Earth Day is April 22 and a time we celebrate our earth. Celebrate by making Earth Day Seed Orbs share with friends. A seed orb can be planted to grow new plants and trees.  

What You Need:  

• 3-4 Packages of Flower Seeds  
• 1 Sheet of Blue, Green, and White Construction Paper (any three colors can be used) 
• 3 Containers 
• Blender 
• Water 
• Baking Sheet and Parchment Paper  

What You Do:  

1. Tear your construction paper into small squares and separate each color into a container. Squares should be approximately one inch wide, but can be any width as long as they fit into the container. 
2. Add water to each container until the torn paper is covered completely. Allow the paper to soak for 20 minutes. 
3. After 20 minutes, squeeze the excess water out of the paper. Using one container at a time, place the paper in the blender and pulse until the paper becomes a pulp. Place pulp back into it’s container in between each use of the blender.  
4. Open and divide the packages of seeds between the three containers fo colored paper and gently mix them into the pulp.  
5. Start by taking a bit of each color from each container and forming it into a ball. The balls should resemble the Earth for Earth Day.    
6.  Place your homemade seed bombs on a parchment lined baking tray. You can add more seeds into the balls if needed. Let your tray dry overnight before your finished planting seed orbs! 

Did You Know?  

Each year on April 22, Earth Day is celebrated to show support for the environment ways that we can help keep the earth clean and healthy. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, when a United States senator from Wisconsin started a protest to help others learn about problems in the environment. To help make the Earth a safe place to live, the government made the Environmental Protection Agency by the end of 1970. The Earth Day celebration went international in 1990 and today, Earth Day is celebrated around the world.  

Words to Use:  

• Environment: the natural features of a place, for example its weather, the type of land it has, and the type of plants that grow in it. 
• Seeds: a small hard object produced by plants, from which a new plant of the same kind grows 
• Orb: a wheel or circle 

What to Talk About:  

• What happens when you plant seeds?   
• Why do you think it’s important to plant seeds? How do you think planting seeds keeps the Earth healthy? 
• Why is it important to keep our environment clean? What ways can we protect the things we use on Earth (air, water, and land)? What other things can we do each day to protect the Earth? 

Change It Up:  

• Decorate a pot to plant your seed orbs. If you don’t have a pot, use a recyclable item with enough room for your seed orbs to grow.  
• Skip the paper and mix your seeds with mud. Roll the muddy seeds into a ball and let dry. You can share these too! 
• Keep a journal of your seed growth. Start by writing or drawing about your seed orb, when and where you planted it, and what you think will happen. Do a weekly check and draw or write out what you see.   

Learning Connections:      

• Creativity  
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)  
• Fine Motor Development  
• Cultural Understanding  
• Nature Exploration  

Curriculum Connections:  

NC Standard Course of Study  

• K.V.2, 2.2 

• K.CX.2, 2.2  

• 1.L.1 – 1.3 

PreK Foundations  

• Approaches to Play and Learning (APL)   
  Curiosity, Information-Seeking, and Eagerness • Goal APL-1: Children show curiosity and express interest in the world around them. • Goal APL-2: Children actively seek to understand the world around them.   
  Play and Imagination • Goal APL-4: Children demonstrate creativity, imagination, and inventiveness.   

• Health and Physical Development (HPD) 
  Motor Development • Goal HPD-5: Children develop small muscle control and hand-eye coordination to manipulate objects and work with tools.  

• Cognitive Development (CD)   
  Construction of Knowledge: Thinking and Reasoning • Goal CD-1: Children use their senses to construct knowledge about the world around them. • Goal CD-2: Children recall information and use it for new situations and problems. 

• Creative Expression • Goal CD-4: Children demonstrate appreciation for different forms of artistic expression. • Goal CD-5: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance.   

• Scientific Exploration and Knowledge • Goal CD-14: Children observe and describe characteristics of living things and the physical world. • Goal CD-15: Children explore the natural world by observing, manipulating objects, asking questions, making predictions, and developing