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Celebrate Earth Day with Kids All Year Round

celebrate Earth Day with kids all year round.

Earth Day is coming up in a couple of weeks, and today I’m writing about some simple ways to teach kids to appreciate and care for the earth. Earth Day is a great annual reminder, but really caring about and appreciating the planet is something we can do all year round – and when we do, we benefit!

Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with Kids All Year Round

I have learned that we take care of the things that we appreciate. This means that kids who appreciate the beauty of the earth are more likely to want to take care of it. Some of the most moments I have enjoyed with my kids have been time spent admiring the tiny details in nature – like these ladybugs.

Taking the time to notice the details of earth's beauty is a great way to teach kids to love the earth.

Kids pay close attention to their parents. If I want my kids to appreciate nature, I need to appreciate it as well – from admiring beautiful California poppies – and daisies – to recycling and avoiding unnecessary waste.

Simple ways to teach kids to love and take care of the earth

There are a lot of different ways to take care of the earth. We live in a part of the world where we can bike and walk most of the places we need to go; that wasn’t as possible when we lived in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, we had a lot of wonderful nature in our backyard – from my beloved Japanese Maple tree to wild turkeys, triplet fawns, and dragonflies. The amazing weather in California makes it easier to spend hours and hours outside. We have always recycled as much as possible, my kids wore (mostly, not always) cloth diapers, and I try to run an energy and resource efficient home. There is always more I can do, and I hope my kids will do better than I do. Teaching them to love the earth and letting them see my efforts is a great starting point.

Simple ways to teach kids to love the earth

How do you teach your kids to appreciate and take care of the earth?

Earth Day Books and Music Giveaway

I asked my blog friends to recommend Earth Day books and music. They had some great suggestions! This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Water Rolls, Water Rises, by Pat Mora. Celebrate the wonders of the water on planet Earth with this poetic and illustrative bilingual book.

Call Me Tree, by Maya Christina Gonzalez. Act out this beautiful bilingual story following a young child mimicking the growth of a tree.

Kings & Queens of the Forest CD, by Kira Willey. Act out a journey to the forest with Kira Willey’s enchanting yoga-inspired music.

Imaginations 2, by Carolyn Clarke. Use guided imagery to explore nature while learning to calm the mind and body with these relaxation stories.

Sophia’s Jungle Adventure, by Giselle Shardlow Join. Sophia and her family on a jungle adventure while learning to appreciate jungle life and doing yoga along the way.

Compost Stew, by Mary McKenna Siddals. Dig into composting with this engaging rhyming text.

Picture a Tree, by Barbara Reid Discover new ways to experience trees in this book with stunning imagery.

This Tree Counts, by Alison Formento and Sarah Snow Practice counting with animals that live in trees.

Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green, by Eileen Spinelli and Anne Kennedy Join Miss Fox as she teaches her forest animal students how to go green.

In the Garden with Dr. Carver, by Susan Grigsby and Nicole Tadgell Step into the historical world of Dr. Carver as he teaches children about gardening.

What’s So Special About Planet Earth?, by Robert E. Wells Learn how planet Earth is different from other planets.

Polar Bear, Why is Your World Melting?, by Robert E. Wells Learn why and how the world is getting warmer and what we can do about it.

Nature Anatomy, by Julia Rothman Take a look at nature in a new way with this book that explains all about the nature with sketches.

Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun, by Michael J. Caduto Learn about renewable energy with 22 activities on producing and using it.

When the Animals Saved Earth, by Alexis York Lumbard Read a tale about how animals teach humans to restore balance in nature.

Just Like Me, Climbing a Tree, by Durga Yael Bernhard Explore trees all over the world and see what a child sees when climbing those trees

Do you have a book that I should add to my list?

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

13 thoughts on “Celebrate Earth Day with Kids All Year Round”

  1. Great ways to teach kids to appreciate the Earth! I have a post coming up on Tommy Nelson talking about this exact thing!

  2. You’re so right, Earth Day isn’t just one day. I’m glad it exists as a reminder, but really protecting our environment should be a lifestyle in order to be effective. Some of the ways we constantly do that year-round is recycling of course, not buying more than we need, not being excessive, fixing as much as possible before buying new, seeing if we can do without (it’s amazing how many appliances we’ve forgone having to buy when you realize you don’t really need them!).

    1. It is true, you don’t really need that much! That is one thing I appreciate about living in a smallish home – it makes me think even more about whether we really need something.

  3. Reduce – Reuse – Recycle… Our family of four lives on a sailboat and in a camper throughout most of the year. We buy most of our clothes, utensils, books etc second-hand. We explore, discover, speak, read and write about nature almost every day because we live right here – surrounded by all this gorgeous beauty. So yes, if there is another chance to celebrate Earth Day count us in! The Boehms xx

  4. For Earth Day, I want to plant a garden with my kids. Of course, it will take a few sessions to prepare the ground. We are just waiting for the weather to improve!

  5. Elisa | blissfulE

    Gorgeous nature photos! I love how you point out that we can do different things to appreciate and care for the Earth in different places.

  6. Wow, such beautiful photos! I feel inspired to get outside and enjoy nature. What fabulous giveaways you are offering, too.

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