Need Earth Day lessons plans and activities on Earth Day? Get fun Earth facts and free Earth Day worksheets pdf to add meaningful Earth Day activities for preschool and up — including elementary students, activity for middle school and high school, ideas for being respectful to nature, and fun kids activities to remind children to do our part in helping the world beyond this spring holiday! Fun ideas to inspire and educate students!
EARTH DAY LESSONS PLANS AND ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
Need fun things to do on Earth Day for kids? These are great for the Earth Day activities for students and fun Earth Day activities for families to do at home or for homeschooling — all fun Earth day crafts and planet earth activities to celebrate Earth and inspire change! So many ways to celebrate Earth Day with children!
How do you teach kids Earth Day?
How do you explain Earth Day to a child?
- Head outside for a nature walk
- Make DIY birdseed ornaments or natural garland for birds
- Do a nature scavenger hunt (free nature scavenger hunt printable below)
- Make a bat house (one of my favorite ideas for Earth Day activities!)
- Learn how to make paper
- Make little bins of recycled sensory play for little hands for a fun hands-on activity for Earth Day for preschoolers / Earth Day activities for kindergarten
- Participate in conservation activities in your area
- Read the Dr. Seuss Earth Day book (great for young children!)
- Make Earth Day Oobleck
- Learn about how water pollution affects animals (great for Earth Day project for kindergarten and up)
- Make a DIY bug house for a fun activity of Earth Day for all ages (great youth group Earth Day project!)
- Plant a Container Fairy Garden or plant a terrarium
- Learn about the importance of recycling for the Earth / do some greenearth recycling lessons
- Read Earth Day books for conversation starters (make a reading list and work through it all month!)
- Make crafts for Earth Day
- Talk about the importance of dandelions and use a few to make dandelion paint
- Learn about the list of endangered animals and what we can do to help them
- Color earth coloring pages
- Learn about composting your food waste for an important activity on Earth Day
- Do worksheets about the earth and environment
- Learn about biomes
- Sing environmental songs for kids
- Go on a nature hike and create a nature journal
- Do Earth Day science experiments
- Watch Earth Day videos
- Talk about the benefits of switching from plastic bottles to glass reusable water bottles (then get new water bottles for the entire family to replace plastic water bottles!)
- Get a recycling bin and learn what can and can’t be recycled
- Talk about what a carbon footprint is and how your family or classroom can reduce their own carbon foot print to make the world a better place
- Discuss the importance of replacing plastic bags with reusable tote bags (bonus points if you sew your own bag!)
- Take a field trip to a water conservation plant (or even a virtual field trip) – great for Earth Day activities for elementary students through Earth Day activities for high school
- Search Earth Day activities near me and attend an event or local fun activity for Earth Day celebration ideas. (then talk about all the interesting facts you learned on the way home!) We’ve had a ton of fun at earth day family activities in our area in past years! They’re always very kid-friendly events!
- Use our free Earth Day coloring pages printables (see below for free Earth Day activities and kids more learning activities)
Don’t miss the full list of Earth Day lessons plans and interactive Earth Day activities and ideas for kids below. Keep scrolling for the links on resources for things to do for Earth Day / and the best way to incorporate Earth Day activties into your spring lessons! Includes Earth Day math, Earth Day literacy activities, STEM environmental learning, and nature and science lesson plans for all ages (even preschool crafts!). Fun ideas to inspire and educate students!
Before we get to the fun Earth Day for kids activities, let’s start with when Earth Day is celebrated and more about the history of the day. Let’s start with when is Earth’s Day?
When’s Earth Day?
When is Earth Day? Earth Day 2024 is on Monday, April 22nd. The Earth Day date is always April 22 each year.
What is the theme for Earth Day 2024?
Each year, the Earth Day theme is different. The theme for Earth Day 2024, is “Planet versus Plastics.”
EARTH DAY HISTORY FOR KIDS
What’s Earth Day?
The first Earth Day started in 1970 and is celebrated on April 22 each year to educate people on the actions we need to take to protect the earth and how to support the environment. People all over the world use April 22 as a way to show support for environmental protection.
Each year there is a different theme for Earth day. For example, one previous Earth Day theme was “End Plastic Pollution.” There are events and activities organized by different groups to support the day.
This spring holiday is a great time to talk about being kind to mother earth with kids of all ages.
LEARNING TIP FOR PROJECT OF EARTH DAY: Add books like this about the environment to your Earth Day learning for kids!
TRY THIS FUN ECO-FRIENDLY CRAFT FOR KIDS FOR EARTH DAY KIDS ACTIVITIES: MAKING PAINT FROM PLANTS AND FLOWERS
So, what are some Earth Day activities for families, fun earthday project ideas, and how do you teach Earth Day to add this holiday to your family time? (Ideas for Earth Day activity preschool and up!)
What do we do on Earth Day?
Here are awesome ideas and Earth Day tips to celebrate and support the environment and family Earth Day ideas. These are great for Earth Day for toddlers, Earth Day for preschoolers / Earth Day for kindergartners, and even fun for older kid activities!
What are some activities for Earth Day?
