10 Family Activities for Earth Day

3420
Egg Carton Garden Craft Project

As Latter-day Saints we love and appreciate the beautiful Earth our Heavenly Parents provide for us. Today, being Earth day, gives us a wonderful opportunity to recognize this blessing. Here are 10 activities for Earth Day from around the Web to help you and your family celebrate our planet’s holiday. And with the right deal, you can make sure the crafts don’t break the bank.

10. Stained Glass Earth

This idea comes from ICanTeachMyChild.com Stained glass globe made from a coffee filter

To make this craft, use blue and green markers to draw Earth on a coffee filter. Use a spray bottle to slightly wet the entire filter, and then let dry. Once dry, laminate the filter, and hang in the window.

9. Dirt Dessert

This idea comes from Mixing Bowl Kids Oreos and gummy worms make a delicious dirt

To make a delicious “Dirt Dessert” make chocolate pudding, and cover with crumbled Oreos. Insert Gummy worms.

8. Eye Spy Nature Walk

This idea comes from Babble.com Activities for Earth day include going for nature walks

Take the classic car game outside. Instead of saying what color something is, you can substitute it for texture, size, or purpose. As a bonus, bring a pen and paper and write down everything you’ve never seen before!

7. Recycled Art

This idea comes from Pinspired.com Finger painting of earth on newspaper print

This project is simple. Take magazine or newspaper print, and using finger paint place both hands down with the thumbs and pointer fingers making a heart. Then using finger paints draw a heart-shaped Earth inside. This project helps us see how the future of the planet is in our hands.

6. Go Camping in the Backyard

This idea comes from MommyWeek.com Boy stands in a tent in the backyard

While this might be simple, it could be the perfect way to get the family off of the couch and appreciate the nature you have so close at hand. And simple might just be exactly what you’re looking for!

5. Shaving Cream Earths

This idea comes from TeachingWithTLC.com

Get a cookie tray and blue and green paint. Swirl it around. Then take a circular piece of construction paper, dip it in the shaving cream. Let stand for 10-15 seconds, and then wipe away the shaving cream. You’ll have a beautiful marbled design left.

4. Recycling Game

This idea comes from TodaysMama.com A variety of recycling bins

Have a big pile of unsorted recyclables? Get three tubs and time how fast you can sort the plastic, paper, and cans. Fastest wins.

3. Earth day Jigglers

This idea comes from We-Made-That.com Earth Day Jello Jigglers

Make a 9X13 pan of green jello. When it’s done, cut into squares, and mix so that the layer is no longer flat. Then pour a batch of blue jello on top. Once the blue jello is finished cut out with a circular cookie cutter.

2. Seed Paper Globes

This idea comes from LittlePassports.com Seed paper globe craft project

The instructions for this one is a little complicated, so you should check out the link above for all the details, but you are building a recycled paper garden that looks like Earth. If there is a more perfect Earth day activity I don’t know about it.

1. Egg Carton Garden

This idea comes from BirdsAndBlooms.com Activities for earth day include creating an Egg Carton Garden

One of the wonderful things about Earth day is that it corresponds with planting season in many parts of the world. To take advantage of a simple way for the whole family to get involved with the garden, take an old cardboard egg carton and use each space to plant a seed. Simply fill it up with soil. You can even use the flap to keep track of what seeds are where.

Christopher D. Cunningham is the managing editor for Public Square Magazine and contributor to Third Hour. He loves emphatically celebrating the normal healthy development of his sons Albus and Whitman, writing about the Church of Jesus Christ, finding the middle ground on most controversies, and using Western Family generic brand lip balm. Christopher is a proud graduate of Brigham Young University-Idaho, and a resident of San Antonio, Texas.