Craft Ideas for Earth Day

Earth Day was started in the 1960s as a way to celebrate and honor the planet. Earth Day coincides with the beginning of spring, so use it as an opportunity to teach children a little about the planet they live on and how they can participate in taking care of it. Here are a few ideas to get children excited in taking part in Earth Day:

Start a Garden

Materials needed: seeds, planting soil, Popsicle sticks, craft glue, a marker, pieces of construction paper or 3×5 cards cut into pieces, egg carton

Fill each section of the egg carton half full with planting soil, then plant seeds by pushing them gently into the soil. Draw on paper squares to identify what was planted. Glue squares onto Popsicle sticks and place in the soil next to the corresponding plants or flowers that were planted. Once the seeds begin to grow, transplant them to a larger pot or your garden.

3 R’s Matching Game

Materials needed: construction paper, markers

Take time to teach children about the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Taking time to do a little of each will lesson harmful impacts to Earth’s natural resources and habitats. Brainstorm ways to reduce (using products made from eco-friendly materials, for example, or choosing locally-grown produce as opposed to produce that is shipped from far away), reuse (using reusable lunch bags instead of brown bags, taking our own bags to the grocery store instead of getting plastic ones), and recycle (cans, plastics, paper, glass, composting). Make cards out of construction paper that are all the same size. On one side of the card, write the letter “R.” On the other side of the paper, draw objects that can be reused, recycled, or reduced. Make sure to draw matching objects for each card. Flip all cards with “R” side facing up and play the matching game. The older the children, the more cards you can include in the game.

Hand Print Garden Stones

Materials needed: You  can either use Crayola’s Model Magic for this craft or make your own clay (see recipe below). Rolling pin or alternative object to roll clay flat, poster paint, paintbrush, a pen or stick to write in the clay with.

Clay recipe: 1 ½ cups salt, 4 cups flour, 1 ½ cups water, 1 tsp alum. Mix dry ingredients together in a plastic bowl, then add water gradually. When dough thickens, knead it, adding water if it is too crumbly.

Flatten out the ball of clay to one inch thickness, press hand firmly into clay for handprint. Before clay dries, write name and date into the clay with a pen or stick. Allow clay to dry or harden completely. Once dry, paint handprint with poster paint. Place in the garden as a “garden stone” or make multiple hand prints and footprints and place in garden as “stepping stones.” One family had a good idea by doing one hand print mold each year, so that by the time their kids had grown, they created a garden path with their children’s progressively larger handprints.

Other ideas to do with children on Earth Day include:

• Plant a tree
• Build Recycling bins for your home or garage. Make sure to include one for paper, one for cans (aluminum), one for glass, and one for plastic.
• Schedule an educational tour of a recycling plant and teach children to identify which types of glass, plastic, etc. can be recycled in your community.
• Take a nature walk. Identify trees and animals for the child.
• Donate clothing (one way to reuse)
• Make a compost (read “Worms Eat My Garbage” by Mary Appelhof to find out how)