Earth Day Recycled Art Activities for Kids

upcycled project

Forget about buying pricey art supplies. Celebrate Earth Day by upcycling what you already have at home. Take the kids for a scavenger hunt around the house, looking for cardboard, fabric and anything else to reuse. After you’ve stocked your crafting cabinet with recycled items, check out these kids’ holiday crafts.

Collage Portrait

Your kiddo can create a self-portrait or an artistic version of a friend, family member or important person who affects environmental change with recycled magazine or newspaper scraps. Start with side of an old cardboard box. If it has lettering on it, your child can paint over the entire piece to create a blank canvas. Next, have your child cut apart pieces of kid-friendly magazines. They can either use the pictures as-is (such as a person’s face) or use colors/shapes to create the portrait.

Found Object Sculpture

Put those empty boxes, plastic containers and bottles to use. Your child can create a 3D artwork reusing these, and other similar, items. Help your child to explore engineering, art and the idea of building in a three-dimensional way with this Earth Day art idea.

Make-Believe Masks 

Reuse old paper shopping bags, turning them into pretend play masks. Cut eye, nose and mouth holes in the front of the bags. Give your child crayons or markers to decorate the outside of the bag—creating an Earth Day recycling superhero.



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