Earth Day is a yearly event celebrated globally to show support for environmental protection. In America, its origins go back to 1970, when a Senator in Wisconsin came up with the intention to draw awareness to the plight of our environment. The first Earth Day was on April 22nd, 1970.
You don’t have to wait another year for another Earth Day celebration. We’ve compiled some ideas for kid’s crafts that might help celebrate this memorable holiday in advance!
20 Nature-Inspired Kid Crafts for Earth Day
1. Create Nature Wreaths
Nature is the essence of the earth! Your kids can enjoy spring and everything that it brings to us. They can pick flowers, leaves, and berries to create wreaths, or they could get creative and make wreaths out of pinecones, apple branches, etc. Hang them on your door or window for everyone to see!
2. Make a Nature Collage
Kids are more naturally inclined to nature than adults are. They love being outside, observing every little creature and living thing in our world. Take them on a nature walk and then let them go wild by collecting various leaves, berries, flowers, etc. Let them create their collage to hang on the wall!
3. Make Leaf Prints
Have your kids bring you different kinds of leaves that they find in the woods or garden. Help them paint them with watercolors and press these into colorful paper. They could also add stickers to it if they like. This is easily one of the best earth day crafts for kids.
4. Build a Bug Hotel
Make a warm and inviting environment for all creepy crawlies to sleep in, but make sure it’s not the harmful ones! Cut two liters of plastic containers into two cylinders, and then put the cylinder with natural materials such as sticks, pine cones, or bark. Make sure the organic stuff is packed in as tightly as possible. Hang the bug hotel in a tree branch or a fence using twine or yarn and tightly secure the knot.
5. Create Chimes With Nature
Kids love making music! Why not create some spring chimes made from natural materials like shells and twigs. There are a million ideas for making beautiful creations with the stuff you have around your home. Let them be creative and let nature guide them; they benefit more from the project.
6. Paint Paper Bags
Help your children turn paper bags into miniature works of art. You have to help them cut the bags into different shapes and let them create a masterpiece out of it. Even if they aren’t precisely Picasso’s, they will have a great time doing it!
7. Build Pebble Arts
Get your kids to help you get some pebbles. They could arrange them in different designs or sort them into different sizes and shapes. Use different colors and make all sorts of arts using these pebbles.
8. Make a Pond Out of Rocks
Kids love to build, so why not let them make their pond using a mini shovel, rocks, branches, and things of nature! You will have yourself the fascinating backyard in no time! You can fill it with water from the hose or even get spring water from the well if you are so inclined.
9. Cut Old Magazines and Turn Them Into Art
You can use old magazines to create all sorts of masterpieces. Involve your children in the process and let them create wall hangings, etc. For younger kids, cutouts are more accessible to fix together and embellish further. Older kids can make their magazine artworks with whatever design they want to make!
10. Make Eco-Art With Fallen Leaves
Fallen leaves are a beautiful sight during this time of year. Have your children pick up some leaves from the yard and help them arrange them into different designs or shapes. They could also draw on the leaf with a pencil or crayons and glue it onto construction paper!
11. Build Self Thriving Terrariums
Terrariums are a great way to see how nature works. You can help your kids create their very own terrariums using various jars and let them arrange everything inside. They could also paint some of the jars and then insert them into the other jar, creating some sort of two ecosystems. To step it up a notch, get them to look at how different combinations of plants will grow together in their terrariums. That way, they learn more about how other plants will survive together in our world!
12. Feed the Birds
This is an effortless project that you can do with your kids. The good thing about it is that it will also help them appreciate animals more! You have to get some bird food, corn, seeds, fruits, etc., and then put them on a birdfeeder. Even more, you can create a birdhouse with twine or yarn. However, make sure there isn’t any plastic involved in your project to protect the birds from choking or getting intoxicated with it.
13. Create Dreamcatchers
Dreamcatchers are a favorite craft among children. Please help them to create these unique jewelry pieces and let them enjoy the process of creating them. Alternatively, you can use yarn and make an embellished dreamcatcher for kids to hang in their rooms!
14. Try Visiting National Parks Virtually
It’s not every day that you visit a national park, but there’s always the option of virtually doing so. Help your children play games that involve these prestigious locations and let them see what it is like to explore a national park. You could even get your hands on educational videos regarding the same topic if they like it.
15. Grow Plants in Eggshells
Eggshells are an excellent medium for growing plants. In fact, you could use it for growing all sorts of plants, flowers, or even herbs. Another great thing about this is that it will help your kids appreciate the beauty of nature, so you could even create a lesson around plants and how they grow. However, make sure you select an eggshell that has been thoroughly cleaned because there’s always the possibility of bacteria getting into the cracked eggs. Make sure your kids wash their hands before handling the eggs.
16. Bake an Earth Shaped Cookie
There are various recipes to make earth-shaped cookies with your kids. Make this together and bake it after adding all the ingredients, including the chocolate syrup. You can decorate everything with icing green, yellow, and blue to make it look like the planet earth!
17. Make Beautiful Necklaces
Help your kids make some beautiful necklaces out of woods and beads, or you can even use twine for this. You could even surprise your kids when you glue one piece of wood to another in an exciting way and then add beads or shells for the finishing touches. You could also create some fantastic designs and sell them for a profit that any kids would like.
18. Search for a Beetle and Google Its Name
If your kids love beetles, why not go outside and search for them. Let them identify these little critters and let them google their name. You can also create a list with their terms and complete an activity around that. If they like beetles, they will love this!
19. Build a Science Project
If your kids love science, try to guide them through building a science project. You could either help them with the science or let them create their experiment. Either way, they will have a great time and learn something from it!
20. Cook Something Together
Creating a science project with your kids is one thing, but why not go a step further and make it fun? Prepare the ingredients, help them with the cooking processes, and they will have fun seeing how something that is uncooked become so delicious. Or when they are done with it, let them sell whatever they were cooking! This way, they could learn some essential old marketing through this activity.
Author’s Notes
In conclusion, we hope that these plans have influenced you to take your kids outdoors and show them the beauty of nature. They will love the fun they have had creating their nature artwork and crafts! You will be surprised to see how much they learn by doing these projects. So go ahead, get your kids out of the house and head out into nature. You might be amazed at what they create!
Related: Eco Friendly Activities for Kids, 7 Eco-Friendly Activities That Help Kids Learn About Sustainability
