Earth Day is Sunday, April 22nd. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to go outdoors and interact with nature on your preschool playground? Here a few ways to celebrate Earth Day with your preschool children:
1. Gardening: Get right into the Earth by digging in the soil to plant flowers, shrubs, vegetables, or even a tree.
2. Compost: Create a space in your children’s outdoor play area for a small compost bin. Use a milk jug with the top cut off to collect compostable materials indoors.
3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Do an art project with recycled materials. A juice carton with a hole cut into the side can become a bird feeder. Old cans (with the edges smoothed down) can become a wind chime when hung from strings.
4. Nature Table Collection: Gather natural materials such as rocks, sticks, leaves, pinecones, acorns, and so on to create a collection. Display the collection on a “Nature Table” so everyone (children, parents, and teachers) can come and take a closer look.
5. Scavenger Hunt: Hunt for things (plants, animals, people, objects) that need the Earth. Take a picture and make an Earth Day collage.
On another note, this week, The Adventurous Child is attending the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children (OAEYC) Conference on April 19th through April 21st. Come visit us at our booth! For a PDF handout of The Adventurous Child workshop, visit our homepage and scroll down to “News and Events, Early Childhood Conferences” and click “Natural Playground Meets Traditional Playground PowerPoint.”
Picture Source: http://www.sxc.hu/
