11 Earth Day Ideas To Do With Your Child

Posted on April 21, 2023 by danielleridgway

Happy Earth Day friends!

Although we believe Earth Day should be every day, here’s a few ways you can show your love for our earth with your child. There’s a mix of no cost, no prep ideas with more prep and some cost ideas. But they’re all ways to show some love to Mother Earth.

Plant a tree.
Make a bird feeder. Birds are important pollinators, and they can also help to control pests. Making bird feeders can be really easy too! We’ve DIY’d a few bird feeders the last few years. Every time it’s so fun to make with Mila. Check them out here: Rainbow Heart Bird Feeder, Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder, Birdhouse Motel.
Go on a nature walk. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, my little absolutely loves getting outside and exploring. Going on a nature walk and having her find different things while walking is always a hit! You can have littles do a Nature Scavenger Hunt or look for something specific depending on their interests. Either way, getting outside is always a great idea.
Help to clean up a local park or beach. This is a great way to teach kids about the importance of keeping our environment clean. I swear Mila constantly asks if we can pick up the trash on the side of the road every time we’re in the car. Maybe one day, but we just focus on our walking paths for now.
Learn about recycling. There are so many fun ways to teach kids about recycling. This water activity let Mila see the impact of what our trash does to our oceans.
Make a bug hotel. Get a cardboard box, paint it, fill it with leaves/twigs/flowers/rocks, and set outside. Bugs will love the space and you can learn about them while they’re exploring their new hotel.
Make a compost bin. Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of food waste that goes to landfills. We have not started one at our house yet, but it is a huge goal of mine to finally do it. One day soon and I’ll make sure I share with you guys too.
Start a garden. Growing your own food is a great way to teach kids about where their food comes from and how to eat healthy. We absolutely love making a garden every year. Some years we start off with seeds and others we get starts. Either way, it’s a great way to celebrate Earth Day!
Make seed bombs.
Paint a pot. We have a lot of plants in our house, but seemingly never enough pots. A fun way to either get a plant for your home or replant a new one is for your little to paint a pot. When Mila does this, she knows she’s in charge of watering and checking in on that plant. It helps teach her responsibility and broaden her love for our Earth.
Don’t use paper or plastic plates. This is a huge one! We normally don’t use paper plates or any cutlery that you can throw away. It helps reduce waste and we get to buy really cute plates too.

I’d like to end this post by saying, it’s okay if you don’t do any of these things. Being a parent/guardian is hard work and you’re doing your absolute best!

Here are some other Earth Day projects if you’re feeling inspired:

Toddler Activity: DIY Bird Feeders

Posted on April 21, 2020 by danielleridgway

Mila has been ultra curious about birds lately. When we wake up in the morning, she hears them singing and remembers that birds sing to us. She makes the cutest face every time she hears them. The downside is… she thinks all the birds are her friends and she wants to hold them. NOPE! If she sees them in the yard, she’ll chase after them. It’s hysterical.

Sometimes, we don’t get a lot of birds that fly on our tree or around our yard. It probably has a lot to do with the two year old that chases them and the big dog that’s never far behind. With Earth Day almost here (tomorrow), I figured out a way I could combine Mila’s new love for birds and an activity to teach her how to help them… DIY bird feeders.

I took my memory way back to elementary school when I first made one of these. Fortunately, I had recently purchased birdseed, so I had all the supplies at home too. As with anything, you can substitute these items with something better you have at home. It’s whatever is best for you and your child. I probably should have researched using something other than peanut butter. I’m allergic to it, but not severely. Mila loves it, which is why I keep it at home.

Supplies:

Toilet Paper Rolls
Bird Seed
Peanut Butter
String
Scissors
Hole Punch
Knife (or spoon)
Baking Sheet (or something flat to roll bird seed on)

To make the bird feeder, it’s pretty easy.

First, I poured birdseed all across the baking sheet. I did this first because I didn’t want to be stuck with sticky peanut butter all over my hand, then try not to mix the two.

Next, I hole punched two holes in the toilet paper roll so I could easily put the string on it. You could also just put it all the way through.

After, I spread peanut butter all over the toilet paper roll. This can be a little messy.

Then, it’s rolling time. I just made sure to get an even amount of birdseed around the roll. For some parts, I had to push down with a little pressure to make sure it stayed. When I was done, I sat them up so the peanut butter could dry a little.

After it’s dried, it’s time to tie the string on the holes. Then you’re finished and can find the perfect place on your tree.

Obviously, this is a lot of steps for a two year old. I will say, Mila did try every step, besides cutting, tying, and hanging. The first roll we did together, she helped me put the peanut butter on the roll and enjoyed rolling the bird seed on. When I went to get the third one, the peanut butter was a little distracting for her. I’m unsure who got more peanut butter… the birds or Mila.

