Earth Day Bucket List for Kids
Are you looking for some fun ways to celebrate Earth Day with your kids? Steal our essential earth day bucket list, filled with fun ideas and activities for kids of all ages.
Earth Day is a great opportunity to introduce concepts like recycling, pollution and the health of our planet to our kids. It was started right here in the US on April 22, 1970 as a day that’s centered around thinking about the planet and ways that we can take care of it together.
You can learn more about Earth Day here.
Here at Birdie Bean we love to celebrate the planet each day. That’s one of the reasons our founder Autumn chose bamboo fabric. Creating this Earth Day bucket list for your kids was a fun way for us to spread the love!
Don't forget to shop children's clothing you can feel good about this Earth Day! Our newest collections for Spring are out now!
12 Fun Earth Day Activities for Kids
The goal of our Earth Day Bucket List for kids is to help you keep your Birdies entertained while also teaching them about the planet. We’ve included activities for kids of all ages, from preschoolers to middle school. We’ve also included a couple of fun (and easy!) Earth Day recipes.
Plant an Egg Carton Garden
Planting a garden is easily one of the best ways to teach your kids about the planet! It’s also a great way to get your hands dirty this spring, and it can be a really nice sensory activity. Discover the different smells and textures of nature, while also growing something that you’ll be able to enjoy together.
Instead of feeling like you need to dig up the entire backyard, start small with an egg carton garden. You can even set this up indoors to sit on your windowsill. Here are some easy-to-follow instructions from PBS Kids!
Do a Backyard Scavenger Hunt
Get your Birdies excited about the variety of plants and animals that live in their own backyard! Create a backyard scavenger hunt with different plants, bugs and animals that they’ll be able to explore and find.
We love scavenger hunts because they get the kids outside for a purpose. They’ll happily stay outside until they find each item on the scavenger hunt, giving us moms plenty of time to relax, tidy up or get started on dinner.
Take a Family Walk
Spring is springing! The days are getting longer and warmer, so why not head outside? Keep your Earth Day activities incredibly simple by gathering the family for an evening stroll. While you walk, ask the kids what they’re favorite animals are, and take some time to explain to them why it’s important to have diversity in our plant and animal world.
Make Bird Feeders
We found the best recipe for natural, healthy homemade bird feeders, to turn your backyard into a bird spotters paradise this Earth Day. We love these bird feeders because they are made with the bird's health in mind! It’s important to avoid feeding wildlife things that we eat (like bread) because it can cause health problems. But using natural fat and mixed seeds, you can help support a healthy environment full of diversity in your own backyard.
Ditch Your Car for a Day
This one might genuinely not be feasible for many families, but a great way to celebrate Earth Day is to ditch your car for a day! Pledge this Earth Day to walk, scoot or bike everywhere. It’ll help get the whole family outside, and a chance to encourage everyone to do it more often.
Plant Bee-Friendly Flowers
Last year we shared 6 things we can do from home to save the bees. In that guide, we talked about creating a bee-friendly backyard! Bees are such an important part of our ecosystem, it’s vital that we lead by example and teach our kids how to protect them.
This Earth Day, plant some bee-friendly plants in your backyard, commit to cutting out pesticides and make a bee bath. Learn more about how we can all work together to save the bees here.
Create an Earth Day Sensory Bin
Sensory bins are an important part of young children’s development and play! We actually love sharing sensory bin activities with you, and found the perfect one to celebrate Earth Day. This sensory bin from Erin at ‘Littles Love Learning’ comes with a free print out to easily make it at home.
Teach your kids about the importance of recycling, while also incorporating important sensory play into their week.
Turn Your Trash Into Treasure
Collect items like toilet paper/paper towel rolls, milk cartons (washed), egg cartons and other items. Gather art supplies like paint and glue and encourage your kids to explore their creativity! While they create their Earth Day recycling crafts, chat to them about the importance of recycling and reducing what we use.
Make ‘Dirt Cups’
As kids we used to love making ‘Worms in Dirt’ pudding cups! Resurrect this fun treat as a part of your Earth Day Bucket List. We personally love this recipe from Julie’s Eats and Treats. They only take ten minutes to make, with 5 ingredients. Kids of all ages are guaranteed to love this treat.
Follow along with Julie’s recipe here.
Bake Earth Day Cookies
Make simple Earth Day cookies from Delish! In this recipe, you only need two ingredients. Prepackaged sugar cookie mix and food coloring. You can get the kids involved making their own ‘earths’ by mixing a bit of green dough, with some blue. They all turn out so cute! Make Earth Day cookies with Delish here.
Color Printable Coloring Pages
One of our favorite activities for kids is coloring pages. And one special way to celebrate Earth Day is to use printable coloring pages, instead of buying coloring books. When you print out your own coloring pages at home, you only print what you need. No more buying whole coloring books with pages your kids just won’t color.
We even found some free Earth Day coloring pages that you can print here. These coloring pages can help teach your kids about the environment while also keeping them entertained.
Visit the Library to Read Books About the Planet
Explore your local library and check out some books about the planet. Encourage your Birdies to find books about their favorite animals, different environments and plants that they think are cool. Here’s a fun list of Earth Day books to look for.
Is your family celebrating Earth Day this year? Make the day even more memorable with adorable matching pajamas that you can feel good about. We choose only earth friendly materials for our clothes, that are designed to grow with your Birdies. Shop our new spring prints and styles here.
Get social with us! Share your pictures with us on social media by tagging Birdie Bean on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. We love to see you rocking Birdie Bean in the wild.