Earth Day: Spread Some Love This Year to Mother Nature » BALLOONS ABOVE THE VALLEY - hot air balloon rides Napa Valley

Well, you are now at home, and so are the kids. During the coming weeks, you may fantasize about that wine tastings, the ambiance of Napa Valley, and memorable hot air balloon rides Napa Valley-style that you may be missing. Instead, you must now turn your focus toward finding ways to make your homebound experience more useful and educational.

Earth Day 2020 is Wednesday, April 22. This special day was created to celebrate our environment and educate us about ways we can enhance our collective futures by reducing waste and pollution of our Earth’s essential natural resources, particularly air and water.

The celebration is intended to remind us to live and act in ways that will support and sustain our fragile ecology.

Earth Day Activities for Families

The unfortunate pandemic of 2020 forces us all to remain at home and avoid public activities. We can, as families, still observe this essential Earth Day commemoration by conducting Earth Day activities that will instill lessons that remain in their consciousness for a lifetime.

Here are some meaningful family-oriented Earth Day suggestions to entertain and create awareness with children:

  • Sorting for Recycling

The company, Montessori Print Shop, offers a delightful activity, Recycling Matters, for young children to learn the basics of recycling. For only $4.00, you can download and print 80 picture cards showing four different recycling containers, 63 individual items to be sorted, and four information cards that explain the 3Rs: Recycle, Reduce, Reuse.

Families can then sort through the individual items, placing each in the appropriate “container.” As a result, children learn how to sort appropriately and the discipline will remain with them for their entire lives.

  • Creating an Indoor Meadow and Watch It Grow

Housebound families with children, whether they have a lawn or not, can create an indoor, portable meadow from scratch. This exercise allows children to view the progression of plants from soil or compost and seed into mature grass plants. Using a standard seed tray or another flat container, you can introduce grass seed into the growing medium, provide water and sunlight, and wait for it to sprout and grow. The kids can keep track of what is happening.

Once your new “mini-meadow” is mature, the children may introduce small handmade houses and other playthings into the natural setting.

  • Making Pledges to Protect the Earth in the Future

After trying these projects, a way to determine what your family has learned is to ask each to write or announce six commitments that they intend to honor going forward.  Pledges may be written as: “In the future, I will always….”

Alternatively, their pledges might say, “From now on, I will never…”

You should save the promises as friendly reminders.

Enjoy Nature’s Finest from a Hot Air Balloon of Napa Valley

From the unique perspective of Napa balloon rides, you will witness the glories of Nature firsthand. The beautiful skies, clean air, stunning horizon, the mountain backdrop, as well as the rivers, forests, and streams of Napa Valley dramatically underscore the wonders of our environment.

While we are all temporarily grounded, vow to revive your appreciation of the beauty of our surroundings with a hot air balloon Napa Valley ride with Balloons Above the Valley.

Now offering heavily discounted Gift Certificates, Balloons Above the Valley is taking reservations for later this year for safe and enjoyable Napa Balloon rides.

To learn more and to experience Nature at its finest, visit the Balloons Above the Valley website or phone 1-800-464-6824.