She ended up helping me roll birdseed on the last two, but thought managing and watching me was much more fun. I guess she’s a pretty cute boss.

We found spots in our tree where birds could sit on a branch and easily reach the feeder. With this activity, we were able to recycle the toilet paper rolls and help fees our local birds.

Mila definitely understood that the birds would come eat at our tree. She kept watching for them, but ended up chasing them off. One day, she’ll realize she can admire their beauty from afar. For now, she’ll keep running and stealing their peanut butter.

If you end up making recycled bird feeders, let me know in the comments!

Check out these other spring activities by other bloggers!

Toddler Activity: Earth Day Collage

Posted on April 17, 2020 by danielleridgway

Yesterday, I planned on writing a recommendation post while Mila napped. Turned out, I must have needed one too. Her usual quick nap turned into her and I snoozing for three hours. I’m definitely not complaining about the extra sleep, but it pushed back some of my plans. Oh well.

Since Mila took her nap a little later and longer, she wanted to stay up. I figured instead of just watching a movie, we could do an Earth week inspired activity. There’s a few that I’ve saved on Pinterest, but during the lockdown, I found a subscription box that caught my attention.

The Kids Art Box is an activity box for kids of all ages. It can be modified for younger and older kids, which is perfect for siblings. March’s box, the one I have, came with four activities and a seed bomb visual recipe. The really cool thing about this box is everything you need comes in it, besides the visual recipe ingredients. This is a game changer. I have a lot of craft supplies at my house, but usually when I was to do a specific one, I have to go to the store. The Kids Art Box takes care of the trip to the store or tearing your house apart. It’s also all color coded. So, the instruction card comes with a colored dot and you can find all the supplies you need for that specific card with the same colored dot.

The mom who makes these, Melanie, does an amazing job of organizing the boxes, making sure everything’s in there, and explaining what needs to be done. Unfortunately, I didn’t snag a picture of everything wrapped up. Mila thinks everything need unwrapped immediately (thanks birthday week!). All activities are clever, creative, and conducive to learning. It’s definitely worth the price as well. The best option is $33 a month and you get everything you need. I think between having all the supplies and not having to search a while for activities, it’s so worth it. If you want to check out the boxes and want $10 off, press here.

Back to our story…

I grabbed the box and Mila had tore everything open. It wasn’t hard to figure out what went where, but she thought her way was better. When looking through everything, she kept noticing the picture of the Earth and she does this weird thing where when she sees it she tries to eat it. It’s from watching a movie, Pets 2. The next time we watch it, I’ll try to record and share; makes me laugh every time. Anyways, the activity I chose for her to do was the mixed media Earth collage.

It came with: cardboard cut in a circle, blue and green paint, a packet of buttons, a packet of gems, a glue stick, string, washi tape, glitter glue, and a paint brush. A laminated picture of the world, along with directions, supply list, and information about the craft accompanied it as well.

Mila is obsessed with the buttons and gems! She kept saying ‘cute!’ I told her we were using green and blue because that’s the color of our earth. After the eating noises stopped, she pointed to the different colors and I told her she needed to paint the earth on her circle. She did typical painting routine and I think she nailed it. I asked her why it wasn’t all blue and green and she pointed to the clouds. At least I know she was referencing the picture.

By then, it was getting late and Mila started yawning. We cleaned everything up and let her earth dry over night.

When we woke up and after we watched Frozen of course, Mila insisted on seeing her earth. The paint dried up nicely and we started right on adding other media.

She’s never really experimented with glitter glue or a glue stick, but caught on after I showed her. She loved squeezing everything out and was insistent on glueing the buttons and gems down. When it got too sticky for her, she let me help her. We played around with the different media for about thirty minutes until I thought she couldn’t add anything else.

I really loved this activity and Mila did too. We talked about why we were adding blue and green and what they represented. She kept pointing to the the blue and saying beach or pool. I can definitely see us doing something similar in the upcoming years. She enjoyed it and I think it’d be interesting to see how she progressing in her understanding too.

Our little earth doesn’t have a home yet, the glitter glue is still drying… she ended up using the whole tube. She’s all girl and loves her glitter. I’m thinking of putting all our Earth Week crafts where I usually have garland. When Mila sees her art hanging, she always points to it and shows it off when people visit. It’ll be adorable to see all of her different interpretations.

I’m seriously so happy with this art box. When we do the next activity, I’ll make sure to show everything packaged together and lined up. I really want to do a “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” activity, just trying to find something for her age. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let me know!