Earth Day Crafts Food and Fun; With Free Printable Download

by Jenny Irvine // April 17, 2018 // No Comments

Earth Day is just around the corner, and it’s no secret we love being outdoors whenever possible. Whether, it is playing in the woods, gardening, or hanging by the lake. Therefore, it only seems natural to want to dedicate a day to honoring, preserving, and learning about the Earth.

Looking for some fun hands on activities or Earth Day snacks for the kids? I’m rounding up some of our homestead favorites, and sharing a bit of our Earth Day celebration with you.

Earth Day Crafts, Food, and Fun

Earth Day Collages

The kids had a lot of fun gathering old magazine, paper scraps, and tissue paper to create their interpretive Earth collages.

Draw a circle in the middle of an 8×11 sheet of paper or larger (I believe ours was 8×13)

Cut and/or rip paper in squares (hues of blues, greens, and yellows preferred)

Glue squares (hues of blue, green, and yellows) of paper onto the circle, and if desired glue a darker (black or brown) around the outside perimeter representing the earth’s atmosphere. {Note: this also really helps the earth “pop” on the paper}

Typically when the kids are doing a hands on project I try to read aloud (provided it’s a project they can do somewhat independently). – this week we enjoyed reading The Magic School House: Inside the Earth while completing our masterpieces.

Earth Day Dirt Cups

We all know it is true – the way to their brains is through their stomachs. I’m not going to lie, I’m happier when I’m fed too – these dirt cups aren’t just for kids!

FREE Earth Day Word Search Printable

Learning about Earth Day just became fun with this Free Word Search! (and, Word Search Answer Key)

Kids can learn about Earth Day, have fun, and practice their spelling skills with this FREE Earth Day word search. Be sure and check out Education.com for more spelling resources and printables just like this.

Earth Day Treasure Hunt

We haven’t had a chance to do this super cute treasure hunt for kids via No Wooden Spoon, but hope to do so in the week ahead. (As soon as Mother Nature decides to let go of Winter that is.)

Be sure to follow along with all of our nature exploring on IG @myhappyhomestead.

Earth Day Writing Prompts

Do you have a reluctant writer in your house too?

Short little writing prompts are a life savor in our house – be sure to snag your free Earth Day printable writing prompt HERE. And, for my super-duper reluctant writers, our boogie boards have been the “cure” to the tears crying over dotted paper lines.

Wishing you all a wonderful Earth Day filled with crafts, creations, and delicious treats.

For it is when we take the time to look deep in nature we truly begin to understand everything around us a little bit better. ~Albert Einstein.

Blessings,

Jenny

How to Make Salt Dough Fossils

by Jenny Irvine // April 18, 2016 // 4 Comments

I have wanted to make salt dough fossils for quite sometime. We are currently studying ‘Flying Creatures’ for science and making nature fossils seemed to be a perfect fit. I also teach at a local homeschool co-op once a week and we made this same salt dough recipe in class – 3 batches of salt dough later I think I have mastered the recipe and wanted to share it with you!

It is easy to work with, rolls out great, bakes up nicely, and provided hours of entertainment for many little people. Speaking of entertainment, did you make our best ever play-doh? We are due to make another batch soon. In the summer months we like to take our dough experiences outdoors for a messy, hands on, multi-sensory learning experience.

Whether you are looking to make nature fossils, cute baby foot print momentos, or ornaments – this recipe will surely be a hit for the whole family.

My head is already spinning with ideas. After all, Mothers day is just around the corner…I’m thinking a layered handprint casting is on order at My Happy Homestead stay tune for more!

How to Make Salt Dough

Best No Cook Play-Doh a Multi-Sensory Learning Experience

by Jenny Irvine // March 26, 2016 // 2 Comments

After years of buying store bought play-doh, and many play-doh recipe failures. I think we have officially stumbled across the best no cook play-doh recipe ever. We use play-doh both during read loud time and for busy bin free play.

I have found when children are able to keep their hands busy during read aloud time they are more likely to pay attention with their ears and less likely to want to speak over me; thus, making our time together much more enjoyable and productive.

While play-doh can be messy at times – it is still my preferred messy, fun activity {especially over glitter glue..} Play-doh is great for fine motor development. The malleable properties make it an excellent choice for building hand strength and pre-writing development. It can be squashed, rolled, chopped, poked, and shredded allowing for hours of endless imaginary play.

Check out just some of the creations our kids created in our time together this week. Everything from play-doh pizza’s, ‘sugar’ cookies, to snakes, snails, and turtles –

Want to make their open ended play-doh play time even more exciting? With a few simple supplies you can create an expansive play-doh tool box at a minimal cost. Here are some of the play-doh tools in our box;

small toys {dinosaurs, fish, farm animals}
straws
rolling pins
egg cartons
sea shells
buttons
plastic letters and numbers
popsicle sticks
plastic spoons, forks, and knives {you can omit this of coarse…our kids are a bit older now so I am comfortable with their ability to use them safely}
plates/bowls

Each of our children are typically given a tray with their selected dough color {they are encouraged to share}. I then, place a ‘tool box’ of supplies in the middle of the table for community use. They play and I read to them. When you add open ended play items to their dough experience the imaginations explode. {Encouraging them to create things they hear in the story is also another great way to ‘test’ their listening and comprehension.}

Want a multi-sensory experience? Flavor up your dough by adding any of these –

pumpkin spice
cinnamon
essential oils
ginger
oregano

Make it pink, blue, and yellow too…we use plain old food dye but, you can try any of these too I’m sure with an equally good result…

Add some texture –

rice
sand
glitter
tiny pasta
sequins
pebbles

Want to try the recipe we use?

Best Ever Play-Doh Recipe

Be sure to visit our Kids in the Kitchen page for ‘live’ demonstrations, kid friendly recipes, more mess, and lots of fun. Never miss a thing from My Happy Homestead sign up to get “The Homestead Daily” Free to your in box.