paint, then stamp the pots to decorate them.
Let older kids make art from recycled objects. Place boxes of once-used paper, old magazines and fabric scraps beside a craft table. Gather bottle caps, cardboard boxes and plastic containers. Put them near the table. Give kids glue and duct tape to make sculptures, collages and other art from the items. Encourage the kids to use imagination. Praise kid's efforts to save the stuff from the trash by transforming it into works of recycled art.
-
Game
-
Hold an Earth Day scavenger hunt as the highlight of your celebration. Before kids arrive, draw a picture-list of pop cans, paper-wads and other things that can be recycled, on a sheet of copy paper. Make a copy for each child in attendance. Show a green attitude by copying the list on the blank side of already-used paper. Place boxes, labeled for the picture-list contents, in an accessible area. Let the kids scrounge around the neighborhood, with adult supervision, to collect the items. Cross each item off the list as they are located and placed in the appropriate box. Give tree seedlings, available from a local nursery, as prizes.
Food
-
Fill a snack table with nutritious treats for an Earth Day celebration. Choose minimally processed snacks. Provide trays of organically grown, bite-size vegetables. Chop whole fruits into bowls for fruit salad. Serve locally produced foods. Check grocery shelves for salsas, cider or popcorn, stocked from nearby farms. As young Earth Day revelers feast on the goodies, explain that the foods you served were not shipped from a long distance or grown with chemicals so they are Earth-friendly choices.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
