Earth Day · April 22 · Ages 4–8
20 Earth Day activities for kids
If you only have half an hour, try a recycling relay (20 minutes, works for a whole class), egg carton critters (a craft from trash) or a fix-it hour (mend broken toys and books together). Every activity below is sorted under one of the six Rs.
Rethink activities: look at old things a new way.
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#1 · 30 min · with Aria
Jar pencil holder
Wash a jar, paint it, and add stars or dots like Aria's wagon.
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#2 · 45 min · with Aria
Cardboard box anything
A box becomes a car, a fort, a puppet theatre or a wagon. Decorate it with paint and scraps.
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#3 · 30 min · with Aria
Egg carton critters
Cut egg carton cups into bugs, flowers or a caterpillar and paint them. Steps on our egg carton crafts page.
Refuse activities: say no thanks to what you do not need.
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#4 · 15 min · with Leo
Waste-free lunch challenge
Pack a lunch with nothing to throw away: reusable box, bottle and cloth napkin. Weigh or count the trash you saved.
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#5 · All day · with Penny
No-thanks day
For one day, say no thanks to straws, plastic bags, flyers and party-bag trinkets. Keep a tally of everything you turned down.
Reduce activities: use less in the first place.
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#6 · 15 min · with Leo
Lights-off detective
Walk through the house and count lights and screens left on. Switch them off and make a "lights off" sign for each room.
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#7 · 5 min · with Leo
Tap timer
Use a sand timer or song to keep tooth-brushing water off. How many cups of water did you save?
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#8 · 10 min + a week · with Leo
Grow scraps on a windowsill
Stand the bottom of a lettuce, celery or green onion in water and watch it regrow.
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#9 · 30 min · with Marcus
Walk, bike or roll day
Pick one trip and go without the car. Draw a map of your route.
Reuse activities: use it again or pass it on.
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#10 · 30 min · with Zoey
Pack a giving box
Choose toys, books and clothes you have outgrown that are still in good shape, and donate them together.
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#11 · 1 hour · with Zoey
Toy and book swap
Invite friends or classmates to bring one thing and take one thing home.
Repair activities: fix it instead of tossing it.
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#12 · 1 hour · with Koru
Fix-it hour
Gather broken toys and books and fix what you can: book tape, glue, a few stitches.
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#13 · 15 min · with Koru
Squeak detective
Find something squeaky, track down exactly where the squeak comes from, and quiet it with a drop of oil (with a grown-up).
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#14 · 30 min · with Aria
Stuffed animal hospital
Check every plush for loose seams and sew them up together, like Aria mends Poley.
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#15 · 45 min · with Koru
Take-apart table
With a grown-up, unscrew an old wind-up toy or broken mechanical clock to see how it works and which parts could be reused. Skip anything with a battery or a plug.
Recycle activities: sort what is really finished.
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#16 · 30 min · with Marcus
Build a sorting station
Label three boxes: paper, cans and bottles, and "ask a grown-up". Decorate them together.
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#17 · 20 min · with Marcus
Recycling relay
Mix clean recyclables in a pile; teams race to sort them into the right bins.
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#18 · 15 min · with Penny
Number hunt
Find the number inside the recycling triangle on plastics at home and check which ones your town takes.
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#19 · 45 min · with Penny
Litter pick-up
With gloves and a grown-up, clean up a park or the schoolyard. Sort what you find.
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#20 · 1 hour + drying · with Marcus
Paper from scraps
Tear scrap paper, soak it, blend it with a grown-up and press it into new sheets.
Earth Day activity questions
What can kids do on Earth Day?
Kids can fix a broken toy, give away outgrown things, plant seeds, sort the recycling, pick up litter with a grown-up, make crafts from boxes and egg cartons, or read an Earth Day book.
What are easy Earth Day activities for preschool and kindergarten?
Egg carton critters, a recycling sorting relay, regrowing vegetable scraps and a lights-off hunt are all simple and fun for ages 3 to 6.
What are good Earth Day activities for the classroom?
A recycling relay, a toy and book swap, a schoolyard litter pick-up and a fix-it hour all work for a whole class. Pair them with an Earth Day read-aloud.
Pair the activities with a story: see our best Earth Day books for kids, or step-by-step fix-it projects.
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