How to celebrate Earth Day with kids

Earth Day is this Friday, April 22 and I have an invitation for you. I warmly and enthusiastically invite you to do something – anything! – to celebrate Earth Day with your kids. You can go nuts and do something big, or just a quick and easy acknowledgment of the day. Please just do something.

Earth Day is more than a Hallmark holiday or a hashtag. It’s a great opportunity to teach our kids about the place we live, and how it’s important to take care of it. You don’t have to prepare a long speech on the history of Earth Day, or describe in detail all of the ways the environment is suffering at the hands of people. Let’s not go there. Let’s just celebrate! Let’s give the earth some love! Plus, there are so many ways this coming weekend to get outside and get involved… why pass that up?

How to celebrate Earth Day? Here are 4 ideas for you:

Volunteer somewhere. There are loads of events for Earth Day listed over on Outdoor Voice. There are kid-friendly events and volunteer opportunities in the East Bay, the South Bay, the North Bay, and in San Francisco. Find one that fits your family’s schedule, interests, location, and mood. And go!

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Go outside and pick up some trash. Find yourself at a big or small park. Outside Kids has some ideas for where to go if you need some. Bring a plastic bag, pick up whatever garbage you find, and properly dispose of it at home. Easy and done. But also, how fun are these garbage-grabbing claws?

Read a book or watch a movie that is pro-environment. The Lorax is the classic, and The Curious Garden is good too. Wild Kratts teaches all kinds of lessons about animals. Common Sense Media has more recommendations for environmentally minded films. Winged Migration is one of my favorites.

Make a cake. Why not? Here’s an idea or two for celebration cakes. Last year I made a chocolate cake and told my kids (then ages 6 and 9) that it was what everyone does on Earth Day. It seemed like the right thing to say at the time and I think they believed me. No one complained.

What will you do to celebrate Earth Day? Tell us in the comments or over on the 510 Families Facebook page.