Observed every year on April 22 since 1970, Earth Day provides an excellent opportunity to blend science with a playful sense of environmental awareness! Engaging even our tiniest learners in hands-on activities about nature and science sparks their excitement and nurtures their curiosity, providing them with a fantastic academic boost and a sense of personal joy, too.
Science teaches kids to be curious, ask questions, and think critically, skills that will be essential for the rest of their lives. The First Things First organization reports that children’s brains are 90% developed by age 5, noting that “the early years are a critical window of opportunity, shaping a child's ability to learn, think and thrive.”
The Children in Nature Network says, “Time spent learning and playing in nature benefits the whole child and can help children reach their full potential.”
This article presents nature-related learning activities designed to be hands-on, affordable, and aligned with early STEM skills. It also offers ways that School Zone’s educational tools and resources can support learning before, during, and after these projects.
Why Earth Day is a terrific teachable moment
Earth Day focuses on raising awareness of environmental issues and encouraging people to take action to preserve the planet. Teaching sustainability early encourages lifelong environmental responsibility, and STEM learning fosters curiosity, problem-solving, and observation skills. Early education STEM ideas can spark lifetime habits and interests.
Science teaches your children not only how the world works, but also how to think critically and interpret information. Science hones kids’ observational, organizational, and problem-solving skills, and gives them the confidence they need to ask questions and find the answers. A good education in science will help set your child up to succeed in both school and life.
However, though kids often hear about issues like climate change and electric vehicles, they have less and less hands-on experience with nature, on average spending far less time outdoors than their parents did.
Richard Louv, author of the international bestseller Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, on his website discusses growing evidence to suggest that nature-deficit produces other deficits that include “attention difficulties” and “higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses.” He adds, “Research also suggests that the nature deficit weakens ecological literacy and stewardship of the natural world.”
Schools are starting to listen. For example, some school districts are repurposing buildings in response to declining enrollments. Grand Haven Area Public Schools (GHAPS) in West Michigan is consolidating its seven elementary schools into six and partnering with the ODC (Outdoor Discovery Center) Network to transition/repurpose the seventh as a “nature-based early childhood education center,” according to WGHN radio.
Reporter Mary Ellen Murphy says, “The curriculum will focus on outdoor play, environmental stewardship, and experiential learning, preparing children ages three to five to become active, independent learners with a lifelong connection to the natural world.”
Earth Day marks a significant opportunity for parents and teachers to do the same!
5 easy Earth Day STEM projects for young learners
Each of these 5 fun Earth Day projects for kids (appropriate any time of year!) asks budding scientists to reflect on what they’ve learned, either verbally for younger kids or in writing for older ones. This tests comprehension and reinforces and expands on the lessons. (NOTE: some activities involve using scissors and a few other moves that call for adult support and supervision of younger children.)
- DIY Water Filtration Experiment
What does dirty water look like, and what’s one way to clean it up? You can find many versions of water filtration experiments online, but this YouTube video from Aberdeen Science Centre has easy-to-follow instructions and some good details at the end. (For younger children, the Hands On Teaching Ideas blog offers a range of materials and approaches in their Clean Water Experiment for Kids.)
- Learn about water pollution and clean water
- Writing prompt: “Draw and describe what you think clean water looks like. Why is it important?
2. Build a Mini Greenhouse
Sprout excitement with this cool project for planting and growing seeds indoors. Try Make a Mini-Greenhouse from the For Parents section of PBS Kids. (If strapped for time, although it’s not quite the same, consider trying a kit like the Buzzy Seeds My First Garden Complete Grow Kit available from Walmart.)
- Explore plant growth and the greenhouse effect
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Writing prompt: “What do you think will happen to your seeds in one week? Write your plant's story.”
3. Solar Oven for S’mores
Bring a campfire classic closer to home and learn about solar energy with these tasty treats in this video from NASA Goddard narrated by a child.
- Intro to solar energy and heat absorption
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Writing prompt: “What would you cook if you could use the sun every day?”
