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Ultimate List of Earth Day Activities

Lesson Plan& Activities| Holiday Activities | Learning Resources

April 14, 2024•7 min read

Earth Day is almost upon us. Earth Day began in 1970 after Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, decided to organize a national “teach in” to educate people about protecting the environment. Since then, multiple environmental agencies have developed such as the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

In year 2020, we celebrated our 50th Earth Day. Covid could not even stop virtual events from happening globally. Once a year, people become aware of our actions and inquire about ways to help protect our environment. In fact, Earth Day can be everyday. There are small things we can do at home that can make a huge impact on the planet. As a parent, I feel it's important to teach my children to care about the environment. It is our children that will inherit the Earth and they need to know their actions can make an impact- positive or negative. We can do little actions, such as turning off the light when not in use to conserve energy. If you are looking for more tips, read 50 Covid Friendly Ways to Honor Earth Day

100 Earth Day Activities for ages 2-5

Need some fresh activities for your Earth Day unit? Below is a list of about 100 activities, crafts, lessons, games and resources that are suitable for your Earth Day unit or Social Studies unit.

Arts and crafts

Get the Kiddos involved! Engage your kiddos in Earth Day activities you can do at home. Make a Nature Craft. Get inspired by the large list of nature crafts listed below.

Make an Earth Day sign or banner for your school or home (Beelieve Academy) Use recycled fabric, pillow cases or old blankets. Draw Earth Day messages with fabric markers or sharpies.

Tree Rubbing (Beelieve Academy) Get in touch with your natural side. Tape a piece of paper to the bark of a tree. Provide your child with crayons. Encourage your child to color the tree’s pattern onto the piece of paper.

Leaf Rubbing (Beelieve Academy) Go on a nature walk in your backyard. Collect some leaves. Make sure they are not dried out or otherwise they will crumble under the paper. For younger children, tape the leaves to a piece of paper. This way the leaves stay in place. Place another piece of paper on top of the leaves. Using crayons, encourage your child to color the tree’s pattern onto the piece of paper.

Nature portrait- Bring your easel outside. Grab your paints and paint the scene before you. (Beelieve Academy)

Leaf Printing on Fabric (The Artful Parent)

Pinecone and Peanut Butter Bird Feeder

Painted Sticks(Crafts by Courtney)

Painted Stones( Garden Mama)

Painted Shells, (Fantastic Fun and Learning)

Nature Prints made with Sculpey ( The Artful Parent)

Fabric Sunprints(TinkerLab)

Water painting (Beelieve Academy)

Nature Box Dioramas (Art Club Blog)

Corn Husk Doll( Garden Mama)

Tin Can Drums (Hands as we Grow)

Upcycled Bug Hotel (Laugh Paint Create)

Leaf Necklaces (My Very Educated Mother)

Baby Food Jars into Summer Candle Votives(Tinkerlab)

Milk Carton Plug Ring (No Time for Flash Cards)

34 Recyclables to Upcycle for the Kids(Hands on As we Grow)

Recycled Trash Sculpture (Tinkerlab)

Abstract Recycled Print with styrofoam trays(Tinkerlab)

DIY Wind Chimes with Tin Cans (Hands on: As we Grow)

15 Recycled Paper Roll Crafts(No Time for Flash Cards)

Simple Styrofoam Prints(Tinkerlab)

Make a Trashy Collage for Earth Day(Teach Preschool)

75 Egg Carton Projects (Tinkerlab)

Build a Mud Pie Kitchen (Tinkerlab)

Six Ways to Take Art Outdoors

Construction Paper Sun Prints (A Mom with a Lesson Plan)

Outdoor Color Match Game(Inner Child Fun)

Rainbow Scavenger Hunt(Tinkerlab)

Make your own Nature Journa(Mom with a Lesson Plan)

6 Backyard Playscapes for Fun and Learning(Let the Children Play)

Slide Drawing (Tinkerlab)

Drawing Shadows(Tinkerlab)

Four Messy Outdoor Crafts (She Knows)

Earth Day Paper Plate Weaving (Pre-K Pages)

Homemade Seed Paper (Pre-K Pages)

Painting with Recycled Objects (Pre-K Pages)

Simple Earth Suncatcher (No Time for Flash Cards)

Recycled Art (No Time for Flash Cards)

Cardboard Tube Marble Run Building Activity (Little Bins for Little Hands)

Recycled Planter on a String (JDaniel4’s Mom)

Coffee Filter Earths (JDaniel4’s Mom)

Homemade Crayons (Carrots Are Orange)

Mess Free Earth Painting (Still Playing School)

10 Eco-Friendly Earth Day Crafts(Family Education)

Pretend Play

Landfill and Recycling Factory Play (One Time Through) Use some common household items and recycle some old ones to create a landfill and recycling factory.

Recycled Building Blocks (B-Inspired Mom) Put recycling into action by turning cardboard tubes and soap boxes into DIY building blocks!

Music and Movement

Earth Day Songs (Prekinders)

8 Earth Day Songs for Kids (Pre-k Pages)

Around the World Earth Day Game (Teach Preschool)

Upcycled Plastic Egg Music Shakers (Pre-K Pages)

Snacks

Earth Day Snack Idea (Educators’ Spin on It) Celebrate Earth Day with this healthy snack. Get blueberries and green grapes to recreate the water and land in this Earth Day Snack! Covid friendly as students can create their own, individual snack.

This tree snack craftivity is perfect for Earth day, Arbor Day, or Spring lesson plans. Grapes are a major choking hazard so make sure your child is fully supervised and able to eat them. I suggest cutting the grapes in half and in half again.

Sensory Play for Earth Day (Pre-K Pages)

Make a Play Garden (The Imagination Tree)

Earth Day Sensory Bin (One Time Through)