17 Ideas to Celebrate Earth Day at Home With Kids

April 22 marks the 50th Earth Day in the United States. Since the first national event in 1970, Earth Day has extended to include over 190 countries, with more than 1 billion supporters worldwide! This year, organizations everywhere are bringing the celebration online in response to social distancing recommendations. There are so many amazing ways to get involved, and the first step is learning more! PBSLearningMedia has a ton of awesome Earth Day-related resources for you, and we’ve listed some of them below, plus a few bonus items from other sources.

Earth Day did not begin all at once, but over a period of multiple years thanks to hundreds of politicians, activists and educators who wanted to make a change. The first Earth Day was inspired by a local student anti-war movement, which led to an idea from Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson for a daylong, nationwide teach-in on a date that fell between spring break and finals. The day rallied people from all over the nation and aided in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the passage of revolutionary legislation like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

Today, Earth Day is celebrated in creative and restorative ways across the globe. This year specifically, the celebrations, protests and events that would once take place in the streets, parks and public spaces, are now taking place on phones, tablets and laptops. Organizations have mobilized to bring speakers onto Zoom calls and have created amazing activities and educational opportunities for families to do at home.

If you are looking to celebrate Earth Day, here are some resources that you and your family can watch, read, make and do!

Watch

1. Nature Cat Special Earth Day Song (Grades Pre-K–2)
The characters of "Nature Cat" sing together about what it means to help the planet.

2. Earth Day from All About the Holidays (Grades K–3)
Learn about the meaning of Earth Day, and what we can do to cherish and protect the earth.

3. Kids vs. Global Warming (Grades 4–8)
This video from Youth Voices for the Planet highlights how young people can use “elevator speeches” to educate others on environmental degradation.

4. The Environmental Movement and the First Earth Day (Grades 6–12)
It all started somewhere! Learn about the origins of Earth Day and how we can keep moving forward today.

Read

5. You Can Help the Environment! (Grades K–5)
This poster from "CyberChase" shows the ways in which we can be kinder to the Earth in our everyday lives.

6. New Uses for Packaging (Grades 1–5)
The characters from “The Greens” highlight all of the amazing things that can be done with old delivery packages and boxes.

7. Climate Education Week Toolkit (Grades K–8)
A comprehensive list of resources to engage students with information on green jobs, civic action and environmental literacy.

8. A Brief History of the First Earth Day and What We Can Learn From Its Success (Grade 6–13+)
Students will analyze the political and cultural landscape that supported the first Earth Day and how it has changed over the years.

Make

9. Celebrate Earth Poster (Grades Pre-K–2)
Using the characters from "Ready Jet Go!" students can create their own posters with recycled materials to remind everyone to take care of the world.

10. Coffee Filter Earth Day Craft with Writing Prompt (Grades Pre-K–2)
In this activity, students can use old coffee filters and markers to create their own pieces of Earth artwork and use them as a prompt to tell their own stories.

11. Garden Corner (Grades K–3)
Using Nature Cat’s wisdom, families can create a miniature garden out of an old milk carton and watch plants grow.

12. DIY Composter (Grades K-3–6)
An old soda bottle can make a wonderful composter to find a home for old food scraps, and this activity shows you how it works!

13. Make a Planet Cutout You Can Wear (Grades 3–8)
Our solar system has eight very different and very special planets. Learn more about them while wearing a cutout with this fun activity!

Do

14. Creature Power ScratchJr Activities (Grades Pre-K–3)
Using PBS ScratchJr, early learners can create and code nature sequences that highlight characters from "Wild Kratts."

15. “The Greens” Activity Guide (Grades 1–6)
This activity guide features six things that students can do to improve their relationship with the natural world in fun and accessible ways.

16. Virtual Field Trip: Coral Reef (Grades 3–8)
The Nature Conservancy has set up a virtual field trip to a coral reef to teach students at home about its important ecosystems.

17. Celebrate Earth Day’s History at Home (All ages)
The Earth Day Network has compiled a list of more than 10 things you can do at home to reduce your environmental impact.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!