Mess Free Earth Day Project for Toddlers and Preschoolers

As we get closer to Earth Day, what better way to celebrate than with a creative and mess-free project that your little ones will love? This simple yet entertaining paper plate activity not only engages toddlers and preschoolers, but it is also a great way to introduce a lesson on the Earth. Plus, a highlight for many, it’s mess free!

This project will be great for when you may not have time for something messy but want a fun experience for the kiddos in your care, or for when you simply don’t want to mess with the mess.

It’s okay, we’ve all been there!

Prepping Your Earth Day Project

One reason these projects are so great is the lack of prep.

Were usually covering our workspace and our children. Getting all the cleaning supplies ready. Getting everything ready before anyone even touches the paint.

This project requires none of that (as long as you don’t have a sneaky little who opens or rips the plastic bag).

What Do You Need For This Mess Free Earth Day Project

Materials list:

Paper plate -we used the 6in size
Blue and Green paint
Ziplock bag large enough to fit your paper plate inside

Optional items:

Squeeze bottles
- If you let your kiddos add the paint, these are a nice addition to your supplies
Tape
- You can use tape to secure the sides of your bag or secure your whole bag to the table top.
Markers or stickers
- After the project has dried, use other embellishments to decorate your Earth

What We Did

While I wasn’t too concerned about having our space covered for this project, we did lay down one of our trusty box parts as I didn’t do the paint pouring.

My four-year-old was very eager to get to pour the paint for this project.

He did a great job not going too overboard – it’s fun to use those squeeze bottles!

After the paint was on the plate, I helped by sliding the paper plate into the ziplock bag.

After the air was carefully removed and the bag was securely closed, it was time to create the Earth!

Now comes the fun part! Encourage the children to use their fingers to move the paint around inside the ziplock bag. They can swirl the colors together to create a beautiful Earth-like pattern. This hands-on activity allows them to explore color mixing and texture without any worry of mess.

Once the kids were satisfied with their amount of coverage or just over it, I removed the paper plate Earth from the bag and set them out to dry.

Ways To Learn

Remember there are so many ways to turn this into a learning experience!

The feeling as they squish, swirl and spread the paint around.
Ask if it feels different from finger painting
Watch as they spread the paint, are they trying to cover the whole plate? Are they making patterns? Are they mixing the colors? They can experiment with different patterns and movements to create unique designs.
Ask what colors they are using or for those still learning, repeat the colors multiple times as you point them out.
What shape is the plate? What shape do you think the Earth is?
What does the blue represent?
What does green represent?
What lives in the blue on the Earth?
What lives on the green on the Earth?
Show older children a picture of the Earth to compare how much water there is to land.

One of my favorite things is getting children talking while doing art. Repeating these simple shapes and colors. Next time you do a similar project and ask them questions, they may surprise you by knowing the answer!

The End Results

I think these turned out really fun.

Such a simple project that you can tell right away what it is.

What will you do with these now?

Send them home as is?
Have your children decorate with animal or fish stickers?
Display them on an Earth Day bulletin board?

Takeaway Tips

Remember to repeat things like blue, green, and circle to your little learners.
The bags can pop if your have an overly eager artist, be sure to get the air out or tape the sides of the bag.
Turn your back for a moment and you may have a little decide to open the bag. Tape may be a good idea if you have an overly inquisitive artist.
Don’t limit this to the littlest of learners, try this out with your older kids too and see if they take more time with patterns, color mixing, or if they just like the feeling of squishing and swirling too.
Don’t forget to write how this was created on the back along with each child’s name.

If you want more Earth Day fun, try out this write the room Earth Day shapes activity!