The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. The idea was to raise awareness about our role in protecting our natural world and to educate and inspire people to protect the environment. Students at all levels can make a difference in helping our earth.
Upper Elementary students painted their own birdhouses and engaged with an interactive read-aloud story, Bad Future, Better Future, from The New York Times. 
Lower Elementary students planted a pollinator garden with echinacea and milkweed seeds; identified native weeds like mugwort, mullein and plantain in our vegetable garden and learned about their role in our ecosystem; and repurposed magazines to make seed-starter pots. They worked on hand-sewn cotton pockets to hold the Earth Day Poem that they created together and used watercolor to paint ‘thank you’ messages to our Earth. The main event was the butterfly release! It was so much fun to watch the caterpillars turn into brilliantly colored butterflies.
Primary students celebrated planet Earth and discussed how they could commit to taking care of our precious home. They prepared birdfeeders,
The children shared many ideas of how they can take care of the earth, such as: they can recycle plastic/glass/metal, they can reuse old cardboard boxes and turn them into playhouses, they can bring re-useable lunch containers and bags to school, they can turn off the faucets and lights, and they can use fewer paper towels to dry their hands to reduce waste. It was fun to hear many of them talking about these action items as they put on their pendants!
Earth Day was a great way to bring awareness of the environment to each child. The teachers read books during circle time and the older students were invited to use a creative writing prompt of, ” I can take care of the earth by…” Many classes took nature walks to observe the beauty of spring and the growing herbs in our garden.
In November the Tulip Room planted bulbs that were donated by Orlando’s family. Planting the bulbs made them feel like they were planting seeds of hope to look forward to in the coming year. It was so exciting to see the buds and the blooming flowers! Earth Day is a good reminder of the beauty of the Earth and the renewal of spring after a cold winter.
Our Toddler children planted some beautiful flowers in celebration of Earth Day. They experienced the texture of the soil, saw and smelled the flowers, and while connecting so beautifully with nature they listened to the birds nearby. Dr. Maria Montessori stated, “The senses, being the explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge.” 