19 Ideas for Earth Day for Kids At Home:
- Learn about environmental issues for your area and discuss how you can get involved to help improve them. (Go here to check!)
- Go to an Earth Day fair to learn more.
- Find outdoor volunteer activities in your area.
- Place a bee house in a garden of native plants to support plants for your area.
- Walk or bike for the day instead of driving to reduce emissions.
- Do a community service environmental project for kids earth day activities. (Need ideas? Go here!)
- Make sure you recycle! (It’s one of those easy Earth Day activities!)
- See if there are habitat reconstruction projects in your local area.
- Do some tree bark, flower, and leaf rubbings / Earth Day tracings.
- Plant a tree to help with oxygen in the air. Make sure that it is a native tree to your area or it could pose a threat to your local environment.
- Plant a butterfly garden of milkweed, pansies, and goldenrod.
- Install a bird feeder in your yard or on your balcony. Be sure to also include a bird bath or a small saucer of water!
- Play Earth Day bingo.
- Make wildflower seed bombs.
- Make kindness rocks painted like the earth for a fun Earth Day craft.
- Take a walk and clean up litter in your area!
- Make a recycled egg shell garden
- Make Earth Day recipes, snacks, and treats.
- Learn about foraging with kids, learn about the importance of dandelions in nature, and make a dandelion salad! (For real! Add it to your Earth Day activity ideas. Kids love it! It’s also fun for Earth Day activities for preschoolers!)
If you have fun ideas on Earth Day and activities on Earth Day last year, let us know and we’ll add them to our list. KEEP SCROLLING for Earth Day resources below!
We have more amazing ideas later in the post for Earth Day fun! If you’re wondering what are some Earth Day activities for kids or what are fun ways for kids to help the planet, KEEP SCROLLING!
DON’T MISS YOUR FREE EARTH DAY PRINTABLE WITH EARTH DAY COLORING PAGES AT THE END OF THIS POST!
After Earth Day Activities And What To Do On Earth Day Ideas, Check Out:
Earth Day Quotes
Here are some quotes for Earth Day that you can use for your studies and Earth Day celebration:
“Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.” -Senator Gaylord Nelson, original Earth Day founder
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” -John Muir
“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” -Einstein
“Earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
“He that plants trees loves others beside himself.” -Thomas Fuller
OK!
Let’s get to the Earth Day ideas, fun Earth Day activity projects, and more ways to learn about Earth Day facts! There’s definitely enough here for an entire Earth Week activities!
ACTIVITIES FOR EARTH DAY IDEAS:What activities can you do for Earth Day?
Earth Day Lessons Plans, Earth Day Crafts & More
If you’re looking for free Earth Day activities, projects and lesson plans, as well as fun and creative ways to celebrate the environment, check these out for Earth Day activities at home and classroom Earth Day things to do!
There are plenty of ideas here, whether you need activities for Earth Day for elementary students, preschool nature activities, Earth Day lesson plans for high school, or co-op or youth group activities about the earth — enough for activities for earth week or a unit study of what to do for Earth Day!
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #1: Get Free Earth Day Lesson Plans
EarthDay.org has free lessons plans and toolkits, perfect for Earth Day activities for students grade levels K12 and teaches kids about the climate. Definitely add these to your Earth Day classroom lessons or homeschool tools!
What can I do for Earth Day at home?
Also check out these activities for Earth Day and Earth Day worksheets!
Creative Ideas For Earth Day:
- Sing Earth Day songs (great for preschool through Earth Day activities for 2nd grade)
- Get Earth Day coloring pages
- Make a poster on Earth Day showing how you will help the earth (great for Earth Day projects kindergarten and preschool!)
- Create Earth Day chalk art
- Make an earth day crown of flowers
- Make an earth salt dough with a few kitchen ingredients for a fun sensory play idea (or make salt dough Earth Day necklaces!)
- Green Curricula and Environmental Learning Activities
- Healthy Earth, Sick Earth (K-5)
- Comparing Light Bulbs (K-8) (another great celebrate Earth Day in science class idea)
- Looking for Earth Day in science class ideas? Learn how to conserve energy and use the sun to Build a Pizza Box Solar Oven (K-12 – great for a science project or Earth Day activities for high school students! Great way to celebrate Earth Day in science class!)
- Watch Earth Day videos like: What Is World Earth Day?
- Recycle old magazines and newspapers
You can also create an awesome outdoor classroom to be in nature and learning about helping the earth! Makes for an awesome time of learning all year in a natural environment (and one of my favorite activity ideas for Earth Day!)
There are many different ways to get your family members involved or to add Earth Day activities to the classroom from fun hands-on activities to Earth Day virtual field trips to great Earth Day books to read for all ages. KEEP SCROLLING FOR FUN WAYS TO LEARN ABOUT THE EARTH!
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #2: Read Earth Day Books
Read The Story of Climate Change Interactive Book
Download The Story of Climate Change, a free interactive textbook for grades 5 through 8, from iTunes.
