Theme Week: Earth And How To Care For It
Several weeks ago, we celebrated a holiday called Earth Day. Kids learned about Earth and how to take care of it so that it doesn’t get destroyed. But that one day is not the only time you can teach your child about our planet. Children should learn ways to protect Earth and its fascinating layers and environments year-round. So this week’s theme is
All About Earth!
There are so many fun activities that teach kiddos the different parts of the planet. Here are just a few that we did.
E for Earth Recycled Materials Craft
Because Earth is, well, shaped like a ball, forming an E-shaped planet proved to be impossible. So instead, we learned about recycling and how it keeps Earth clean. Then we used recycled cardboard tubes to make an E.
Materials
For this craft, you will need:
One paper towel tube
Three toilet paper tubes
Markers
Glue or tape
Scissors
Preparation
Before you let your child get started, cut notches in one end of each toilet paper tube so that they can be attached to the longer tube.
Step 1
Have your child color the tubes. I let my kiddo choose the colors, and he decided to do red and yellow for fire and lava plus green for grass. Generally when coloring anything to do with Earth, the colors are green and blue for land and water.
Step 2
Attach the three short tubes to the longer tube at both ends plus one in the middle. It should look like the letter E. We tried to use glue, but the carboard wouldn’t stick together well. So we ended up connecting the pieces with tape. We used strips of tape long enough to go around the paper towel tube and attach to the ends of the toilet paper tube on both sides.
Trash and Recycling Sort Activity
Another activity we did to learn about recycling is a sorting cut and paste that I found
My 4YO cut out pictures and glued them under labels for recycling, trash, and compost. He lives on a farm, so he understands what compost is and how it’s used. For those who don’t know, compost is food scraps such as grains and vegetables that can be broken down and scattered across crops as nutrients or fed to animals such as chickens. Recycling is materials that can be reused or melted down to create new products. Everything that cannot be reused goes into the garbage category.
Earth-shaped Pencil Control
One of the most important lessons children will learn in PreK is how to handle and use writing utensils. You can find tracing worksheets all over the Internet that can help them get a head start. For our Earth theme, I found an Earth tracing worksheet that he could then color. You can find it
This particular page has the word Earth at the bottom for them to trace. If your child isn’t quite ready to recognize lowercase letters or words, you can use it as more pencil control practice without emphasizing more than that it is the name of Earth.
Color-By-Number
Now that he can recognize more than a few numbers, the 4YO has discovered a love of color-by-number pictures. For this theme, I created a picture for him of things we see on Earth such as trees, flowers, and animals. He practiced recognizing colors, numbers, and staying inside the lines all with one activity!
Feel free to download the template here:
Cleaning Up the Earth
I struggled to find an Earth-themed science activity for us to do. Instead, we went for a walk down a country road and picked up trash. Sadly, we filled two shopping bags within one mile. As we worked, we talked about why people throw trash on the ground and what it does to the earth, plants, and animals. As long as it’s done safely, this activity can be a great way for children to learn good habits and how to care for Earth. All while performing some community service by making the area cleaner!
Bonus: Flower Craft
One of the girls absolutely loves to do art. Coloring, drawing, painting, crafting – she’s good at all of it! So I let her come up with a craft for us to do, and she chose making a flower in a flower pot.
Materials
Construction paper in different colors
Green pipe cleaners
Scissors
Markers or crayons
Glue or tape
Step 1
Draw, decorate, and cut out the shape of a flower pot on construction paper. It can be whatever shape and color you choose. She decided on a square, pink pot. We also had a white cone-shaped pot. Add any decorations you’d like.
Step 2
Cut the pipe cleaner in half. She originally wanted to make a cactus. For this, twist part of the two halves together and bend the rest outward in the shape of a cactus plant. She changed her mind and turned it into a stem for a flower. Either twist the full lengths together or use only one half for a stem. Glue or tape the pipe cleaner(s) to the back of your flower pot.
Step 3
Draw a flower on whatever colored paper you choose and cut it out. You can have individual petals, or you can simply draw two circles in different colors and glue them together. This is the style that the creator chose, although she used tape instead of glue.
Step 4
Glue or tape the flower onto the end of the pipe cleaner. Now you have a beautiful flower in its own pot! The kiddo did an amazing job creating this craft, and I hope to share more of her creations in later posts.
Share Your Ideas
I hope your children enjoy learning about Earth. Share below any other activities that your family does to take care of our planet!
