Happy Birthday, Earth!

The Guide

1. Plant the seeds: Ask kids about which season it is. Talk a bit about how spring looks in your neck of the woods. Look for and point out the changes in plants, bodies of water, climate and even new additions to animal families. Talk about how the earth is starting over into a new year...just like we do when it’s our birthdays.
2. Let’s have a party! Suggest, “Hey, do you think we should throw a birthday party for the Earth? What do you think we’d need for a party? What would the Earth want at its party? What do you like about birthday parties?
3. Whip up treats! Set up an impromptu outdoor kitchen and start making favorite party treats. Mud pies, cakes and cupcakes along with stone soup make a great spread. Sticks make easy candles and, since the Earth is so old, you can just use a few.
4. Deck out the area Use the things around you to decorate for the party. Sticks and other items can be laid to make a great dining table, complete with placemats. Wildflowers, dandelions and fallen petals can make lovely centerpieces. String up some twine to make a nature curtain. Note: Be mindful to help kids understand which nature objects can be taken for play. At Tinkergarten, we say that objects that are “found on the ground” are what we use for our play (e.g. fallen petals, leaves, sticks, tree fruits, bits of bark as well as grasses/ground cover). Objects still on a growing plant are needed by that plant and are not for our play.
5. What could be our present? If you have children over 3 with you, wonder together about what might be a present worthy of our planet Earth. Kids have absolutely marvelous ideas. Some of our favorites have included lovely nature displays, a pile of trash cleaned up from the park and ready to recycle, and pledges to care for the planet (e.g. use less water, recycle, etc.).
6. Feast and sing Do a little clean up (we recommend washing with castille soap and water). Then, as goofy as it may feel, have a feast, pretending to savor your nature treats and nibbling on real treats that you’ve packed. Take a minute to talk about what makes our planet Earth such an amazing home. Sing the Earth Happy Birthday. Do whatever kids want to do to make this a party worthy of our planet.