Sometimes it’s so hard to teach children how important it is to take care of our Earth. When children understand the importance of recycling, planting trees, and cutting down on electricity, they can find different ways to help the planet that they live on. This Earth Day kids scavenger hunt is a great way to teach our little environmentalists about protecting the Earth, as well as enjoying a hands on scavenger hunt! Your kids will LOVE getting to run around outside, or inside if the weather is too cold or rainy.
Learning Through Scavenger Hunts:
earth day activities for kids
WHEN PARTICIPATING IN SCAVENGER HUNTS, CHILDREN USE AND DEVELOP MANY SKILLS.
It is important to participate in scavenger hunts to develop motor, cognitive, and social skills.
Children can work in pairs, as a small group, or individually on the scavenger hunt.
Set your kiddos free to discover the Earth day objects during recess or a science exploration time.
The Earth day objects included in this printable are: recycling symbol, food scraps, compost, globe, lightbulb, recycling bin, can, plastic bottle, recycling truck, tree, flowers, and kids recycling. Some of these items may be difficult to find , so you may want to stage a few items or ask them to find pictures of the objects.
In addition to learning about Earth day here are some more ideas for what you can teach about using the scavenger hunt printable:
- What can you do to make our Earth better?
- What would happen if everyone threw their trash on the ground?
- Why do people plant trees?
- What is one thing you would change about the Earth?
What Can Preschoolers Learn Using Scavenger Hunts?
earth day printables for kids
ASKING CHILDREN QUESTIONS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A SCAVENGER HUNT WILL ENCOURAGE ORAL LANGUAGE AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS:
- Which object was the most difficult to find?
- What was the first object you found? How did you find it?
- What could have helped you find the objects?
- Do you think we would find these objects in a different season? Why or why not?
Why Is It Important For Kids To Look For Specific Objects?
Besides the fact that kids love a good treasure hunt, there are so many other reasons you should create a scavenger hunt for your children:
Positional Word Awareness
When a child finds one of the objects on the printable, they can use positional words (on, under, beside) to tell you where they found the object.
Fine Motor Madness
Children will fine tune their fine motor skills when they draw pictures of the Earth day objects they have found.
Supplementing Social Skills
When children work and collaborate with one another they will practice sharing and decision making. Allowing children to work in pairs or small groups can give them an opportunity to problem solve.
Communication and Language Skills
Learning new words, communicating and listening to directions are all areas of development that will be practiced throughout a scavenger hunt.
How To Use This Earth Day Scavenger Hunt Printable
earth day ideas for kids
This is honestly the easiest activity to create for the most fun with your kiddos.
Print out the free printable (colored or black/white) on paper or cardstock. You can print out a scavenger hunt paper for each child, or a few for group work.
Children can be given a crayon or marker to use to cross off each item that is found. This can also be used to draw the objects on the second printable.
Other Ways To Use The Earth Day Scavenger Hunt Printable:
Sequencing Cards
Use the pages of the activity as sequencing cards and see if your child can put the pages into the correct order of the sunflower life cycle stages.
Home Language
Research specific Earth day themed words in a child’s home language. This will promote their culture as well as teach them the English language.
Time’s Up!
For an extra challenge, give your children a time limit to find the objects using an auditory alarm.
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