Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to teach our children about our environment, recycling + compassion. According to my 5 year old, everyday is Earth Day! And, he's right! Everyday we can do things both big + small to help take care of our planet Earth. I'm sharing a fun Earth Day activity here with Oriental Trading.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. -The Lorax

Making a positive impact on our environment can seem like a daunting task. But, we believe both big + small projects can be impactful for our environment. My kids have become obsessed with trash trucks + that has also led to a fascination with recycling. We do all we can to recycle weekly. We also enjoy learning about other ways to be environmentally friendly.

Another way we like to improve our environment is by growing plants. Did you know that there are many plants that clean the air? We painted some flower pots so we can plant some new air cleaning plants. We ordered both finger paints + flower pots from Oriental Trading.

Here are some plants that help to purify indoor air:

Aloe Vera

Spider Plant

Peace Lily

Boston Fern

Gerbera Daisy

English Ivy

Weeping Fig

I know it may seem small + insignificant, but it's not about what it is, it's about what it can become - Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

I think Earth Day is not only about planting trees + plants. I think it's also about exploring our own creativity. That's where new big ideas will bloom. It's the small creative ideas that may be able to greatly impact our future. I wanted this activity to be a fun, unstructured creativity that could lead to ideas, questions + a little curiosity.

Here's Breck, my 5 year old son that has had a fascination with garbage + recycling trucks since he was 18 months old. I never would've guessed that trash + recycling would be the things that he would love most. But, I love that he has helped to teach his family = friends about the importance of recycling. Photo by: // Kathleen Peachey