Earth Day Activities for Preschoolers
Celebrate the Earth in April With Great Eco-Friendly Ideas for Kids
Feb 9, 2009
Children will benefit greatly from learning about the environment. Conveniently enough, Earth Day is right around the corner and will provide the perfect reason for engaging the kids in a variety of eco-friendly activities. Try any of these ideas and watch little ones learn and have fun at the same time.
Planting Mystery Seeds
This project is simple and fun for preschoolers or kids of any age. Save up some old egg cartons. Purchase soil (or use compost – see below) to fill each space in the cartons. Give the children a few seeds each. All different varieties such as beans, sunflowers, and spice seeds can be used. Try to provide seeds that are easy to grow and will sprout within a few days with water and sunlight.
Research plant guides online or at the library to find out what the seedlings of each plant will look like. Print out or copy the different seedlings and label them with their names. Supply the children with this seedling chart and let them observe the plants as they grow, comparing them to the pictures provided. See if the kids will be able to figure out which plants are which.
Rock Gardening
Planting a rock garden in the backyard is a great spring activity for children. Follow these simple steps to get started:
- Set aside an area that gets sunlight. If the only place available gets little or no sun, it's okay too. The amount of sunlight that a garden receives will dictate the types of plants that will need to be selected.
- Go on a rock hunt and find rocks of all shapes and sizes. Larger ones can be set aside and decorated with waterproof paint. Place the rocks around the garden area. Save a few for decorating the inside of the garden near the plants.
- Let the children create a design for the garden. Then take a trip with the kids to the garden shop and pick out a good mix of perennials (plants whose root systems will thrive throughout more than one season) and annuals. Again, keep in mind the amount of sunlight that the garden will get before purchasing the species of plants.
- Help them with the plantings. Then water the garden and watch it grow throughout the season!
Neighborhood Clean Up
Strap on the gloves and grab some garbage bags (preferably paper) for a neighborhood clean up project. To small children, this activity can be advertised as a treasure hunt of sorts. Look for plastic containers, cans, bottles (careful with glass), crumpled up paper, and other items that were carelessly tossed aside. Make this an even bigger effort by engaging friends in the neighborhood as well.
Once the trash has been collected, make sure it is separated appropriately and recycled. Some items found (such as paper) may be appropriate for a compost heap.
Backyard Composting
Creating a compost pile in the backyard with children can be fairly simple, but will take some time. However, it will be an extraordinary endeavor that benefits the kids in many ways and for many years to come. The activity will teach children to be more aware of waste, and demonstrate the value of living green. Composting is a lesson in science as well, as youngsters see first-hand how decomposition works.
To learn more about composting, read How to Make Homemade Compost.
Earth Day activities can be a lot of fun and have so many benefits for children, including helping them to be more aware of their environment and reducing waste. The efforts of parents and teachers to educate youth about global warming, climate change, and the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) will go a long way to improving the planet for future generations.
For Earth Day projects appropriate for the classroom, check out Earth Day Class Project Ideas.
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