Earth Day began in the 1970’s when the United States was plowing through an energy crisis.  I remember when the price of gas was thought to be astronomical back then.  We would have had heart attacks if a peek into the future only hinted at the prices we are paying today.  The movement highlighted the necessity to take care of our planet, after all, it is the only one we have.

As the green movement gains steam, so does Earth Day, held each year on April 22.  We’ve partnered with PBS WUCF for our Earth Day Celebration.

PBS Kids Spring Campaign, Explore the Outdoors encourages kids to literally EXPLORE outside.  We’ll be utilizing some of the activities PBS provides for anyone to download from the website.

Recycling is a part of life in our area.  Our counties and cities provide HUMONGOUS recycling bins that are actually larger than the trash bins. Children are raised to recycle!  We decided to reuse toilet paper holders, acting as our planting container.  Downloading the master “Dot’s Green Thumb,” students will color the label that will be placed on their individual toilet paper roll.

As a PBS WUCF VIP Blogger, we were sent biodegradable seed stakes WITH chive seeds attached.  How cute is that?  Imagine the amount of time the attached seeds will save.  The seeds are teeny tiny….our second graders will not knock the seeds off the desk or the hundred other unforeseen accidents rendering the seeds lost!

We hope to have achieved something like this at the end of our unit on Wednesday!  Insert lesson plan for biodegradable, what is it, what does it mean, what does it look like, and how can we make this a life long practice?  I can hear their responses now.

Incorporating the many games, apps and printables from PBS into our Earth Day celebration will provide students and teachers will tools for life.

Computer/Tablet Games Available:

• Dinosaur Train River Run
• Super Cleaner Upper
• Rescue Eotopia
• Make a Mangrove (perfect for our area!)
• Bug Catcher
• Eekocreature

Apps:

• Wild Kratts World Adventure
• Dinosaur Train A to Z
• Plum’s Photo Hunt
• Fizzy’s Lunch Lab: Hectic Harvest

Although our school is located within a neighborhood, we will EXPLORE OUTDOORS with a Nature Treasure Hunt.  Using those handy dandy toilet paper cardboard rolls, we’re making binoculars to zero in on plants and insects!

We’ll start the day with the PBS Kids Explore Outdoors video found HERE ending the day with a much anticipated Wild Kratts Episode.  PBS will premier new episodes of WILD Kratts on April 20, 21, & 22 at 5:00pm ET with new Dinosaur Train episodes April 20 & 21st at 11:00am ET.

What are your plans for Earth Day.  Share your resources!

All PBS Explore Outdoor Resources