25 Easy Earth Day Crafts for Preschoolers and Toddlers
Looking for some easy and engaging activities for young kids on Earth Day? Well April 22nd is coming up, so we rounded up some of our favorite Earth Day crafts and activities we like to do in Early Childhood.
The celebration of Earth Day is a great opportunity to talk to young children about planet Earth, nature, recycling, and how to take care of our planet! So, most of these fun Earth Day crafts focus on nature, recycled materials, or Earth itself. These really work for kids of all ages but are easy enough for toddlers and preschoolers.
Easy Earth Day Crafts for Young Children
All of the Earth Day activities we like to do are about the process, not about what the finished product looks like! They’re also about helping fine motor skills and having fun! Have a happy Earth Day with your kids by trying one (or more) of these activities together!
1. Growing Grass in Egg Shells
One great way to celebrate Earth Day is by planting something! To make it even more fun for little kids, we plant grass in egg shells and make them into little people. Then, when the grass grows, we give them a haircut!
2. Flower Painting with Celery
A fun craft we like to pull out around Earth Day when we talk about reusing materials and not wasting is painting with celery! This is a great way to use the part of celery you would otherwise throw out. And kids have so much fun making their own flower painting.
3. Apple Painting
Another fun project for little hands is painting with apples! Really, painting with any kind of fruit or vegetable would be fun for little kids, but apples are one of our favorites.
4. Flower Petal Art
One of our favorite Earth Day ideas is to reuse flower petals from flowers you’ve already had out. The flower petals make a fun way to practice using scissors for younger children while also making beautiful art!
5. DIY Garden Stones
What better way to celebrate the Earth than making something for your garden? This is a fun activity if it’s warm enough to get outside and start your garden with your kids!
6. Recycled Paper Butterflies
A super easy craft for young kids is to make these butterflies out of recycled paper! Then, kids can decorate them however them want. Even the pipe cleaners are optional.
7. Outdoor Themed Sensory Bin
Sensory bins are more of an activity than a craft, but they’re still one of our favorite easy Earth Day projects that are also great for development. Try this one that’s set up like a farm to talk about planting food and raising animals, or make your own with natural material you find outside.
8. Paper Plate Earth
We try to do Earth crafts most years, and one that kids really enjoy is this paper plate Earth. This simple craft takes minimal craft supplies and is easy enough for preschoolers. Read about it here.
9. Tissue Paper Earth
Another fun way to make a picture of Earth is with tissue paper! This one is great because the skill level is easy enough for toddlers. Read about it here.
10. Coffee Filter Earth
There’s so many great ways to make our beautiful planet, and coffee filters with markers is one of the easiest ways to do it! This is the perfect way to let children color however they want, and still get a cool Earth project. Read about it here.
11. Seed Bombs
This is one of our favorite fun ideas we’ve found for a fun Earth Day art project and enjoying the flowers in the coming year are these seed bombs. All you need is seeds, small pieces of paper scraps, and water! Read about it here.
12. Homemade Bird Feeder
A homemade bird feeder is a great way for kids to get involved with nature for themselves. And not only will they have a great time making these, they’ll love watching the birds come to their creation. Read about it here.
13. Bird Feeders with Toilet Paper Rolls
There’s tons of creative ideas out there for easy homemade bird feeders, but this is another one of our favorites. This method uses things you probably already have at home, too. Read about it here.
14. Toilet Paper Tubes Binoculars
Another fun way to recycle your toilet rolls is with this simple Earth craft! It’s a wonderful way to talk about how we can reuse a lot of the things we might otherwise throw away. Read about it here.
15. Earth Stamping
If you do have some toilet paper or paper towel rolls to reuse at home, try this fun Earth stamping project. All you need is some blue and green paint along with the roll. Read about it here.
16. DIY Sensory Bottle
Another item you can reuse and recycle is plastic bottles by turning them into sensory bottles for kids. This is also one of the best ways to use miscellaneous craft supplies that you have lying around from other projects. Read about it here.
17. Clay Imprints
Here’s a super cool craft we found last year, and a great way to get outside exploring nature on Earth Day! My grandson loved finding all the cool plants for his imprints. Read about it here.
18. Earth Day Sun Catchers
Another fun way to make something that looks like Earth is with these cool sun catchers! Then, you have something homemade to decorate every year for Earth Day. Read about it here.
19. Homemade Bug Hotel
Little kids love the idea of making a place for bugs to stay! And they such a fun time out in nature finding all the materials they need. Read about it here.
20. Pebble Art
Another good way to get kids outside on Earth Day is to have them find rocks and pebbles to make their own art! This one does require hot glue, so kids need more assistance. Read about it here.
21. Plant Something
One of the easy activities we always do around Earth Day is plant something! Usually we pick something easy, like a flower that’s pretty hardy or even an easy vegetable. Children of all ages love to watch their plants grow, and it’s an awesome way to incorporate messy play.
22. Nature Paintbrushes
This is such a creative, fun way to paint for Earth Day! We love painting with anything that’s not a traditional paint brush for small children, so why not make your own from nature? Read all about it here.
23. Egg Carton Bird Feeder
Egg cartons are another item you probably already have and will throw away, but you can reuse them! Make another easy bird feed with those egg cartons! Read about it here.
24. Flower Vase Craft
If you’re looking for a super simple craft you can do with your kids while you’re outside, try these cute flower vases you fill with any flowers you can find. This simple craft takes very minimal planning and supplies. Read about it here.
25. Earth Day Shaving Cream
One of our favorite things to do on any holiday is themed shaving cream! We have a whole post of shaving cream activities with young kids. For Earth Day, all you need to do is add some blue and green food coloring!
Have a wonderful Earth Day!
