Julie Finn
Happy Earth Day!
Did you get caught with your eco-friendly pants down and nothing planned to celebrate Earth Day with your kiddos today? No problem! Every day is Earth Day, and just to prove it, here’s a list of kid-friendly Earth Day projects that require no prep work and use only materials that you probably have around your house. Make one of these crafts today to celebrate Earth Day, and then make another one tomorrow, just because!
Got duct tape? You can collect treasure on a nature walk! This simple nature walk bracelet utilizes duct tape with the sticky side out–put the bracelet on your kiddos (and yourself!), then go on a hike or a walk around the neighborhood and collect pretty natural objects by simply sticking them to your bracelets.
Super-last-minute, no-prep shortcut: Put bracelet on kid. Send kid out into yard. Nap briefly until kid returns. Admire kid’s bracelet.
Got water and random small toys? You can make ice treasures! Even my school-aged kids LOVE excavating these ice treasures, and it’s a fun lesson on re-use, since the random toys and pompoms and game pieces that I found lying on the floor and incorporated into the project became beloved again after the girls had spent the afternoon working to set them free.
Super-last-minute, no-prep shortcut: Ice cubes, salt, liquid watercolors or food coloring, and eye droppers are also vastly entertaining for kids.
Got o-shaped cereal and pipe cleaners or floral wire? You can feed the birds! These Cheerios on wire bird feeders are kid-friendly and quite cute. Although birds CAN eat Cheerios, if you’ve got a more natural, un-fortified o-shaped cereal, go for that instead.
Super-last-minute, no-prep shortcut: Spread peanut butter on a pine cone (or anything else that you can hang and that the peanut butter will grip–sticks and wood slices work well), roll in cereal, and hang from a tree.
Next >> Seeds Pots, Salt Dough, Nature Paint, and Earth Day Cakes
