Each year on April 22, Earth Day is celebrated by millions of people worldwide. Started by former US Senator Gaylord Nelson in response to a devastating oil spill, it’s since become an annual event to raise awareness of both the dangers of pollution and the initiatives we can follow to help make the Earth a healthier planet.

This year’s motto for Earth Day is Restore Our Planet. In response to the threats that climate change has posed, this theme calls us to focus on the processes, actions and innovations that can help us restore our planet to a cleaner state.

Let’s review why Earth Day is a great time to teach your kids about the importance of taking care of the environment. We’ll also go over some of our favourite Earth Day-themed activities and crafts that are sure to be fun and informative for the whole family.

Explaining Earth Day to Your Kids

Earth Day is the perfect time to teach your kids about the value of the environment and the important role that each of us play in keeping it healthy and clean. Our children are our future — and if anyone is going to make a difference in fighting the likes of climate change for future generations, it’s them!

While teaching our children about the planet can be fun and interesting, it’s also an important act of civility. When kids learn about the importance of the environment at a younger age, they’ll be more likely to adopt sustainable habits and follow greener initiatives in the years to come.

Teaching children about environmental care is also a great way to help them sharpen their critical thinking skills, develop greater problem-solving skills and nurture an interest in nature. If your child has a favourite animal or plant, teaching them what Earth Day represents is a great way to remind them of the greater role environmental care plays in keeping our habitats intact.

Earth Day Activities for Kids

Encouraging your kids to participate in eco-friendly activities is a great way to enforce their interest in keeping the world healthy. Some activities that are great for raising awareness may include:

• Planting a tree in the backyard
• Letting your child help with identifying and sorting recyclable items
• Going on frequent walks or bike rides to reduce carbon emissions
• Encouraging them to better manage their energy use (eg. turning off the lights, turning off the water while brushing teeth, turning off devices when they’re not in use)
• Teaching them how to grow herbs and plants
• Feeding outdoor wildlife or building a birdhouse

Earth Day Crafts For Kids

Another great way to get kids excited about Earth Day is to plan some fun at-home crafts to do with the family. Here are just a few of our favourite ideas:

Earth Cookies

These tasty Earth-shaped cookies are super fun, simple and inexpensive to make! You’ll just need:

• 2 packages of sugar cookie mix
• 2 eggs
• 2 sticks of butter
• Blue food colouring
• Green food colouring

Prepare the sugar cookie batter per the instructions on the packaging and be sure to keep both portions in separate bowls. Add the blue food colouring to one batch and add the green food colouring to the other batch.

Next, take two spoonfuls of each coloured batter, combine them and roll them so that they form a ball in your hands. Lastly, place them on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool and they’ll be good to eat!

Flower Crowns/Wreaths

Flower crowns are a great way to foster your child’s appreciation for one of nature’s finest offerings! Whether you decide to use real or pretend flowers, crown or wreath-making is a great activity that will encourage your child to get creative with pattern making and designing. To put these together, you’ll need:

• Flowers and leaves (either collected from the garden or cut-out from your chosen medium)
• Construction paper
• Double-sided tape
• Scissors
• Stapler

First, prepare the base of your craft by cutting a long strip from the construction paper. If you’re making a flower crown, you’ll want to make sure you measure your child’s head size (it may require two strips of paper combined). We recommend making your strip at least 10 cm thick.

Next, create an adhesive surface by placing the double-sided tape onto each strip. Let your child take care of the sticking! Staple any objects for extra security.

Compost Bin Decorations

When we picture our compost bins, we don’t typically imagine them as being a particularly eye-catching accessory. Instead of thinking of them as ordinary or even ugly, consider decorating them as a way of making waste disposal a little more exciting!

While we don’t suggest using permanent paint solutions or anything that may deface your compost bin (as your city may not like this), purchasing fun stickers or gluing some colourful decorations to your bin is a great alternative.

Come Play at Jumbaloo

We hope you’ve enjoyed our tips on how to make this Earth Day a fun, informative and productive learning experience for your kids this year! Over the past year, we’ve learned that there are so many fun activities for families to do at home — and we’ve been happy to share our ideas with all of our dedicated customers.

Our team at Jumbaloo Playgrounds is thrilled to have our doors open again and welcome you to our indoor playground space. We are following all hygiene protocols in response to COVID-19 to ensure our space is fully safe for all.

To book your next playdate at Jumbaloo, call us at 905-785-3990 or fill out our contact form. We can’t wait to see you soon!