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Parents and Teachers, Celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day with These Fun Activities
Monday, April 20, 2020
Resources/Ideas to Celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day with your Kids
Earth Day is on Wednesday, April 22 and Arbor Day is on Friday, April 24.
1. Take a walk around your neighborhood and pick up litter.
2. Start a vegetable or flower garden in your backyard.
3. Watch the "NASA Science Live" Earth Day broadcast that features NASA experts discussing how NASA science and technology are used to understand and improve the environment. It airs on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
4. Project Learning Tree Activities
- The Shape of Things: In this activity, children will focus on the many shapes that are found in both natural and built environments by creating “shape necklaces” (or bracelets) by cutting out circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, ovals, and hearts from different colored construction paper and then trying to find those shapes in nature.
- Adopt a Tree: In this activity, children “adopt” a tree, by closely examining and describing an individual tree using their five senses.
- The Fallen Log: In this activity, kids become familiar with small organisms by observing fallen logs. They’ll gain an understanding of how decomposition takes place and a better appreciation for microhabitats and communities.
- Have Seeds, will Travel: In this outdoor investigation, children observe, collect, and classify plant seeds.
- How Big is Your Tree? In this activity, children will measure trees in different ways and become familiar with tree scale and structure. They will also learn the importance of standard units of measure and measuring techniques.
5. https://environmentamerica.org/blogs/greener-together/ame/virtual-earth-day-curriculum-ideas
- K-3 create a self-portrait out of foraged materials you find in your yard
- Grade 4-6 making a bag out of an old shirt
- Grade 7-12 conducting a home energy audit
6. The Plastic Problem video https://www.pbs.org/video/the-plastic-problem-7kdvzo/
7. Changing Seas video about manatees https://www.changingseas.tv/season-8/802/
8. Identify tree species in your backyard using the free LeafSnap app or https://www.arborday.org/trees/whattree/ tree guide
9. Conduct a nature scavenger hunt in your backyard using the attached pdf document to identify the items to look for.
https://environmentamerica.org/resources/ame/nature-your-neighborhood-scavenger-hunt
10. Earth Day upcycled arts and crafts
11. Participate in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs logo design contest https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/education/hofonod_logo20_instr.pdf
12. Take the plastic pollution quiz to determine how much you know about plastic and its effect on our oceans. https://www.earthday.org/oceans-and-plastic-pollution-quiz/
13. Take the deforestation and biodiversity quiz to test your knowledge. https://www.earthday.org/deforestation-and-biodiversity-quiz/
14. Go to https://www.discoverwater.org/ for games, videos, and art projects that will educate kids about water quality and managing water resources.
15. Macroinvertebrates identification video: Learn about the different types of aquatic insects living in our streams and their importance for water quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV-Ul9vRyfw
16. Use the Runoff Simulation to show how land use and soil determine whether rainfall infiltrates into the soil, runs off, or is evaporated and transpired by plants. https://runoff.modelmywatershed.org/
17. Learn how to classify the soil in your backyard by texture using the Natural Resources Conservation Service guide to soil texture chart: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/edu/?cid=nrcs142p2_054311
18. Soil Glue: Learn how surface soil particles are held together by various organic substances. The gluing of soil particles together into aggregates helps maintain pores and channels in the soil for air and water to enter and move through it.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_051280.pdf