Celebrating Earth and Arbor Day at Home

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! Care of the environment, whether that means the classroom or the Earth, is part of Dr. Montessori’s philosophy. Greene Towne’s celebration of Earth Day grew to Earth Week, not only to include Arbor Day but to have smaller groups to discuss the importance of recycling, reusing, and reducing trash and how important trees are to our ecosystem (providing oxygen, food, and homes for animals to start!) Worms are always a big hit, too! 

Please enjoy some simple Earth and Arbor Day actvities that can be done at home. These activities are from Greene Towne @ Home’s daily schedules for both Toddler and Primary. Do you have new seedlings or plants that you are proud of? Have you done some of these projects already? Join others who are showing them off in our Padlet or email them to us to share!

• Petal Collecting
• Plant Project
• Read aloud book on YouTube: From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons 
• Read aloud book on YouTube: The Rain Came Down by David Shannon
• Storyline Online: The Empty Pot by Demi
• Listen to Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
• Listen to The Very Hungry Caterpillar written, illustrated and read by Eric Carle
• Go outside and find a nearby tree. Take a moment to examine the texture with your eyes and hands. Explore tactile texture versus visual texture with this tree rubbing activity. Collect some leaves along the way to repeat this activity indoors and on a smaller scale.
• Making a rock garden
• Nature Impressions in Playdough
• Plant Leaf Washing 
• Listen to: Amazing Bird Nests by Ron Fridell
• Still-Life Art
• Listen to: Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
• I want to Learn More About Worms!
• Make it rain in your kitchen (in a jar!): Rain Cloud in A Jar
• Look at Pennsylvania’s DEP website about the Peregrine Falcons that have nested on their building in Harrisburg, PA. There are four live cameras on their nest and their eggs are hatching this week! You can also read and discuss these Peregrine Falcon facts at National Geographic.