It’s almost Earth Day — how are you going to honor our planet? These tips will give you ideas on how to celebrate with your kids the green way!

Earth Day is April 22nd!

Do you know how you’re going to celebrate? On this extra-special day, it’s a great opportunity to pass on your sense of responsibility about our beloved planet. The theme for this year’s Earth Day, “a billion acts of green”, will show your kids that you don’t have to be an eco-expert to show the earth some love! Here are some ideas from the National Wildlife Federation on how to spend the day teaching your kids to value our planet’s precious green spaces.

Cultivate your gardening skills.

Show your kids their green thumbs! Let your kids help start a garden so they can learn what plants needs to survive. Add features that attract wildlife, such as a bird or bat house, a water feature, or native plants.

It’s game time!

Red rover, duck duck goose, sardines, capture the flag — the possibilities are limitless on a beautiful day.

Get out your binoculars.

Become a bird watcher. You don’t have to know the names of the birds to enjoy an afternoon with them. It’s fun to look them up if you have a bird guide, though!

Turn off the lights!

Be a role model — conserve energy! Let your kids help you change out light bulbs to more energy efficient ones. Set your fridge to its most energy-saving setting by having the kids conduct an experiment. Let a bowl of water sit in on the middle shelf of the refrigerator until it gets cold. The temperature should be about 38-40 degrees, and if it’s not, adjust the temperature setting of the fridge until you get there.

Make a worm compost bin.

This one is great for bug loving kids! Red wiggler worms will eat just about anything — banana peels, apple cores, lettuce, leftovers — and whatever you feed them will come out the other end as black castings that make great fertilizer for house plants and gardens!

Walk (or bike, or carpool, or take the bus…) to school.

Approximately 6.3 million children live one to two miles away from school, but only about 12% walk or bike there! It’s not always possible to do this, but when it is, you should let your kids try it (or do it with them!). It’s great exercise, a good way to save money on gas, and it can be your contribution to decreasing road traffic!