Earth Day Activities

I am very excited to have a guest talk to you on my blog today :)  Her name is Blair Crawford, and although she does not have a blog yet, I know when she gets one that it will be a hit :)

 

Hi! I’m Blair and I’m very excited to get to talk to the LoveToTeach community! I don’t currently have a blog (I’m not as organized as Laura!) but you can reach me at @blair_crawford on Twitter.

Earth Day is right around the corner and this year I wanted to do something other than watching the Disney Earth Day release with my class. Don't get me wrong, the kids and I love them but I feel like I haven't done anything new since I got my teaching certificate! As you'll read below I've compiled a list of interactive things to do with the kids.

Teaching the kids about reducing, reusing and recycling is the center of Earth Day so if you go over things that the kids recycle at home and have them bring some of the items in you can do fun projects in the class room with very few extra supplies!

1. Plant seeds in toilet paper rolls or tin cans

            The rolls are biodegradable (teachable moment!) and once the seeds sprout you can plant them outside or have the kids take them home to plant. If you go with the tin cans the kids can decorate the cans and then can keep them in class for a while before they take them home for the summer.

2.  Make wind chimes out of recycled materials

            There are a lot of materials to do this one and the kids will instantly see the fruits of their labor.

3. Decorate your bulletin board using only recycled things

            Have the kids decorate used paper or paper grocery bags with Earth Day themed images or "things they can do to help the Earth" and staple them to the board. They'll love looking at their art and knowing that you can reuse almost anything!

4. Make and decorate a composting bin

            Composting can be pretty tricky (and smelly) but it makes great soil and is a great tool to teach the kids about the circle of life. Plus - what kid doesn't want to paint a large bin? 

5. Plant the top of a carrot or pineapple

            The tops of carrots and pineapples sprout again when planted so it's a fun way to show your class the growing process. Things coming back to life always get kids excited.

Depending on your school's budget, how dirty you want to get and how much time you can spend on a new lesson plan there should be something in this list you can do in your classroom. Enjoy and Happy Earth Day planning!