Earth Day Crafts Food and Fun; With Free Printable Download

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

 

When Life Happens and You Don’t Feel Like an A+ Mom

So if you’re anything like me, you sometimes have the best of intentions, big ideas, or great plans only to fall short of your vision. You want to do some fun crafts, games, or activities with your little ones all too soon to realize that the darn holiday or event is literally the next day and you have nothing planned. That’s right, nothing – not one.single.thing!

That’s when it gets good…the flood gates open; I some how go from this desire to be an A+ ‘fun mom’ to a horrible mom in a bad mood all because I had these ‘great‘ ideas and plans built up in my head but, instead of my ‘fun fantasy plans’  this thing called ‘life’ happened.

I got caught up on an important work call. The dog puked on the floor for the 100th time. Speedy-Bee and Nature-Boy turned the house into a real hunting camp complete with guns, nerf-gun bullets, and little stuffed animals tucked in every cranny of our home. Music-Bee needed help with her report. Crafty-Bee wanted to bake a recipe which we only had half the ingredients for.

So, what do I do?

I do what every awesome mom does, hide in a closet, and login to Facebook for a breather. Wow, that really made me feel better -ummm, said no one ever. I log in only to see little Sally’s mom made awesome looking cupcakes, Johnny’s mom decorated the house perfectly for a fun afternoon of crafting, Grace’s kids are sitting picture perfect on the couch listening quietly to a story and, here I am feeling like a horrible mother hiding in a closet. My big plans of awesomeness turned into just ‘another day’ in the blink of an eye.

Have you been there? I mean, seriously y’all don’t make a girl feel like she is the only mom who has ever hid in a closet for peace and quiet from life’s chaos.

This message is to all the overachievers out there {and trust me, I am one} guess what, you’re not a bad mom if you didn’t have a chance to decorate Easter eggs, carve that pumpkin, or make some super-duper special treat for your kids class party. Yes, we really have had years that we did not decorate eggs. We have had years where our NOT carved pumpkin sat beautifully displayed for the world to see. You have strengths and bring beauty to your kids days- everyday, 365 days a year.

Your kids simply want you to show up and be there. Your mood changes the homes atmosphere {no pressure, haha} and, your shortcomings teach your kids grace. So, don’t beat yourself up the next time things don’t go as planned. Don’t rush around like crazy to ‘pull it off’ {ummm…because clearly I may or may not have tried to do this}.

Simply show up, be there, and maybe consider turning your phone off.

All that said; by all means if you still feel so inclined to do some activities, cook some yummy food, play some games, or read some good books in the days, weeks, months ahead stay tune because I have some holiday round ups coming just for you!

And, remember whether you do one, none, or all of these things….the most important memory you could make today is simply being present. So yes, that means staying out of the closet. Well, unless there is coffee and chocolate involved….then, by all means sip your coffee and wolf down that chocolate piece before you are busted!

Still finding crafty? Here is our ‘My Happy Homestead Holiday Round Up with Supply Lists’ so, you can spend more time crafting and less time running around!

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