4. Sorting Recycling Game
Break it down! ABCya has created a sorting and recycling game that lets kids choose a character from four Litter Critters, and then sort trash into four groups. In “Easy” mode, they “sort one litter type at a time,” and in “Hard” mode, kids “sort all four types at once”!
And National Geographic Kids offers an animated game, “Recycle Roundup.” The description says, “Help clean up the park! Your job is to sort the stuff people throw away and put it in the proper bin. Is it recycling, compost, or trash? Get facts about climate change and tips on how you can help save the earth.”
- Teaches categories, materials, and environmental responsibility
- Writing prompt: “Write about something you recycled this week.”
5. Seed Bomb Making
DirtGirlWorld says, "A seed bomb is a little ball of compost, clay and seeds! You can throw them anywhere and, after it rains, they will grow!” The site provides a “recipe” (and a compost alternative) and suggests that seed bombs make fun gifts, too!
- Combines gardening and fine motor skills
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Writing prompt: “What do you hope will grow from your seed bombs?”
These types of hands-on activities can pull kids away from their screens and get them digging into the natural world. For even easier STEM projects for preschoolers, a Brightwheel blog post titled “Earth Day Preschool Activities” features ideas for planting, clean up alphabet, paper plate weaving, sensory play, painting using recycled items, and more.
Remember: Reflecting on activities and processes develops self-awareness and critical thinking, as it also tests understanding and reinforces learning. Encourage kids to reflect!
Discussion questions:
- Why do you think Earth Day matters?
- What will you do this week to help the planet?
Partner with School Zone for STEM education
- Big Science 2-3 Workbook – Available in traditional format or spiral-bound format, this 320-page workbook delivers hours of fun and learning. (The latter, when opened out flat, can also fold over on itself in half to make a 7.75” X 10.75” lap-sized work surface while traveling or waiting somewhere without access to a table.) Kids will enjoy learning about weather, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, mammals, and more through a wide range of activities and hands-on experiments. Develop vocabulary and reading comprehension skills, and also find suggestions for subject-related storybooks and informational books. Fun facts and the occasional riddle add to the fun.
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Hidden Pictures & Activity Books – These are great for transition time between STEM projects. School Zone’s Hidden Pictures Workbook keeps the nature theme going with scenes that include Playful Pelican, Relaxing Rhinos, and Graceful Gazelles. Little ones get alphabet practice as they develop their visual sleuthing, eye-hand coordination, counting, and object identification skills. In School Zone's Hidden Pictures Around the World Workbook, over 250 “little pictures” await discovery in some rollicking bigger scenes, such as Festive Dragon Parade or Starlight Campout. See a wooly mammoth and its lively friends in Museum Exploration.
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Writing Workbooks/Tablets – Encourage kids to draw and write reflections from their experiments while exploring the world of letters. After all, STEAM adds art to STEM! With the take-anywhere Alphabet Drawing & Writing Tablet Workbook from School Zone kids practice printing their ABCs, entire words, and silly sentences like “Newts nap at noon.” Or consider this Adventure Journal for Little Explorers by Access Horizon Books. The description says, “On each adventure, children will have prompts to guide them to use their senses, observe nature, and record their plant and creature discoveries.” It even has a feelings chart. Pictures and icons help toddlers, preschoolers, and beginning readers.
- Anywhere Teacher Online Learning Program – School Zone’s subscription-based Anywhere Teacher for ages 2-8 offers exciting activities for learning about the natural world. They include non-fiction books on owls, frogs, bears, and otters; Weather Flash Cards and Insect Flash Cards; Geography Flash Cards about bodies of water and land formations; and Exploring Nature videos on the water cycle, the life cycles of a frog, a monarch butterfly, and an apple tree.
Earth Day STEM activities come in so many forms. Really, any activity that gets kids hands-on with and/or learning about our amazing natural world is a perfect way to celebrate Earth Day!
