4 Fun Family Activities for Earth Day
Every family bonding experience helps children grow. What better way to get the family together than to celebrate our planet? Earth Day, on April 22, is a celebration of the earth and everything it provides for people. Showing your children how incredible our planet is when they’re young will help them understand why they need to protect it as they grow older. Here are a few ways you can celebrate Earth Day as a family:
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts can take a couple different forms. For some, photo scavenger hunts are more fun, especially since they create tangible memories. Others, especially younger children, like collecting things such as leaves and rocks (even bugs) more than taking pictures of them. Start by deciding which type of scavenger hunt is the best fit for your family, then send everyone off in pairs or individually to explore an area, whether it be your neighborhood or a nature park. This is a fun way to get everyone to look at the world around them up close.
Beach or Park Clean Up
Parks and beaches almost always have trash lying around. Pick your favorite beach or park, and bring your family along to clean up a section. Prepare ahead of time by packing gloves, trash pick-up tools and plenty of trash bags. When you arrive, see if there’s somewhere on site where you can dump the trash when you’re done. You can do this as a family or join an Earth Day cleanup that’s happening around town. Check social media or online event calendars to see if there’s a cleanup happening in your area.
Plant a Tree
Trees provide shade, taper or block winds and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide. This is especially important in cities, where fossil fuels are the most prevalent. Some cities, such as Orlando, give out free trees to residents if their yard will be able to support the type of tree they want. You can plant a tree in your yard or join a tree-planting crew to plant them in your community.
Make Crafts with Found Materials
Crafts can be made out of just about anything. It can be fun to make them out of found materials instead of purchased ones. Use items such as pinecones and discarded leaves or clean recyclable materials you have around the house. You can create something Earth Day related, such as earth-shaped moss balls or bug hotels, or let your child’s imagination run wild with eco-friendly materials. Either way, these activities can be fun for the whole family.
At our schools, we teach students about the importance of protecting the earth, especially around Earth Day. For more than 50 years, the Diocese of Orlando, which includes the top Orlando private schools, has been helping children grow to their fullest potential and become leaders within their communities. We offer unique and dynamic learning environments that engage students and encourage them to become confident and responsible adults. To learn more about what makes us different, contact us today.