No wheelbarrows? Play the old-fashioned and create a human wheelbarrow. Have one child get on their hands and knees, and another lift them by the feet. The two have to work as a team—one with their feet and the other with their hands—to get to the finish line as fast as they can. You can also have a relay race with real wheelbarrows. Have players take turns transporting something inside, such as a pile of dirt or set of gardening tools, to the other end. To set up this game, you will need to line up a few empty bins and label them for different types of recyclables (e.g., glass, plastic, metal, etc.). Gather two collections of recyclable items that include at least one thing to fit each category. Divide players into two teams and give each team one set of recyclable materials. Have them line up several feet away from the bins. To play the game, have one player from each team select an item, run it to the bins and drop it into the correct one. They must then run back and tag another player in line who then grabs the second item and drops it in a bin. This continues until all of the items have been sorted into the correct bins. The first team to finish wins. To start, have the kids collect a bunch of sticks, rocks, and leaves. Help them arrange the materials in the pattern of a hopscotch board. Once the board is done, they can use a rock to toss and play hopscotch as usual. You will need at least 10 people to play, so this game is best for a large group, but adults can join in the fun. Using your found objects, create a giant tic tac toe board on the lawn and divide the group into two teams. Each person becomes a marker, acting as either an “X” or an “O,” depending on which team they’re on. The game is a lot of fun and sure to inspire smiles from everyone. You can play quite a few rounds, giving a nature-inspired prize to the winning team. Before they head outside, have the kids make a list of natural elements that are commonly found in nature such as twigs, leaves, blades of grass, stones, flowers, etc. Make two copies of the list, divide the players into two teams and hand them each a list along with a basket for their found objects. The first team to return with all of the items on the list wins the Earth Day scavenger hunt. Recyclable materials can also be used for this project. The kids may like to create fun sculptures and miniature garden houses that incorporate the items from nature. For the seeds, be sure to choose a plant that’s easy to grow so the kids don’t get disappointed. Flowers are fun and showy plants, so consider marigolds, Shasta daisies, or sunflowers. Many vegetables are also easy to grow from seed and most varieties of beans sprout quickly. With the kit, let your little nature lovers go out into the grass to see what kind of bugs they can locate and capture. Help them observe how the bugs look and act for a while and pass on some knowledge about the good things bugs do for the environment around you. When you’re done, set the bugs free! When the feeders are done, have a fun relay race where teams battle to see who can fill their feeder the fastest. Then, everyone can take their feeders home to hang in a tree. Alternatively, you can also have fun in the kitchen making birdseed ornaments. Have all of the children line up, side-by-side and give each a watering can. Place an empty flower pot on one end of the line and fill the second pot with water at the other end. Set a timer for three minutes. Have the player next to the pot of water fill their watering can with the pot. They must then fill the watering can of the next player in line with the water from their own can. That player then pours their water into the next player’s watering can (and so on down the line). The last player in line has to empty their watering can into the pot. Then the first player fills up and starts the process all over again. Players try to fill the empty pot before time runs out. Start by cutting green poster board into the shape of lily pads, then place them in a line on the ground. Instead of walking or running around the lily pads, kids can hop like frogs while the music plays. When the music stops, they jump onto a lily pad. The rest of the game is played the just like musical chairs; one lily-pad is removed after each round until only one player remains.
