Wednesday, April 11, 2012

// // 14 comments

30 Earth Day Ideas for Preschoolers


 

Earth Day is April 22nd, so I thought I would post a list of fun ideas you could do with preschoolers to help them learn more about their planet and appreciate the ways we benefit from it!  I have plans for several of these ideas and will link to them as I post about our activities.  If you do anything on this list, I'd love to have you share the link in a comment or email, and I will add a link to your post after the list.  One thing I love about Earth Day is that we live on Earth all year, so if you don't have time to celebrate on April 22nd, there's no reason not to on any other day of the year.  If you have any more ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear those too!

Ready?  Here we go!


30 EARTH DAY IDEAS FOR PRESCHOOLERS:
  1. Make your own paper!
  2. Make an artwork using recycled markers or paints. 
  3. Have a Recycle Day!  Talk about how recycling works, gather up materials to recycle, and dump them in the recycle bin.  If you don't get curbside recycling, take a trip to a drop-off location and deposit your recyclables there (schools and grocery stores often have recycle bins).
  4. Start a compost!
  5. Plant a vegetable you can eat.  Even better, start a whole garden! 
  6. Learn what happens when you throw things away.  Where are the landfills in your area?  Make a Diagram showing what happens to trash.  Find out how long it takes different kinds of trash to decompose.
  7. Plant or prune a tree!
  8. Go on a Trash Walk at the park.  Pick up any trash you see and throw it away.  Remember to wear gloves. 
  9. Make your own paint!
  10. Use unwanted catalogs or old magazines to make a craft or paper mache project.
  11. Make a doll dress out of an old shirt.
  12. Donate gently worn clothes to a thrift store.
  13. Cook something outside using solar energy!
  14. Find out how you get electricity--where does it come from?
  15. Visit a garden center!
  16. Make a leaf collection!
  17. Learn about flowers that grow naturally in your area.  Find and identify one.  Press it.  Use it in a craft.  
  18. Learn what natural resources are.  What is the difference in renewable resources and non-renewable resources?  Visit a mine.
  19.   Calculate your ecological footprint at http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator.  What ways can you conserve natural resources?  Be careful with this (and any Earth Day activities) if you have a sensitive child.  There's a difference between helping a child appreciate a carpool and making them worry about non-renewable resources. 
  20. Learn what kinds of wild birds are in your area.  
  21. Set up a bird-feeder or bird bath!
  22. Learn how to cook a new meal from scratch.
  23. Use a bus or train to go somewhere!
  24. Visit a farm.
  25. Visit a nature reserve.
  26. Learn about the wild animals that live in your area.
  27. Dissect a seed and identify the parts inside it!  
  28. Create a Seed Display showing different types of seeds and how they spread.
  29. Join a local organization for an Earth Day project.
  30. Learn and diagram where your water comes from.



I may share at any of these parties!

14 comments:

ZEYNEP ERDAL said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Keitha said...

Thank you so much for sharing this poetry unit. We love Shel Silverstein!

Trish - Mom On Timeout said...

So many great ideas! I've been working on my own list too but haven't come up with so many :) Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout! I'll be pinning this one!

Cacheymama said...

Wonderful ideas! Thanks for linking up to Thinky Linky Thursday!
Lori @ Cachey Mama’s Classroom

Carla at Preschool Powol Packets said...

Thanks for coming by, Zeynep!

Keitha, I love Shel Silverstein too!

Thanks for pinning it, Trish! I love Mom on Timeout!

Thanks, Lori! Thinky Linky Thursday is great!

The Thriftiness Miss said...

lol I like 19. I just want to do that for myself , it sounds fun. Also i can see how something like this could make a child worry about it. Sometimes we don't realize what can scare a child. So good tip :)

Alison @ Oopsey Daisy said...

So many great ideas! I know I often forget to give Earth Day its deserved credit! Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!

Bekah said...

Awesome ideas! We are going to try and make paper. We'll be planting a garden in May as it's still too early here. :)

Bekah @SonshineTotSchool

Stacy of KSW said...

This is a fantastic list for little ones! Thanks so much for putting it together, planning to share this one on my FB & Twitter feeds later in the week :)

Carla at Preschool Powol Packets said...

Thrifty Miss Smith, I DID do that one myself (as a preview) and it was a lot of fun!

Thanks, Allison!

Bekah, Sometimes I forget how cold half the country is still! When we moved to Houston I was thrilled that the last danger of frost ended with the last day of February! I think that Earth Day is a concept that can be celebrated year round, though, and planting a garden whenever summer hits is wonderful for kids!

Stacy, I'm so glad you like it! Thanks so much for sharing it!!

Erica @ Brooks Child Care said...

Fantastic ideas. My little girl wants to learn to sew. Making a doll dress out of an old shirt will be a big hit.

Unknown said...

What a great collection of age-appropriate Earth Day ideas for preschoolers. Thank you so much for sharing this post at the Discover and Explore themed linky. I'm excited to see what you link up next week for the Gardening with Kids theme.

Enrolment Desk said...

Thank you so much for sharing this poetry unit. Awesome ideas! We are going to try and make paper. We'll be planting a garden in May as it's still too early here. :)

Carla at Preschool Powol Packets said...

Enrolment Desk, I love making paper! I just realized I don't have a post for it yet! Adding it to my editorial calendar... :)