We are so excited to celebrate Earth Day on Friday. Little M wants to plant some herbs in our windowsill garden, read his favorite books about recycling and spend time outdoors. If you are looking for a few Earth Day ideas, check out some of our favorites:

Explore the great outdoors with this wonderful new book. We have been reading and bookmarking our favorite pages in Outside: A Guide to Discovering Nature. The book explores questions about nature and appeals to children’s natural sense of adventure and curiosity. We especially love that they explain how you can still find nature in a big city – perfect for those of us raising little ones in bustling cities.

Recycle your old crayons and create something new with this simple DIY crayon craft. This is a fun and hands-on way to teach kids the importance of recycling.

Create a beautiful art project with reused materials from around the house like this lovely newspaper collage from the Artful Parent.  We follow Jean Van’t Hul’s website closely and use her ideas often. If you haven’t checked out her books, they are worth a read and are filled with kid-friendly art activities for families to do together.

Plant something! Teach kids how to garden with these easy gardening ideas from Kids Activities Blog. No room for a tree? You can even start a small at home garden with this Gardening Kit from Green Toys. The point is to show little ones how amazing it is to see life spring from a seed, teach them to care for their plant and instill patience by watching it grow.

If you need a few more ideas or have kids who want to be eco-explorers every day of the year (like we do), be sure to check out the new book 23 Ways to be an Eco Hero – a step-by-step guide to creative ways you can save the world. The book has a great variety of easy step-by-step projects for children who are looking to help the environment.