Earth Day Toddler Activities

HAPPY EARTH DAY

The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “Restore our Earth” It’s all about reducing our environmental footprint and fixing the damage we’ve already done. It’s our annual reminder to take better care of our planet. After all, it’s the only home we have.

Take a look at some great toddler activities that we put together that you can do with your kiddos around your area.

Sorting Station

• Set up a sorting station with three containers: trash, compost and recycling. After a meal, invite kids to sort their things into the correct category. Where do milk jugs go? How about banana peels? It’s a great time to start the discussion around what is recyclable and what is compostable, and how they can be reused.

Scavenger Hunt

• Set up a scavenger hunt for your little ones. Last year I got the girls wagon out and pulled them around while they looked for items that I had drawn on a sheet on paper. If you’re kiddos are old enough to draw – grab a box of crayons and some pieces of paper and have them draw what they see. The kids will enjoy just being out and about! Here are some examples of things they can search for along the way.
  • three kinds of leaves
  • a flower
  • a spider web
  • a smooth rock
  • something to climb
  • a butterfly
  • moss
  • a duck or dog (depending on where you live)
  • a birds feather
  • a squirrel
  • something you can eat (garden)
  • a tree
  • something blue

Earth Day Themed Books

• Find some Earth Day themed books and read them with your kiddos. Here are some of our fave’s.
  • The Lorax by Dr Seuss
  • Curious George Plants a Tree by Margaret & H.A. Rey’s
  • Little Critter – It’s Earth Day by Mercer Mayer
  • I Can Save the Earth by Alison Inches
  • Why Should I Save Water by Jen Green
  • Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals

Plant Something

• Plant something! I know in most cases on Earth Day they recommend planting a tree. If you don’t have a spot for a tree or your neighborhood/town isn’t hosting a “plant a tree” event at a local park, then let the kiddos get their hands dirty and plant some flowers. Kids love to be hands on and a little dirt never hurt 😉 This is a great sensory activity and gets them using their fine motor skills. It also encourages listening and following directions.

Paint the Earth

• Paint the Earth with balloons. If your kiddos are anything like mine, they LOVE to paint. It’s a prefect activity to incorporate into their day and chat about the Earth and how we can take care of it. Here’s what you’ll need:
  • Grab some balloons (come on Mama I know you have some tucked away in a drawer some where left over from a birthday party)
  • Blue and green paint
  • Paper plate
  • Canvas or sheet of painting paper
    • Squirt some green and blue paint onto the paper-plate. Blow up a few small balloons (one for each child doing the activity) and let them dip their balloon into the green then to the blue paint and dob it onto the paper. They can paint a few small Earth’s or keep dobbing until the entire paper is covered. Let them get creative

Create a Sensory Bin

• Create a sensory bin. These are so easy to put together and so much fun for the little ones. You will want to get the bin together while your child is busy doing something else or during nap time so make sure to plan ahead. I have two options for you.
  • Save the Fish from Waste Sensory. Here’s what you’ll need
    • Bucket
    • Water Beads or Water
    • Food Coloring
    • Sea Toys
    • Let over plastic (cut up straws, plastic bottle caps, pouch caps, ziplock bag cut up
    • Child Tweezers or mini fish net
    • Rocks

Challenge your child to use the tweezers to pick up all the plastic pieces. While they are doing this activity you can use the time to explain to them about plastic and how it impacts our environment.

Not into making your own sensory bin? That’s fine. Target has some that you can grab. There’s is a Garden Critters Sensory Bin. Have your child fill up the buckets with the sand provided to plant the flowers. While they do this, chat with them about the pollinators of the world and why it’s important to take care of our world. You can also change it up and add in some plastic pieces like the bin above and have your child clean up their “park”.