On April 22nd, people across the world celebrate Earth Day. It is a day focused on taking care of the environment. A big part of Earth Day is looking at how humankind can look towards the future of our planet for our children. Children respond to learning when it is fun, meaningful, and makes a connection to the child's life. So here are some ideas to engage children in the spirit of Earth Day.
Steps
Introducing Children to Earth Day
- Read your earth-themed children's story. Some great selections include "Earth Day: An Alphabet Book," "Earth Day Birthday," "Our Big Home: An Earth Poem." "Michael Recycle," "The Earth Book," "The Happiness Tree," "The Lorax", "10 Things I Can Do to Help My World," "All the World" and "All Around Me I See."
- You can also download free activity guides for "10 Things I can Do to Help My World" and "Our Big Home: An Earth Poem." Go to http://ift.tt/1yR7aLP and http://ift.tt/1DMeyXq to download these guides.
- Instead of buying books, you can request them from your local library. Many libraries have an online system that allows you to borrow from other state libraries, if it is not part of your library's holdings.
- Request free coloring books from environmental agencies. You can acquire a "Save Our Species" coloring book from the US Environmental Protection Agency, at http://ift.tt/1yR7aLR.
- Go online to environmental websites that cater to kids. Visit The Lorax Project, http://ift.tt/1yR7aLR, Kids for Saving Earth, kidsforsavingearth.org, Planet Pals, planetpals.com and PBS Eeko World, http://ift.tt/1DMewyV. Go online with your child and help them navigate the activities.
- Ask your children questions after you read, color or peruse an Earth or environmental website. Use the Socratic method to find out what they understand about Earth Day issues. Starting a conversation with your children will familiarize them with "green" vocabulary, open up communication lines, so that they are more likely to comprehend Earth Day activities.
- For example, you may want to ask children about the other animals that share the local areas and global wilderness with us. You can ask them about weather, such as rain and sun. You can ask them if they know where materials come from, such as glass, plastic, aluminum or paper. Look through the book or website ahead of time to determine what questions will be the most useful to help assess and enhance their knowledge of the earth.
Encouraging Earth Appreciation
- Spend time outside, in a natural setting. If you live in a city or the suburbs, plan a trip to a nature preserve, wooded area or large park. Children can learn with all their senses if you discuss the Earth or read a book about the Earth in a place where they can witness proof of the plants and animals that rely on it.
- The Earth Day network reported that 90 percent of children's playtime in America is spent indoors. Changing this percentage is likely to make your children more aware of their environment. The more time you devote to discovery in a natural setting, the more likely your children are to take an interest in protecting nature. Consider taking nature walks, visiting an aquarium, flying kites or swimming in an outdoor pool or lake.
- Go on a photo shoot. Give your child a camera that they can easily use. After explaining an Earth Day theme, ask them to explore a natural area and take pictures of things that remind them of what you talked about.
- When they are finished, make a photo collage online or in a scrapbook. Add to the scrapbook every year around Earth Day.
- Encourage children to write their own poem or essay about the Earth. Give them a theme chosen from this year's Earth Day celebration and allow them to use their creativity.
Teaching Eco-Friendly Practices
- Choose Earth Day topics and activities based on the age of your children. Children are able to comprehend things more fully as they get older. The following guidelines may be helpful in deciding what topics you should address:
- Pre-schoolers require fairly simple, concrete ideas. Ideas such as saving water, planting flowers, recycling, or cleaning up trash outside works better than more abstract ideas like species extinction or climate change.
- Teach children aged 5 to 11 can take on more complex projects. They may still thrive on simple Earth Day activities, they can also go deeper into ideas and do more complex ideas. For instance, they can measure how much water a bath takes versus a shower. Or learn the finer points of gardening. Or calculate how much money they will earn by redeeming 25 soda cans.
- Pre-teens and teenagers can get deeper into sciences, activism, and community service projects. They can also be more self-directed, choosing interests and connecting them with the world as a whole. For example, your fashion-savvy teen can look into purchasing summer clothing from companies that use sustainable materials and processes. Or "upcycle" thrift-store finds to reduce waste. Or perhaps take old concert T-shirts and create fun throw pillows, rather than throw them out.
- Make and set goals as a family. If a family decides they want to reduce car use, then make sure everyone has a bicycle, scooter or other alternative transportation source. Plan to take shorter showers and time everyone for a week or turn off lights and create a fine jar for any family member who does not.
- Engage in reuse or recycling craft projects. Choose a project that is easy to accomplish for the child's skill level. The following are great craft options:
- Go through your recycling bins to look for containers, such as tin cans, that can be used as flower planters. Find soil and seeds to plant and grow your own herbs, flowers or vegetables. Egg shells and milk bottles can also be used, when their tops are removed.
- Encourage children to bring a little of the outdoors indoors. Have them gather rocks and paint them for paper weights. You can also make ornaments out of pine cones or cover them in peanut butter or seeds for bird feeders.
- Make a paper mache globe by gathering newspaper and other paper from the recycling bins. Mix up a batch of paier mache glue with household materials. Use a blown up balloon for the center. Once the project is dry, paint it with land and water using non-toxic paint.
- Make a recycler's relay at a child's Earth Day party. Find aluminum, plastic and other materials and give each child a bag full of mixed recycling. Give prizes to the fastest and most accurate recyclers.
- It is OK to keep it simple, even for teenagers. Picking up trash at the beach is a simple activity, but it is appropriate for nearly all ages. So is gardening, or shopping at a secondhand store, or going for a bicycle ride. In fact, there is a powerful message when families and communities do simple acts together to help the environment!
Things You'll Need
- Earth-themed children's books
- Coloring book from the EPA
- Kids environmental websites
- Nature walk
- Camera
- Scrapbook
- Recycling bins
- Timer
- Plants/seeds
- Soil
- Tin cans
- Rocks
- Pine cones
- Non-toxic paint
- Newspapers
- Balloon
Sources and Citations
source How to of the Day http://ift.tt/1FOvdgJ
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