12 Great Ideas for Celebrating Earth Day With Your Kids
Earth Day is coming on April 22nd, and there are tons of fun ways to get your whole family involved in the day. From a young age, kids can learn about the world around them and their role in protecting it in the future. It will also provide your family with a chance to get outside and enjoy the nature around you, even in the city. These activities will make celebrating Earth Day fun for your kids as they discover the ways they can save the planet at any age.
If you’re looking for more ways to get involved with celebrating Earth Day, check out 12 Best Sustainable Stores in New York City
Go on a Family Nature Hike
Take your family to enjoy the great outdoors while staying active with a nice nature hike. You can step away from the city for just a moment to enjoy the beauty of the plants and animals that live just outside your door. The New York National Parks are all beautiful locations you can head to with the whole family to share in the brilliance of the natural world and grow your kids’ respect for the planet they live on.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
If you want to take your kids to a national park or any natural setting, you can get your kids involved through an easy scavenger hunt. You can send them out to hunt for leaves, flowers, and other pieces of nature to get them more focused on the setting around them. You can take pictures or collect these items to remind kids of the all the amazing things that exist in nature. You can check out these printables for some scavenger hunt ideas.
Neighborhood Clean Up
An easy way to start celebrating Earth Day is by getting kids involved with cleaning up the world right outside their door. You can take your kids down to a local or national park, and give them trash bags to collect as much litter as possible. You can even make it a competition amongst kids to get them even more excited about the idea. It’s a great way to introduce the concept of cleaning up the world around them even in small ways.
Make an Earth Day Inspired Treat
Every kid will enjoy celebrating Earth Day when they get to make a delicious treat. Everyone can easily get involved in the baking process, and help create a treat that inspires them to get more involved in other aspects of celebrating Earth Day. You can go for a green food, earth inspired treat, or plant based treat to get your family in the mood for the holiday. Lehi Mills has several other vegan box mixes that can be made into delicious and easy treats.
Get Some Vegan Ice Cream for a Good Cause
There’s nothing better than going out and getting some delicious ice cream. A favorite spot, Van Leeuwen, is offering a special deal this Earth Day to give back. For every scoop of vegan ice cream you purchase on April 22nd, Van Leeuwen will donate to The Conservation Fund. You can head to the shop or order online to get your ice cream in support of this great cause, and with so many flavors to chose from, everyone is guaranteed to walk away screaming for more ice cream.
Make a Bird Feeder
An easy craft to get everyone in the mood for celebrating Earth Day, making a bird feeder is a fun way to connect with nature wherever you are. With just some peanut butter, birdseed, string, and a carrier, you can hang a bird feeder outside and bring nature right to your door. It’s a simple idea that brings kids close to the animals who live right outside their window. Here are several bird feeder ideas you can enjoy with the whole family.
Plant a Garden in Egg Shells
Grab your flower seeds and create a unique family garden using egg shells as your pots. It’s a fun experiment that uses everyday items to plant seeds and see how they grow in different environments. Using egg shells allows you to plant more seeds and place them in different locations around the house to see how they grow. You can find all the details of this easy science project here.
Make “Plastic” Out of Milk
An interesting experiment, your family can create plastic like material using only milk and vinegar with some everyday kitchen tools. A truly unique experience, this two-ingredient material will be a fascinating activity for everyone in your house to enjoy. It’s a fun and safe plastic product that kids can color and make their own creative masterpiece. You can get an easy recipe for this fun activity here.
Make Seed Bombs
Another great craft to start celebrating Earth Day, making seed bombs is an exciting way to test out your family’s green thumb. Using colorful paper and seeds, you can create a biodegradable carrier for the seeds to be planted anywhere you want. You can spread your Earth Day bombs around the city and make the city a little more beautiful in a small and simple way. You can learn how to make these exciting seed bombs here.
Make a Recycled Sculpture
An easy creative project for celebrating Earth Day, your whole family can get involved with making unique recycled sculptures. Have your family collect all the recyclable items you would otherwise throw away. On Earth Day, you can take everything you’ve collected and have everyone create their own sculpture from the materials. It’s a great physical representation of how much waste we go through while making it a fun activity for everyone.
Get Some Eco-Friendly Toys
Before April 22nd comes around, you can start celebrating Earth Day by getting some more eco friendly toys for kids to enjoy. Have your kids pick one new toy, and you’ll get the chance to tell them about the plastic in our oceans and the importance of recycling while they have a fun new toy to enjoy. You can check out Shore Buddies and Green Toys for some cute recycled toys every kid will enjoy.
Read an Earth Day Book
There are tons of interesting books that look at the magnificence of the natural world. The Photoicular book series by Dan Kainen uses incredible photographs to take kids on a journey through different parts of the world. It’s an exciting way to get kids involved with the the world around them and inspire them to protect it. These Photicular books are available on Amazon for you to purchase before you start celebrating Earth Day.
