15 Earth Day Activities for Kids

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Earth Day is right around the corner on April 22, and now is a great time to explore earth science with your child through activities and read alouds you can enjoy at home. When children learn earth science, their understanding of how the world works improves and their appreciation and respect for nature grows.

These 15 Earth Day activities and free downloadable picture books are perfect for teaching children about weather, environments, seasons, the water cycle, plants, animals, and more. All activities are available in English and Spanish.

After each activity, be sure to talk about the lesson and what you learned together to help your child practice communication skills.

Earth Day Activities: Clouds, Weather, and Seasons

I Want to Be a Scientist Like Joanne Simpson cover1. Clouds (available in Spanish: Nubes)

Encourage your little one to observe the weather and draw the cloud shapes they see on this worksheet. Then, talk about all the different cloud shapes you saw together.

2. I Want to be a Scientist Like Joanne Simpson (available in Spanish: Quiero ser un científico como Joanne Simpson)

Learn about Joanne Simpson, an award-winning weather scientist whose pioneering research changed the way we understand clouds, in this biography picture book.

3. Weather Patterns (available in Spanish: Patrones del clima)

Create a weather pattern chart with your child and discuss the relationship between temperature and the changing seasons.

4. Weather Tools (available in Spanish: Herramientas del clima)

For a science activity that helps students practice writing skills, use this worksheet to imagine and draw an invention that records the weather.

5. That’s What I Like: A Book About Seasons (available in Spanish: Eso es lo que me gusta: Un libro acerca de las estaciones)

Learn about the four seasons and how the weather changes throughout the year. You can then compare and contrast the seasons in the book to the seasons where you live.

Earth Day Activities: Plants, Animals, and the Environment

6. My Favorite Animal (available in Spanish: Mi animal favorito)

In this worksheet, children will draw a picture of their favorite animal and write a few details to describe it. It’s a great way to practice writing skills and science vocabulary!

Your Backyard cover7. Learning Together: Places on Earth (available in Spanish: Aprendiendo Juntos: Lugares en la Tierra)

This activity set includes fun ways to teach your child about ecosystems:

  • Create Your Own Polar Ecosystem
  • Prairie Stories
  • Read-Aloud Recommendations

8. Plants Need Water (available in Spanish: Las plantas necesitan agua)

What do plants need to survive? Observe healthy and thirsty plants together, then have your child draw what they see in this earth science activity.

9. Animals and Plants (available in Spanish: Animales y plantas)

This worksheet is all about how plants and animals depend on each other to survive in their environments.

10. Your Backyard (available in Spanish: Tu jardín trasero)

This picture book explores the fascinating flora and fauna people can find in their backyards. After you read it together, encourage your child to draw a picture of what they can see in their backyard or around their neighborhood.

11. How Animals Survive (available in Spanish: Cómo sobreviven los animales)

Learn how animals adapt to their environments by developing traits that help them survive.

Earth Day Activities: Rocks, Water, and Other Natural Resources

12. Can You Guess? (available in Spanish: ¿Puedes adivinar?)

In this read-aloud script, you and your child can take turns reading the two parts and guessing what the mystery word is. After you finish reading, take turns playing your own earth science guessing game with other natural resources like water, soil, or rocks.

Learning Together Natural Resources worksheet13. Learning Together: Natural Resources (available in Spanish: Aprendiendo Juntos: Recursos naturales)

Discover fun facts about earth’s natural resources like plants, rocks, soil, and minerals,through guided activities.

14. Learning Together: Rocks (available in Spanish: Aprendiendo Juntos: Rocas)

Find family learning activities for studying rocks and learning about fossils, including book recommendations for your next library trip and tips for starting your own rock collection.

15. Water is All Around (available in Spanish: El agua está por todas partes)

Readers learn how water is necessary for life and all environments in this informative science picture book.

Earth science is one of the key areas of focus for Waterford lessons to give students a strong foundation in early science. Want more guided science activities you can download and print? Just create a Waterford account!

Waterford has tons of free learning games, songs, and activities for PreK and early elementary learners. To create your account and get access to these great resources, follow the links below.

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