Earth Week
Remember when I beat myself up over posting my Easter activities a day before Easter? Well, I am giving you Earth Day activities a full week after Earth Day! No matter! The power of the internet will ensure this remains for mom-planners next year, the year after that, the year after that, and so on…
That being said, these activities could totally be repurposed into a weather module or even a deep dive into specific habitats. For the older children, an exploration into recycling and pollution could be done. Exploring the greater world outside doesn’t have to be at a certain time every year. Here is how I made Earth Day relevant for my toddler.
Supplies Needed
The Plan
Reading: Nuestro Mundo Entero – I love love love this book. My husband, Chris, is Cuban-American, and we try to create a bilingual environment as much as we can. This usually involves reading books both in English and Spanish. This little board book explains how loved the baby is and compares him/her to different aspects of our natural world. It’s a lovely bilingual tie in to our planet. The cadence of Spanish always puts Vicky in a quiet mood, so its actually a lovely experience to read this one aloud to her.
Normally, I would link to the book so you can follow along, but this was a gift and I believe it is only sold through Hallmark.
Vicky also really enjoyed this book from Usborne about Sharks. It was a “lift-the-flap” book and she would beg to read it, at least once a day.
We also pulled out our trusty animal flash cards. She loves to spread them out and look at them during the day. Her favorite are the dog and cat. She’ll bring them to me with such a smile on her face.
Nursery Rhyme/Song: “He’s Got The Whole World” – I absolutely loved this song growing up, and I stumbled upon a Youtube version that didn’t involve rave music. It even has the words at the bottom to follow along with!
Words: Outside – This one is great. Vicky is starting to grab her shoes when she wants to get outside. We’ve got a word in use that sounds very similar to shoes, but I’d love to be able to say “Let’s go outside!” and she knows to grab her things. This was our big push this week, and I think we’ve made some substantive progress.
Visual Aid: Weather Chart – The weather chart in the hyperlink is very similar to the one below that we were gifted. Ideally, at the same time every morning, you would have a discussion with your child about the weather, showing them the weather chart, and speaking about which symbol would be appropriate for today’s weather.
Sensory Activity: For this sensory bin, I actually used water beads for the first time. After letting them soak up water overnight, I strained them for excess water, and dumped them in my Trofast tubs. I also threw in some fake plastic fish that Vicky just loves to play with during bathtime, along with some shells and beach rocks that my husband and I gathered on Atlantic Beach, NC.
Gross Motor: Rain Dance! We got this idea from the PreKinders website. Here’s a link with the description. Essentially, “Children rub their fingers together to make a mist, rub their hands together to make a drizzle, pat knees to make a downpour, stomp the floor to make thunder. Then reverse the movements for the rain to stop.” Vicky loved loved this. Did she completely understand we were mimicking the rain? Probably not, but we got a lot of movement in each day, and I consider that a win
So, did you try any of these activities? Comment below and let me know how it went!
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