8 Eco-Friendly Activities for Kids at Home

Lauren Dalmatoff | Apr 1, 2020 | 2 min read

Sustainability activities for kids

Unexpectedly thrown into homeschooling? It's no small task to keep your kids on track with learning their usual requirements when it comes to reading, writing, and doing math from home. But the the family activities is where you can really have fun!

That's why we've gathered 8 fun educational activities for kids, to help engage your children at home, start some great new conversations around the importance of sustainability, and have fun along the way!

HERE ARE 8 FUN ACTIVITIES TO DO AT HOME WITH KIDS

1. Watch a Movie

Pop some popcorn and watch a movie with your kids. Some of our favorites are The Lorax and Wall-E - When the movie is over, use it as an opportunity to chat with your kids about their feelings towards the story.

2. Start a compost

Spending more time at home creates the perfect time to reuse your food waste and start composting, which you can then use to boost the perfect soil for your garden this Spring. Want a step by step on how to start composting?
Download our kit of fun, sustainable homeschool activities for kids! 

3. Play a game

Playing games is a great way to develop your kids' learning abilities, helping them to learn how to regulate emotions and to develop strategic thinking. Minecraft: Education Edition has a great set of biodiversity based games, free to anyone with a Minecraft subscription. Check out these from WWF: Extinction: Biodiversity, Extinction: Safari.

4. Calculate your carbon footprint

Teach your kids about what is a carbon footprint with the help of our lesson for kids. Follow along with this guide, and this powerpoint. Then, use this quiz we put together to see your family's carbon footprint, and make a pledge to lower it.

Carbon Footprint one-pager

5. Spring cleaning

Sort through old clothes and toys to make a give away bag to donate later. Find something broken along the way? Try to repair it before replacing it! If your kids are reluctant to part with their things, tell them it’s essential if they want to make room for something new in the future.

6. Follow the ABC’s of going green

Go down the list to see what you’re already doing, and what changes you could make as a family. Download the ABC List.

ABC sustainability activity

7. Make art

Upcycle old materials to create a fun art project. Did you know, you can cut off the ends of dried markers, and soak them in water to make watercolor paint? Try painting on old newspapers, or the inside of cereal boxes for a cool textured background!

8. Make some plant based treats

This is a personal favorite recipe of mine: 3 ingredient oatmeal banana cookies! Bonus: they’re great as breakfast and super easy to make.

Want more eco-friendly, kid-friendly activities to keep kids busy? Check out our homeschool activity guide for more ideas and how-to’s.

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Plant Trees Where They're Needed Most

As the need for reforestation is global and ever-changing, we feature where trees are most needed now. This project supports Brazil, a country well-known for its rich ecological diversity. Learn more

With your help, we will:

  • Support the habitats of Brazil's iconic wildlife species
  • Restore forests and improve the connectivity of fragmented forests
  • Provide jobs to community members and smallholder farming families
  • The Atlantic Forest, also known as Mata Atlantica, was once an expansive tropical rainforest ecosystem that covered 130 million hectares in Brazil. Sadly, centuries of deforestation for timber, sugar cane, coffee, cattle ranching, and urban sprawl have led to its decline, and it now occupies only 12% of its original size. But, there is still hope! Our planting efforts work towards restoring this vital ecosystem and its diverse tree species. Our focus is on areas such as western São Paulo State, where the Mooro do Diablo State Park and the Black Lion Tamarin Ecological Station are located, as well as many other forest fragments that are in need of restoration. We are planting trees, protecting the remaining forest, and promoting sustainable practices to preserve this beautiful environment for generations to come!
  • Our partners in Brazil are creating one of Brazil’s most significant reforestation corridors, connecting the Morro do Diablo State Park and the Black Lion Tamarin Ecological station. This will benefit endemic and endangered species, improve the livelihoods of thousands of families, and mitigate harmful edge effects. The project includes restoring significant private lands, promoting the occupation of restored areas by fauna, changing land use practices, improving small farmers' livelihoods, and providing high-quality carbon offsets. The program promotes sustainable agriculture and forest landscape restoration, influenced by policies that affect land use and conservation.
  • A personalized tree certificate (see gallery) to say thanks for your donation. We'll also send you reports about our Brazil project, so you can track the impact your trees are having on the ground!
  • We take great care in selecting species for our planting sites, ensuring that all of them are native to the Atlantic Forest. Our list of approximately 100 species includes rare and endangered species such as the Aspidosperma polyneuron (Endangered), Cariniana legalis (Vulnerable), Cedrela fissilis (Vulnerable), Zeyheria tuberculosa (Vulnerable), and Balfourodendron riedelianum (Near Threatened).


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