I've been so busy lately that this one kind of snuck up on me. :D I knew it was soon and already had a few ideas in mind that I would like to do with the kiddos. But was I ever surprised this morning to check my email and discover that a good friend had sent me a Happy Earth Day card. Ok, I thought. She's on the ball and getting it sent out early so she doesn't forget. So I did a quick search thinking it was a couple of days off and t hen just sat there when I saw that the date was TODAY!! Argh!
So, here's the line-up that I had planned (in no particular order):
- Get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather (and our Home at the same time)
- Going on a Nature Hike and pointing out local flora and fauna (I guess this goes hand in hand with #1)
- Tend to our garden! Feed and care for the plants to ensure a bountiful garden. This not only helps your garden but refreshes your spirit as well. Care for your houseplants as well. If you don't have any, today is the day to plant some seeds or buy seedlings at your local nursery. Make a terrarium! My kiddos did this yesterday at their craft group. You can find an easy one at Kaboose. I especially like this one because you're reusing what you already have!
- Watch Wall-E ~ This is an excellent movie that really, sadly enough, protrays where we're headed if we don't start taking better care of our Home. We have the power to change the path we are on but it will take a concerted effort by everyone to take care of the mounds of trash that are already starting to form in so many areas.
- Pick up trash in our neighborhood and on our walk. It's amazing just how much you find when you're looking for it that we often pass right by. Assorted toys (lost, broken, or otherwise), beer bottles, fast food wrappings, water bottles etc.
- Paint the Earth. This is a super easy craft. All you need are round paper coffee filters (white is best), some blue & green water color paints (or you could use water w/ a heavy concentration of food coloring for little kids that get frustrated trying to remember to dip the brush before getting paint) and a brush. Just randomly brush blobs of color onto your Earth to form the oceans & the land. These look really pretty taped up in a window!
- We can't forget the animals we share our Home with! It's great any time to put out feed for them but today is especially appropriate so we'll be filling our bird feeders and cleaning their water containers. There's lots of stuff you could do for this but it seems that birds are the easiest to feed. If you don't have a birdfeeder, make one by smearing peanut butter on a pinecone, dipping it in birdseed and then hanging outside. Or you could make birdsee biscuits! You can find two different versions at Kaboose and Family Fun. For those of you with older children something I did recently with a group to welcome Spring and the return of t he birds are birdseeed mandalas. All you need are mandalas printed on card stock (Mandala Healing has a few appropriate ones ~ they need to have large open spaces), assorted birdseed, and peanut butter. Just smooth the peanut butter onto the area you're working on and then cover it with your birdseed. When you're finished place them outside for the birds to enjoy. If you're concerned about the paper, simply go through in a few days and police it up. Craft Test Dummies also has a fun birdbath craft.
- Assorted little Earthday activity books. You can find some at Enchanted Learning. There is also a great little freebie at CurrClick by Teacher Book Bag (one of my favorite resources for curriculum) called Happy Earth Day!. In fact, there are several Earth Day items at this great site, so check it out!
- A trip to the local recycling center! This isn't something super special since we're often there but it seems a little symbolic walking our wagon over there filled with this weeks refuse on this day. My homeschool group even did a field trip there last year but I can't seem to find that post. I can't possible have forgotten to write about it? (Gasp!) However, here is a link to the Earth Day post I did last year, Earth Day Prep.
Other Ideas & Sites To Check Out
Watch he BBC & Discovery mini series Planet Earth
Go to the theater premier of Disneynature Earth in theaters today!
Earth Day 2009 ideas at Kaboose
Caring for the Earth & Earth Day Theme Unit at EdHelper (for those with a membership)
Spring Outside! ~ Get Outside to Celebrate Earth Day with the Nature Conservancy.
Check out Earth Day Network
Enchanted Learning Earth Day Crafts
Trek Earth (this is an awesome site I discovered recently that has photos posted from all around the world. Go on a journey and check out different areas of our Home!
Enviroline ~ Earth Day History
Planet Pals
Eco Kids
DLTK Earth Day Activities
For those of you that watch TV, assorted kids shows are going green with special episodes for Earth Day.
BLue Boat Home by Peter Mayer is a beautiful song that is often sung by Unitarian Universalist congregations. It talks about how we're all travelers on the Earth, our Home. The notes oftentransport the listeners to a feeling of unity and moving forward as one. So this is definitely one of those perfect songs that really captures the feeling of what Earth Day is about. You can find the lyrics at The Great Story.
Michael Jackson's Earth Song also seems appropriate today. I'm not a huge fan of it, but the the children love it.
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