Happy Earth Day! (well, two days ago.) I've been ultra-busy so I wasn't able to write this post up until now, but I wanted to share with you what I did to celebrate Earth Day. If you have kids, little brothers/sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, etc., or if you're like me and work as a nanny—this is a perfect activity for them! It not only gets their hands dirty (which for some reason, kids love) but it can also be a good opportunity to teach them the importance of being good to our planet and nature in general. Or you can just kind of teach them to plant, whatever works out. When it comes to kids, you kind of just have to go with the follow and 99% of the time you just wing it.
Supplies needed:
an empty egg carton (the cardboard kind!)
packets of seeds
cups for dirt picking
some water
dirt (obviously)
First, you'll probably want the kids to "collect" dirt in their cup (bonus points if you use recyclable materials for this!) You can use pre-bought dirt or let them have a go at it and dig in your backyard for some dirt of their own. (Notice the super dirty hands.)
Then, you're going to want to have each kid fill in every "cup" with some dirt, about half way. Make sure there's enough room to place the seeds and to cover them with enough dirt.
Now, it's time to place the seeds. I poured the seeds into my hand first, then transferred them over to the kids' hands. Otherwise, we'd have a seed catastrophe.
Once all your seeds are in, it's go time with the dirt again. Have the kids fill in the "cups" all the way (up to the line is probably good enough.) Depending on the age of the kids you're doing this with, you might need to guide them a bit. For example, my kids kept asking "Is this enough dirt? Is this enough?" And you will continue saying "No, more." for about another 5 minutes until it actually is enough dirt. Have them gently pat the dirt down, too.
Add a little bit of water, and you're good to go! Their "science experiment" is done. Now all that's left to do is watch them grow (hopefully...) Honestly, I don't know if the types of seeds we picked out will actually grow in these small little containers, but the kids had fun doing it and it was a cool way to celebrate Mother Nature. Just make sure you place the egg carton somewhere where it will get lots of sunlight and no one will trip over it/step on it and totally ruin your awesome project.
And remember, not to get all cheesy on you guys and everything, but Earth Day should be every day! Be grateful. Take care of our home. If you don't already recycle, start doing it (it's super easy and will make you feel better about yourself, I promise.) If you see a piece of trash on the ground (that's not totally gross, of course) pick it up and throw it out.
There's lots of ways to help out and make a difference, no matter how small.
♥︎