The Earth Day Network describes the book as:
“The Story of Climate Change is the first interactive iTextbook for middle school students. It is a new, active way of learning through multimedia to connect students beyond pages and vocabulary words into the practical applications of climate science. Each of the iTextbook’s six chapters includes informative videos, fun interactive resources, critical thinking activities, as well as review and discussion questions to reinforce unit concepts. Keep students in tune with the latest climate science and research.”
More children’s books to celebrate Earth Day
You can even host a read-a-thon as part of your Earth Day events ideas!
The Extraordinary Book That Eats Itself
Earth: My First 4.54 Billion Years
Thank You Earth: A Love Letter To Our Planet
The Wondrous Workings Of Planet Earth
EARTH DAY ACTIVITY TIP / EARTH DAY IDEA: Check your local library for their Earth Day display and Earth Day event ideas! They usually have a ton of activities about earth day!
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #3: Decorate Bags for Stores
The Earth Day Groceries Project is a great way to get the local stores involved (especially if you have a homeschool group or a troop or co-op).
First, you get a store to provide brown bags to you.
Then, the kids decorate them with Earth Day pictures and messages and return them to the store to be used to bag customers’ groceries on Earth Day.
(Cool, right?)
It’s fun as Earth Day activities preschool through high school!
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #4: Make Recycled Plant Pots and Plant Seeds
Planting seeds is a fun and educational way to talk about Earth Day!
We made these recycled planting pots when my daughter was around 4 year old and had a lot of fun with them, which means they’re great for Earth Day preschool activities — and they’re also great for earth day planting activities for all ages!
These cute DIY planters are a perfect project for the day because you are using recycled materials to make the pot and they are used for plants that can help the earth!
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #5. Bake Earth Day Cookies and Cupcakes
Baking projects are always fun, right?
These super cute cupcakes from Bird on a Cake are perfect for Earth Day!
Check out inspiration HERE.
If you can, shop from local markets who are environmentally conscious for the supplies!
I also LOVE these Earth Day cookies (and they seem SUPER simple!).
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #6: Discuss the How Long Until It’s Gone? Chart
This How Long Until It’s Gone? chart covers estimated decomposition rates of things thrown into our waterways.
It’s a crazy eye-opener as well as a conversation starter covering how long it takes for everyday items to decompose like:
• A cigarette butt takes 1-5 years to decompose!
• Disposable diapers take 450 years to decompose!
A couple of years ago, we went to a turtle rescue center in Florida and they had decompensation rates of different items all along the walkway to see the turtles and my daughter STILL talks about it.
It’s pretty powerful (and shocking)!
I happen to think this is the perfect Earth Day activity, especially if you’re looking for Earth Day ideas for middle school or high school!
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #7: Play Earth Day Games
Host an Earth Day Scavenger Hunt
Get the kids outside and moving with a fun scavenger hunt and grab our free nature scavenger hunt! (It works for all ages, but is really great if you’re looking for outdoor activities for Earth Day kindergarten or preschool.)
Not only does it get the kids outside and exploring nature, but it also provides opportunities for discussion.
Keep a field guide of what you’ve seen while outside.
Games for Earth Day Recommendation: Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game for Kids
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #8: Play a Recycling Game
A fun way to help the environment is to play a recycling game.
This recycling game gets the kids outside and also helps them understand the importance of recycling.
(If you want to help prep the kids, take a virtual tour of a recycling plant.)
Another “game” you can play is to pick up trash in your local park.
(Be sure that everyone wears work gloves!)
Take different bags for different items–trash, plastic recyclables, glass, etc.
You’ll be getting exercise, learning about recycling, and helping the environment: perfect Earth Day activities for kids!
ALSO CHECK OUT THESE RECYCLING ACTIVITY BOXES
Earth Day Activities for Kids Idea #9: Do Earth Day Crafts / Earth Day Art
Have fun with an art project or craft for Earth Day (or two or three!).
Try:
- Make globe suncatchers
- Recycled tissue paper earth
- Make a recycled bird feeder at home (This DIY bird feeder is a super fun project on Earth Day for all ages! It’s great for earth day activity for preschoolers or toddlers because it’s a simple craft project!)
- Create an Earth Day Collage in lieu of an Earth Day draw project for a fun Earth Day art project
- Make recycled cardboard tube bees and do a pollinator lesson plan (the pollinator activity is also an easy activities for earth day for preschoolers idea!)
- Grab sun paper and make nature prints
- Learn how to make earth-friendly crafts
- Make flower petal hand crafts (one of my favorite preschool activities Earth Day!)
Whew! That was a lot of Earth Day activities! If we missed something, let us know your best Earth Day activities ideas and we’ll add them to our list of fun things to do for Earth Day!
FREE EARTH DAY PRINTABLE FOR KIDS ACTIVITIES
Don’t forget to get this printout for you activities to do on earth day! Get a free happy earth day printable for kids. Click Here or on the image below to get the printable and add it to your fun things you can do to celebrate Earth Day with kids! Great for preschool earth day activities and up!
Happy Earth Day!
What’s your favorite project for Earth Day?
WHAT FUN EARTH DAY LESSONS PLANS AND ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR WHAT TO DO ON EARTH DAY?
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