Are you looking for eco friendly 4th of July activities for your kids this summer? As a busy mom, I know how helpful it is to have activities for your children, especially during holidays. Celebrating holidays is often a busy and stressful time so having designated 4th of July activities for kids can make the holiday more fun and enjoyable.
These nine awesome eco friendly 4th of July activities for kids who get bored easily are exactly what you need at your family cookout this holiday!
Growing up, the 4th of July meant wearing red/white/and blue, barbeque, cookouts, playing outside, and fireworks. These are memories that defined the holiday for me. Now that I have kids of my own, I want to be sure to incorporate those memories into the holiday while also making it eco friendly!
This post is all about eco-friendly 4th of July activities for kids!
1. Lemonade Stand
Nothing says summer like lemonade! If you’re having a 4th of July cookout, a lemonade stand is a great way to allow your child to contribute to the cookout and flex their entrepreneurial spirit!
To make this activity eco friendly, reuse or upcycle an old table or crate from your home, make a sign, and allow your kids to make their own lemonade stand!
Here’s a great video to pair with making a lemonade stand!
What you’ll need:
- Pick a name, a price, and a location
- Grab a table or crate
- Create a sign to market the stand
- Gather lemons, sugar, water, and other fruit for your lemonade
- Spread the word!
If you’re in need of supplies to spruce up the lemonade stand, check these out!
Washable, reusable lemon table cloth
Paper straws
2. Toilet Paper Roll Fireworks
Start saving those toilet paper rolls! Toilet paper rolls can be composted and recycled, but they can also be upcycled for activities. Here’s how to make fireworks with old toilet paper rolls!
Using scissors, cute tiny slits into the toilet paper roll.
Add paint to the ends of the toilet paper roll you just cut. You can use a paintbrush (for less messy fun) or add the roll directly the paint.
Use the toilet paper roll like a stamp and make your fireworks.
Add an education component by asking questions about colors, and the number of fireworks. Challenge your student based on their skill level. Examples:: “Multiple the 4 red fireworks by the 3 white fireworks, what do you get”; “How many white fireworks did you make?”; “If I mix this white paint with the red paint, what color firework would I have”.
3. Homemade Popsicles
This eco friendly 4th of July activity is one that the whole family will enjoy! Make homemade popsicles with your kids this 4th of July.
Here is my favorite recipe:
- Add 2 cups of vanilla yogurt; 1 lb of strawberries; 2 tablespoons of honey* optional to a blender
- Blend until smooth
- Pour into popsicle molds
- Freeze and enjoy!
Grab the eco friendly, reusable popsicle molds for this eco friendly 4th of July activity here:
4. Explosive “Fireworks”
Fireworks are quintessential 4th of July. Even if you can’t legally have fireworks in your hometown, someone, somewhere will have a fireworks show. If you’re lucky, you can view the show from your home. Sometimes, people travel for miles to see the best fireworks shows!
Although beautiful and festive, recently, I’ve learned fireworks have some negative impacts on our environment. According to Forbes, the chemical reaction causing fireworks to explode also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Remember, an increase in greenhouse gases due to human activity is causing our climate crisis.
To teach your kids more about how fireworks work, here’s a Youtube video about the history of fireworks. After watching the video, make your own explosive fireworks!
Don’t worry, these fireworks are not loud or harmful to the environment, although they do contain a chemical reaction.
What you’ll need:
1. Bowl
Here’s an example of some cool bowls for this experiment.
2. Baking Soda and Vinegar
3. Glitter
Did you know glitter is plastic? Once washed down the drain it can end up in the ocean as microplastics. Here’s an example of some plastic-free glitter!
5. Fly Kites
Flying kits is an excellent eco friendly 4th of July activity for kids because it offers an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the benefits of nature by allowing the wind to glide the kite through the sky!
Feel free to grab a kit like this one here:
Or, have your kids engineer their own kite and test it out! Check out the video below and view the lesson plan from Teach Engineering for details!
6. Zero Waste Picnic
The 4th of July is a great time to have a picnic at the park, at the beach, or even in your own backyard!
The definition of zero waste is “the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health” (zerowaste.com).
What you’ll need:
A picnic basket.
You can find these easily in thrift stores. When we’re out with the kids, I love our picnic backpack! It comes with reusable cutlery.
Reusable cutlery.
Grab the spoons and forks from your home! No need to purchase plastic or disposable utensils.
Reusable water bottles and cups.
Here are my favorite reusable water bottles!
No individual packaging.
Pack food into reusable containers instead of purchasing items in single-use packaging.
7. Smores
Make smores with your family! This is an excellent way to celebrate an eco friendly 4th of July with kids!
Whether you’re making your own fire or using a fire pit, grab some marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate to create this perfect summer snack. I love using fair trade chocolate and gluten-free graham crackers.
8. Homemade Bubbles
These homemade bubbles are such a great way to spend an eco friendly 4th of July with kids.
Here’s the perfect homemade bubbles recipe:
- one part corn syrup
- two parts dish soap
- four parts water
Pair this activity with an episode from Sesame Street all about bubbles!
9. Scavenger Hunt
Get the kids outside and run around! This eco friendly 4th of July activity is perfect for kids of all ages!
Download a copy of your scavenger hunt here!
You can celebrate your 4th of July holiday while still keeping the environment in mind. Explain to your children why we celebrate the 4th of July and create holiday memories that honor the day and most importantly, honor the planet.
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