A Spring Play Date: Earth Day Celebration

activitieslittles

Mar 12

Spring is the perfect time to host a little play date celebration for your kids and their friends. The holidays are over, it’s a new year with a fresh start, and the weather is brightening up. What better time to host an outdoor, fun afternoon?

Keeping the season in mind and with Earth Day in April, I thought it would be great to invite some of our little friends over to plant their own herbs and decorate their own garden markers. With get-togethers involving kids, I try to keep everything simple and easy. Planting herbs in ice cream cones is not only a cute and kid-friendly way of gardening, but it’s budget friendly and a craft that can be sent home easily. The cones can even be planted straight into the ground and will break up over time. What kid wouldn’t want to plant an ice cream cone? It’s a great way of spending time outdoors in the spring and introducing your little ones to gardening.

To make garden markers, you’ll need paint stirrers or tongue depressors, a variety of paint colors, paintbrushes, and a paint pen or marker. This is another easy, budget friendly craft that kids will love. I used paint stirrers, which you can get at your local hardware store. Some even offer them for free. I pre-painted them all a solid color, and then placed one at each table setting for the kids to paint themselves. Once the paint is dry, simply use the paint pen or marker to label them with the names of the herbs or flowers you plan on planting.

If you don’t have a garden, you can write your child’s name, or anything really. Tongue depressors are small enough to be used as bookmarks, for toy organization, for play, and arts and crafts. You can get as creative as you’d like with these.

For a cute and healthy snack, serve raw veggies in mini terracotta pots. Just place broccoli florets, green beans, baby carrots, and radishes in the pots. You can even pour ranch dressing or add a dollop of humus in the bottom for dipping and your children will be encouraged to eat their vegetables in a fun way.

So gather up some friends, a few simple spring activities, and get outside. There’s nothing that my 4-year-old loves more than being outside, and springtime is the perfect opportunity to celebrate that.

Make sure to follow along with Hannah at her blog or instagram for more fun ideas!

The Momma Society Team has gathered up a few of our favorite books on Earth Day to read with your kids. Do you have any favorites that aren’t on our list?