How to Engage Children in Learning About Earth Day
By Andrea Gibbs
“The Earth is what we all have in common.” It is an important message that Wendell Berry has echoed since the early days of the environmental movement. It implies that if we can become one as a community and work together, we will better preserve and conserve our environment. Earth Day was created to unite the world into a huge community and preserve the Earth as one entity. Through this movement, generations to come will enjoy life on Earth just as much as we in the present time.
As a mother of a four-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son, I am conscious of how quickly children grow and the importance of passing along environmental thinking at an early age. I want to ensure that my children view nature as something to be cherished and not taken for granted, so every year, we choose a way to celebrate Earth Day, which relates to our family’s values.
WHAT IS EARTH DAY, AND WHY DO PEOPLE CELEBRATE IT?
Although we are very familiar with Earth Day now, it has not always been a holiday on the calendar. Earth Day is an annual celebration of Earth held on April 22. It was started in 1970 when Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson saw a need to put public attention on environmental issues and encourage people to take action. The first Earth Day was a great success and since then has become an international holiday with over 175 countries participating across the globe. Earth Day is a time of year when people come together to appreciate and celebrate the environment, raise awareness about its importance, and explore ways we as humans can protect it for generations to come.
It is important for children to understand what Earth Day is and how they can make a difference. For this reason, we have focused our celebration on Earth Day around a monthly theme that coincides with our values and engages the children in a natural way. It is important to engage them because they learn very quickly at such a young age, whether it is through direct or indirect teaching. The following are some of the ideas we have used to teach about Earth Day:
8 BRILLIANT IDEAS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT EARTH DAY
1. Talk to them about nature
Kids love talking about nature, so why not take advantage of this natural enthusiasm by having them talk to you about it? Start by asking them what they know about Earth Day, then ask them to tell you something about the environment. If they don’t know anything, try to find out where they learned about Earth Day, and if possible, share some information with them. When my daughter reached her 2nd birthday, I used to expose her to learning about nature by watching Earth Day songs on YouTube. She loves to sing it every day by having her favorite toy bear. I also used to tell her about Earth Day and why it’s important for everyone to know about it.
2. Take nature walks
Kids love nature walks. They can be done indoors or out, and they don't require any special equipment. Just grab some water bottles and snacks, and take off on a walk around the neighborhood. When I took my daughter and son outside, I used to have them identify different animals and plants of all colors of the rainbow. Easily identifiable things are leaves and grass for the color green and beautiful birds that are orange, red, and yellow. They enjoyed it so much and learned a lot from it. Nature walks are a great way to bring the family together while exploring nature at the same time.
3. Grow something green
Kids love growing things, so this is a great way to teach them about environmental responsibility. It doesn’t matter if they grow vegetables or flowers – just let them plant seeds and watch them grow into plants. My daughter had her first experience planting vegetables when she was almost three years old. My son is not yet ready for it, but he loves to plant flowers, and sometimes he waters them too.
4. Recycle
The best way to teach kids about recycling is by example. If they see you doing it, they will want to do it. It’s important to remember that recycling doesn’t just apply to plastic bottles and cans. Paper, glass, cardboard, metal, batteries, and electronics have different recycling requirements. Recycling is important for people and the environment, so it’s important that we all do our part.
5. Provide them books about caring nature
Kids love books—and they love nature. So why not combine them both? There are many books available on Earth Day, and to engage children in learning about Earth Day, spending time at the library or bookstore is a great idea to do. One of my favorite things to do with my daughter was to go book shopping and introduce her to the world of reading. It’s so rewarding to see them communicate through books, whether it’s by singing or reading words out loud. My daughter and son love those books about nature, and they still bring them to me to read. They want me to read over and over the same books because it’s so interesting for them. Just remember to find a book that fits your child’s age as well as any moral lessons you would like them to learn, but be sure to have the book in mind when you first read it so that they will understand what you are talking about.
6. Do some crafts
Kids love crafts, so why not let them play with some? Some of my daughter’s favorite craft happens when she makes crafts out of recycled materials like paper and wooden sticks. She loves to glue different colorful papers onto those sticks, but this is just one creative craft that can be made out of recycled materials. Another favorite of my daughter's is to create paper chains out of old magazines and newspapers. It gets more meaningful if you join in with them on their creative journey.
7. Minimize the use of plastics
My husband and I always encourage our children to minimize plastics because they can pollute our environment. One of the simplest ways to avoid using plastics is to use a refillable bottle or an empty container that you can fill up and reuse before buying a new one every time. My children both love drinking water, and they don’t mind at all when they have their drinks in a non-plastic cup or reusable container.
8. Play games
A great way to incorporate the topic of Earth Day is through playing games. It’s so easy for us to get caught up with the hustle and bustle of our daily routines, but it’s good to make time to play games with kids. One of the most classic yet very creative games that my four-year-old daughter and other kids used to play is Earth Day Scavenger Hunt for Kids. It is an excellent group activity that children of any age will enjoy. Before children head outside, I have the children make a list of things commonly found in nature, such as leaves, twigs, blades of grass, flowers, stones, etc. I made two copies of the list, divided the children into two groups, and handed them each a list along with a small basket for their found items.
Earth day is a great way to teach children about caring for nature and to cultivate a love for the environment. It comes naturally to most kids, so it’s important to make sure that they understand how and why Earth Day is so important. By encouraging them in the growth of a global community, we are planting seeds of respect and responsibility that they will carry throughout their lives.
Andrea Gibbs
Andrea is the Content Manager at SpringHive Web Agency, where she helps create content for their clients' blogs and websites. She is passionate about Montessori education. She raised her two children in an environment centered around the Montessori way! She is also a blogger at Montessori Academy, where she writes about storytime themes, parenting tips, and seasonal activities to entertain children.
