We love Earth Day! Students listened to a few of my favorite Earth Day books, including Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a girl who promises her grandfather that she will make the world more beautiful. As she grows up, she sees that the world is already a beautiful place. One spring she plants some lupine seeds. Two years later she is surprised when she sees that the seeds have spread all over her town, causing beautiful lupines to bloom! She decides that she will make the earth more beautiful by sowing more seeds.

I then asked students to make an Earth Day Pledge. What are some things they can do to make the Earth a healthier, more beautiful place to live?  Here are some of their ideas:

We also made earth paintings using a marbleized paint technique.  This technique is so fun…you will want to try it at home!!

First, students added liquid water color to shaving cream.

Then they mixed the colors with the shaving cream….I used my hands, but the students used a craft stick because the liquid watercolor tends to stain a bit!

Next, students pressed a cut out circle into the mixture.

Lastly, I scraped off the excess shaving cream and viola! Marbled earths!

I put all the pieces together and now have a beautiful, fresh bulletin board!

Happy Earth Day!