Get ready for a greener April with 30 fun and simple ways to celebrate Earth Month! Today on the blog, we’re sharing hands-on Earth Day crafts and activities that help the planet and inspire kids to become young environmental stewards.!
Make a Salt Dough Earth
Have fun mixing, shaping, and baking your little Earth! Learn some fun facts about soil as you create these hanging Earth Day crafts favorites.
Ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, ¾ cup warm water. Mix flour and salt, then slowly add water until a dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Adjust with flour or water if needed. Shape & create your Earth then bake at 200°F for 2-3 hours or air dry for 24-48 hours. Decorate with non-toxic paints once fully dry!
Start a Compost Project
Composting is fun! Let your children be in charge of collecting food scraps after every meal and adding them to your compost bin, whether it’s a countertop pail or something in the yard. You don’t need a big backyard to be a composter. Anyone can do it.
Make Your Own Paper
Handmade paper is not only one of the most satisying and fun Earth day crafts but it is a fun thing to make with children throughout the year! Use it for homemade cards, gift wrap, scrap paper - the works! Use junk mail, newspapers and other papers meant for the recycling bin.
Learn Ways to Save Energy at Home
Conduct your own energy savings checklist at home and see if next month’s utility bills have saved you money and energy.
Learn About the Lifecycle of Trees
This is a wonderful activity to do with children regardless of where you live in the world. You can learn about trees in your own backyard, at a local park or on a walk through the woods.
Build Your Own Rain Barrel
Collect rain to water your gardens by rigging up this simple device.
DIY Earth Day Recycled Newspaper Book
Celebrate the Earth with this sweet Earth day craft and blog by our friend Jennifer, @studio_rosie.
A few years ago, our neighborhood park had an Earth Day celebration where the town came together to plant a new tree. It was a beautiful way to observe Earth Day and ever since, it's been one of my daughter's favorite holidays. Her birthday party last year was even an Earth Day recycling party!
Celebrate our planet with this craft that uses recycled materials and encourages you to find the beauty in nature.
Plant Seedlings
Anyone can plant seeds at home! Use a few paper cups or small pots and fill with potting soil. Try some fun and fast-growing seeds like pole beans, radishes or pumpkins. Leave your seeds in a sunny windowsill that is easily accessible for children to check on.
Unplug for the Day
Put away the screens! Can your family go 24 hours without any tablets, TVs, computers or mobile devices? Adults are encouraged to do this too!
Spotlight on Terra Kids
Your little one is hands down a natural-born adventurer, so why not give them the tools to take them from one expedition to the next?
Our toys are designed to help your child unleash their inner engineer, scientist, or ecologist in a fun, hands-on way.
You can rest assured that a single play session with these toys will quickly foster their passion for the outdoors and STEM for a lifetime! Find the collection HERE and get outside!
Upcycled Art
Let the kids dive into that recycling pile they just organized and make a recycled robot or design their very own game out of old cereal boxes or shake some maracas made out of milk jugs. Set aside egg cartons, toilet paper and paper towel rolls and jars from the recycling bin to use for craft projects throughout the year.
Build an Insect Hotel
Insects need safe spaces to shelter and raise their young. You can help them by building your very own bug hotel in your garden! Find a tutorial HERE.
Make Dirt Cups
You've made it more than halfway on our countdown to Earth Day so you deserve a treat! Have fun learning about worms and other creatures that help our Earth as you enjoy a yummy dirt cup! Find a recipe HERE.
Create a Nature Table
Bring some of that wonder and awe from outside in by setting up a nature table. Designate a spot in the house where children can bring their treasures from the outdoors in and connect to the season. Gather special rocks, cool pieces of moss, pinecones, shells, and more. Placing a magnifying glass or microscope on the table allows them to explore their natural treasures even more.
The Importance of Bees
Bees are integral to the health of our planet. Bees pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife. Here’s a few easy ways you and your family can help save the bees!
- Plant their favorite flowers - Foxglove, birdsfoot trefoil and red clover are among their favorites. Or pick up a pollinator seed mix from your local garden supply store.
- Provide shelter - Bees need a cozy place to rest too. Hang up a bee hotel to keep them safe when the temperatures dip.
- Stop using pesticides - This common practice is one of the biggest killers of bees. Avoid using them on your lawn and garden to keep the bees (and the planet) safe.
Pack Reusable Products When You're On the Go
1. Reusable water bottle
2. Steel straw
3. A spork
4. Cloth napkins
5. Cotton shopping totes
6. A tiny laundry bag (for stashing anything that needs to be brought home to be cleaned)
Feed the Birds
Birds are essential to keeping our world growing and blooming. And they are one of the most vulnerable to climate change.
Encourage your kids to take care of the birds throughout the year by creating a pinecone bird feeder, a recycled milk jug feeder, or simply hanging a traditional feeder.
Start a bird watching journal and write down all the feathered friends that flock to your yard, noticing migration patterns and becoming a backyard scientist.
Healthy Oceans
Although we have 4 oceans, they are actually all connected as one giant body of water.
A whopping 78% of our planet is covered by the ocean
When you walk outside, all of the land and sky you see, or will ever see in your whole life is just 1% of the biosphere. The ocean makes up 99%!
The ocean is home to the world’s largest animal, the Blue Whale. It grows up to 98 feet and can weigh as much as 130 tons.
Take a Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt
Can you find all these items?
1. A bird
2. A tree as tall as a house
3. Green grass
4. Acorn
5. Squirrel
6. A leaf on the ground
7. Clover
8. A new spring sprout
Find a printable scavenger hunt HERE.
How to Tell a Tree's Age
A simple way is to count the rings on a tree that is already cut down.
Do some research and see if you can find more ways to tell a tree's age, while it is still growing big and strong.
Join a Clean Up Day
Many local towns have their own clean-up days where residents help pick up trash around their neighborhood. Don't have one in your area? Take a garbage bag to the park or a beach and help clean up litter on your own.
What is an Endangered Animal
An endangered species is an organism that is threatened by extinction. Species become endangered for two main reasons: loss of habitat and loss of genetic variation. See if you can find stories about animals on the verge of extinction and how they made a come back.
Listen to Songs Inspired By Earth Day
The magic of Earth Day is more than just marches and art, it makes its way into our music as well!
Read Books About the Earth
Visit your local library and have fun learning new things about our incredibly wonderful Earth.
Get Outside to Paint
Enjoy the sunshine today. Grab your paints and head to a local park to paint a scene.
The History of Earth Day
By the end of 1970, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of other first-of-their-kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Two years later Congress passed the Clean Water Act. Learn more HERE.
Sustainability at HABA
HABA toys are designed and constructed with durability and stability in mind, using sustainable production methods. Many HABA products are geared to help introduce children to the wonders of nature and inspire environmental awareness.
With so much of our production relying on a supply of beech wood, we are active in making sure trees are sustainable from the beginning of their life cycle. We regularly play a role in the reforestation of local land. Learn more HERE.
Craft Paper Mache Globes
We love celebrating this historic day with our children to help them become stewards of our great planet.
Simple Earth day crafts like these are a wonderful way to engage your children in creativity while discussing our world with them. Join us in helping raise the next generation of environmentalists today and every day.
Use string to hang your globes around the house or out in the garden for your Earth Day celebration! Get the tutorial HERE.
Make an Earth Day Action Plan
We love our Earth! Today, make an action plan for ways you can help out the Earth all year long and beyond!
Write a Song, Story, or Poem to Honor the Earth
Share your love for Mother Earth and compose some words in her honor. Whether you sing out or have some rhyming time, this creative act is a great way to celebrate Earth month.
Happy Earth Month!
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