Yesterday the world celebrated Earth Day! Today we are going to learn about ways to keep the Earth we love healthy. One of the most important parts of keeping the Earth healthy is learning about being green. One way to stay green is by learning the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
- Reduce means cutting back on the amount of trash we make. We Reduce in the Orange Room by adding vegetables and fruit to our WCCC compost.
- Reuse means finding a new way to use recycled materials. In the Orange Room we reuse by creating at our recycled materials station in the classroom.
- Recycle means putting paper, plastic, and metal cans in the recycling bin instead of the trash.
When we clean up after free choice in the Orange Room, we always make sure to throw our paper scraps into the blue recycling bin.
Have a dance break to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle song by Jack Johnson:
Ever wondered where your recycled materials go after you put them in the recycling bin? Find out here!
Some ways we can be GREEN at home include: (adapted from “What Does It Mean To Be Green?” by Rana DiOrio)
- Coloring on both sides of the paper before getting a new one.
- Turning the lights off when you leave a room.
- Giving the clothes you’ve outgrown to someone smaller than you.
- Eating foods grown locally – like from a farmers market.
- Taking a walk to the park instead of driving.
- Packing your lunch or snack in containers you can bring home everyday.
- Picking up trash that isn’t yours and putting it in the garbage or recycling.
- Turning off the water while you brush your teeth.
- Wearing your pajamas just one more night before washing them.
- Thinking of new ways to conserve.
3 R’s Activities
- Write a journal entry. What are some new ways to conserve that you can think of? What is one way you already conserve at home? What does it mean to be green?
- Create a recycled materials sculpture. Grab a piece of paper or a journal page and plan out your structure before you build. Think of the materials that you have, how can you use them to create what you are imagining. Once you finish you can take apart your sculpture and sort it into the recycling bin to be recycled!
- Reuse your recycled materials to create an art collage. Use glue with a paintbrush to create any picture you’d like. You can use newspaper, plastic bottle caps, toilet paper rolls, and you can even cut up cereal boxes to add fun words or pictures to your collage.
- Print and cut out the Let’s Recycle Sorting Game (coloring optional!) and decide which items are plastic, compost, aluminum, (which means metal) or paper. Can you think of any items not in this sorting activity that would fall into these categories?
Go for a trash pickup walk in your neighborhood. Bring gloves with you and a garbage bag to help collect the items. See how much you can collect to help keep our earth clean!
Make an Earth Day sign to hang in your window. You can draw ways to help our earth or your favorite flower, tree, or thing to do outside. Hang your sign or picture in the window for everyone walking by to see.
- You can also draw right on your window with this window paint recipe if you are feeling extra creative!
Earth Day Books
Help Julia read the story Touch the Earth by Julian Lennon. She is going to need your help pressing the page and driving the Feather Flier!
Listen to Earth Day Every Day by Lisa Bullard and Xiao Xin:
Would you want to plan a special earth night at home? You can play board games or play outside instead of using the TV or Computer, just like in the book. This is also a great way to disconnect from technology!
Listen to Fancy Nancy: Everyday is Earth Day by Jane O’Connor
We’ve Included some coloring pages that you can print and color if you’d like!
Some Other Videos to watch about the 3 R’s: