Theme Day:

Earth Day

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PLANET EARTH

Kick off your morning with some Nature Yoga, Flower Breathing & a Discussion Circle!
Nature Yoga routine: Butterfly, Mountain, Tree & Waterfall poses.
Flower breathing (can use real flowers here if you have them!) Inhale as you smell the flower, exhale and thank nature, our planet, animals and plants for letting us share the world with them!
Discussion Circle: Where We Live - the name of their street, town, city, country, planet? What is earth day and why do we have it? Why is it important to look after our environment?
Planet Earth collage: Draw a large planet earth on A5 paper, kids can glue down bits of ripped up blue & green drawing paper. Good opportunity to introduce the words ‘ocean’, ‘land’ ‘continent’ and ‘space’ to preschoolers. Fun facts here for older kids while they’re collaging! https://www.planetsforkids.org/planet-earth.html
Planet Earth Tissue Paper Globe. Need: Medium sized e.g. styrofoam (or any other material) balls or one large styrofoam ball, blue & green tissue paper, glue or mod podge. Create your planet by having the kids rip up & glue the tissue paper on.
Planet Earth balloon stamping (comes out beautifully!) : Dip the round of a small balloon in a mixture of blue and green paint, and stamp it onto white paper to see your mini ‘earths’ appear! Great for all ages.
Painting with recycled objects
Papier mache Planet Earths
Sensory bin: Blue water beads, plastic trees, animals, fish, birds, people, shells.
Pledge & Paint: A4 sheet of paper, writing practice ‘I pledge to look after my planet’ and handprint the middle of the page. Stick your pledges up in your home!

Session 1

Indoor Active

Continent-jumping game: place cushions across your living space floor, and label them as the different continents. Kids have to yell the name of the continent while they’re jumping across “the sea”.
Bonus: this game gets a ton of energy out, while learning something new!

Session 2

NATURE

Trees: take a look at the illustrated book ‘Tree’, by Britta Teckentrup
Craft: Make a tree out of materials you have at home: toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, card, finger/handprints, cotton wool. Older kids: make it 3D!
Paint: with Nature! Collect twigs or flowers from outside, see the gorgeous patterns that turn out!
Mold: Clay leaf and flower impressions with air-dry clay.
Make: DIY Bottle Planter. Cut a large plastic soda bottle approx 1/3 of the way from the bottom, paint the bottom part of the cut bottle with acrylic paint and leave to dry. Fill with soil and a plant, add googly eyes to the front!
Nature Scrapbook: gathering all the treasures you collect on your Nature Scavenger Hunt (see below) compile them in a fun album or notebook, sticking items down with washi tape or glue, covering flowers in cellophane to make ‘flower panels’ and noting the names of each item.
Make a snack: s’mores! Safely melt marshmallows with adult over candle/stovetop.

Outdoor Active

Tree Age Investigation (for 5+): Bring with a measuring tape, find a 6ft (or taller) tree and wrap your measuring tape around the widest part of the trunk. Learn: A tree’s age is approximately equal to its’ circumference (bear in mind some trees grow more layers of bark in one year than others)
Nature Scavenger hunt: Print our nature scavenger hunt chart - with visuals for preschoolers -or make your own, bring light clipboards, markers, magnifying glasses, suncream, hats & water, and set off for a fun, curiosity-filled activity!
Clean or Dirty? Take a walk around your local area to find the recycling bins and dog poop bins, paying attention to trash left on the streets, if it’s a clean or messy area, if they think the air feels clean or dirty. Blow your nose when you come home and find out if you were right!

Session 3

RECYCLING

What is recycling? Watch this useful clip
Talk about: What happens when recycling gets taken to recycling plants, and ways we can make our world more beautiful.
Music to listen to: Earth Day Song - The Kiboomers
Make and decorate your own recycling boxes for your home: plastic, paper, cans & glass.
Try this Sea Turtle recycled activity using bottle caps: take a plastic bottle cap and a sheet of green construction paper. Put the cap onto the paper and trace around to make the turtle's body. Add a head, paws and tail. Cut them out, then glue the cap onto the body - and that’s it, cute little turtles!