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Earth Day is a great opportunity to help your little one better understand the importance of taking care of the environment.
The best way to do this is to introduce ideas slowly through fun activities and conversation – that’s how children learn best!
Did you know…
Each of these activities provides your child with the opportunity to further develop the following Early Years skills:
Communication and Language - learning new vocabulary, listening, and understanding.
Physical Skills – developing fine motor skills.
Understanding of the World – better understanding of environmental issues both locally and globally.
Mathematics – add counting when grabbing each item to enhance their learning!
Let’s dive straight into our 5 Earth Day themed activities for under 5s!
The Experiment: Grow Your Own Beans
Growing experiments take time but are also some of the most fulfilling. It’s an ideal opportunity to teach your little one about healthy and sustainable food habits.
You will need:
Glass jar or bottle
Cotton wool balls
2 beans – you can use any, but this experiment used dried butter beans (straight from the supermarket).
Water
Method:
Stuff some cotton wool balls into the jar.
Put 1 bean on either side of the jar.
Add water – enough to make it damp but not too wet.
Place on a windowsill.
Within 2-3 days you should start to see it grow. After about a week you should be able to find a shoot coming off the main root! You can keep a diary to revisit the changes you see every day.
The Activity: Earth-Themed Seed Bombs
Teach your little one the importance of local wildflowers by making your own seed bombs to scatter around the park or garden!
You will need:
Coloured paper (blue, white and green)
Packets of British wildflower seeds (planting non-native flowers can damage the ecosystem)
Water
3 bowls
Blender
Method:
Tear up the paper and put into 3 separate bowls.
Cover with water and leave to absorb for 30mins.
Put one colour of paper into a blender and blitz thoroughly until it forms a wet pulp. Add more water if needed. Do this for each colour.
Tip your seeds into the blue bowl and mix thoroughly. This is a great chance to chat about seeds and how they turn into flowers.
Scoop up a small amount of the blue pulp and seed mixture (around the size of a large marble) and form it into balls.
Take smaller pieces of the green and white pulp and press them onto the surface to create the continents and the ice caps.
You can plant your seed bombs in the ground straight away, just make sure you follow the instructions on the seed packets.
The Activity: Shaving Cream Marbled Earth
This is a fun and easy activity which provides loads of opportunities to chat about the importance of environmental issues and the solar system!
You will need:
White shaving cream
Blue and green paint or food colouring
Baking sheet
2 x ice lolly sticks
Paper plates
Method:
Start by adding some white shaving cream to a baking sheet in a circle shape.
Use the ice lolly stick to spread it smooth.
Put a few drops of your blue and green paint or food colouring over the shaving cream and swirl using the ice lolly stick.
Take a white paper place and press the bottom of it into the shaving cream – make sure the whole side gets covered.
Peel the plate away and using your other ice lolly stick wipe off the excess shaving cream.
Finally, leave to dry!
The Activity: DIY Bird Feeder Ornaments
Decorate your garden or balcony and help local wildlife by making these awesome birdfeed ornaments! It’s a great chance to chat about the local ecosystem and the lifecycle of birds.
You will need:
½ cup of cold water & ½ cup boiling water
2 packets of gelatine (or agar-agar for a vegan alternative)
2 Tablespoons of corn syrup
2 ½ cups of birdseed
Biscuit cutters
Straws cut in 2” bits
Baking paper
String
Bowl
Method:
Mix the gelatine with ½ cup of cold water till dissolved in your bowl.
Add ½ cup of boiling water to the bowl and stir slowly till dissolved.
Add 2 tablespoons of corn syrup and stir.
Mix in the birdseed.
Spoon in the mix into your biscuit cutters. Fill each fully and use baking paper to press the seeds firmly into the mould (you can also make the shapes by hand).
Push the straw into the ornaments to make a hole for your string.
Place your biscuit cutters filled with birdseed into the fridge overnight.
The next day, remove the biscuit cutters, take out the straws and thread your string.
Your birdfeeder ornaments are now ready to be hung up outside!
Activity: Earth Sensory Tray
Sensory Trays are amazing! They allow your little one to explore items and topics using all of their senses. It’s also another great opportunity to discuss important topics like sustainability, the importance of ecosystems and more.
You will need:
Tray
Little animal figures
Optionally, natural or household objects
Coloured rice or shaving cream (blue and green – click here for a guide to dye rice)
Scoop/wooden spoon
Method:
This one is easy! Simply grab your tray add in all of the elements one by one and let your little one explore.
Additional Resources