Earth Day started as an idea in 1962 by the late Senator Gaylord Nelson, and took seven years to come to fruition.  Wow, talk about discipline, after seven years, I might have lost my concentration!   During this seven years, Senator Nelson spent his time talking to congress, encouraging grassroots campaigns and educating the country on the devastation from oils spills, toxic dumping, pollution, pesticides, the extinction of wildlife and much, much, more.  

These topics were not commonly discussed topics by the media and therefore not well known by Americans.   Senator Nelson felt that this lack of attention to the Earth was a tragedy and on April 22, 1970, due to his encouragement and education, 20 million Americans took to the streets to fight for a clean and healthy earth, thus, we have Earth Day….and a much cleaner environment for our children to grow up in!  Earth Day is now celebrated by environmentally healthy people across the globe!

So, yes, this might not be something that will keep the focus of our children’s minimal attentions spans that are already tempted by high tech video games, cartoons and gory television.   But, with a little creative thinking, Earth Day can be transformed into a fun lesson for our kids of all ages, and end with Earth Day crafts that encourage “green” thinking for our whole family.

Let’s Celebrate!

Nature Walk and Collage

Supplies

·         A large bowl for collecting collage material

·         Paper that has already been printed or written on

·         Glue

Collage Time:

1.       Spring is here and the sun is out. It’s the perfect time for a nature walk! Take the kids, of all ages, out in your yard, or around the neighborhood and pick up leaves, flowers, twigs and bark (within the boundaries of not picking other peoples flowers or destroying live growing vegetation).  You can expand this to pick up trash that has been left on the ground and turn it into a lesson of cleaning up the environment also.

2.       Utilize the back side of paper that has already been printed or written on to glue your newly found nature pieces (not the trash, get rid of that!).

3.       Hang your nature collages around the house for fun memories and eco friendly reminders! You can hang in them in places where being green is especially important, like the kitchen and bathrooms as a reminder to not waste water and recycle.

Lady Bug Rocks (http://crafts.kaboose.com/earth-ladybug-rocks.html)

Supplies

·         Oval, smooth rocks                                                                                                                                                        

·         2 wiggle eyes for each lady bug                                                                                                                            

·         Craft paint in black and whichever creative colors your little ones want to use                             

·         Black permanent marker                                                                                                                                          

·         Craft glue for the eyes

Creation Time:

1.       Clean and dry each rock.

2.       Paint each rock in the desired color(s) (for a picture, click on the link above)

3.       Paint the tip of the rock black for the head.

4.       Draw a line down the center of the rock with the black marker

5.       Paint  black lady bug dots on the body of the lady bug

6.       Glue on the wiggly eyes

7.       Set them outside to add to your garden and to be a friendly reminder of being kind to Mother Earth and how each part of our ecosystem is important!

Plant for Earth Day (http://crafts.kaboose.com/earth-tin-can-herb-pots.html)

Supplies

·         Used, cleaned tin cans (empty soup, coffee, canned veggies, etc. cans)

·         Phillips screw driver (or something with a pointed sharp end and hammer

·         Paint, stickers, markers

·         Glue

·         Craft or Popsicle Stick (popsicle sticks are more fun and emphasize recycling J )

·         Potting soil

·         Potting herbs or flowers – sized to match the size of the cans used

·         Water

·         Small stones, rocks or pebbles

Planting Time:

1.       Poke holes in the bottom of the tin can with the screwdriver and hammer (for adults to do).  Turn the tin upside down, place screwdriver’s point side on the bottom of the tin, and hammer it down until the hole is poked.   Poke 3-6 holes depending on the size of the tin.

2.       Decorate the tin with paint, markers, stickers and anything else you and your little ones imagination leads too

3.       Layer the bottom of the tin with one layer of small stones, rocks or pebbles

4.       Fill tin with potting soil about ¾ of the way full

5.       Transplant the herb or flower to the tin

6.       Fill the rest of the tin with potting soil

7.       Place on a plate to catch water

8.       Water the new creation

9.       Place by a sunny window and water as needed

10.   (If you planted an herb – label your popsicle stick with the name of the herb and place it in the tin)

11.   Enjoy your flowers, or herbs for viewing or cooking…. and be proud that you are giving back to the environment!

Enjoy this time with your children, while discussing the meaning and facts of earth day. Emphasize the “greenness” behind the specific projects you are doing, and ask for their thoughts on it (it’s always fun and refreshing to hear a child’s perspective).  Ask your kids for ideas on where to display these crafts so that they can be reminded to conserve water and energy, recycle and to be “friendly to the planet”.  

Have fun celebrating this important holiday!