Most of us are familiar with the green concepts of reduce, reuse, and recycle, but did you know the most powerful of these for the environment is reuse? Any time we reuse an object we save energy, fuel in transportation costs, resources, and money. We are no longer a consumer, but a contributor to the health of our environment.
The following projects and activities are new ways of using old objects. While you participate with your child, talk about other items in the home that can be made into art, used for play, or that have not outgrown their usefulness.
Our children will inherit the ecological gifts and disasters of today. Hands-0n activities and meaningful conversation help to empower your child with concrete ways of making a difference. For in the end, everything we do, or not do, will make a difference.
Rocket Ball
Look for old tennis balls with your kids in the bushes and margins near tennis courts, particularly high school courts. This can turn up more than you will know what to do with, and makes a fun treasure hunt!
What you will need:
old nylons or panty hose
old tennis balls
Place a tennis ball in the toe of the nylon. Knot the nylon below the ball and into the toe securely. If you are using panty hose, cut the leg from the briefs. Twirl the rocket ball over your head in the air or toss against a wall.
Film Canister Projects
There are fewer film canisters in homes today with the advent of digital photography, but they are still out there and piling up wherever film is developed. The developers are happy to give them away and you will have a stash for the following projects! Place the kits in your child’s backpack.
Survival Kit: You and your child can custom fill the canister with survival ‘essentials’. Some ideas are: a bandaid, a chocolate kiss, a bouillon cube, a packet of sugar, coins for a phone call, safety pins, needle and thread, a piece of duct tape wrapped around cut down straw, small compass, or an antiseptic wipe
Aromatherapy: Our sense of smell is one way to add emotional strength to our lives. For a quick lift during the day, fill a canister with Epsom salts, and add several drops of a favorite essential oil, replace the lid and shake. Here is a brief list of oils and their uses: Orange—invites calm, lavender—relieves anxiety, rose--encourages happiness, peppermint—fights fatigue.
Coin Carrier for Lunch Money: Have your child decorate a canister with permanent markers and write his name on it. Place school lunch money inside.
Sand Scoopers
Save plastic soda bottles of all sizes for your sand tools. They work fantastic at the beach for sandcastles!
What you will need:
plastic soda bottles in a variety of sizes
plastic gallon jug
scissors
puffy paints
Cut the plastic bottles in half, both sides will make interesting sand shapes. Decorate with the puffy paints. Cut the top off the gallon jug for a large squarish mold for your sand, or make a scooper by cutting out the front section of the jug, leaving the handle.
Portable Greenhouse
This activity will jump start seeds for the garden, and demonstrate how a greenhouse accelerates growth with the increased warmth and moisture.
What you will need:
2-liter plastic soda bottle
scissors
soil
seeds (bean, zinnia, sunflower, and radish work well)
Cut the bottle in half. Now cut 1 1/2 inch strips up the top section of the bottle so it will fit over the bottom half of the bottle. Fill the bottom half with the planting soil and dampen the soil with water. Plant the seeds in the soil, place the top lid over it, and set in a sunny window. The seeds will sprout quickly! When the seeds develop enough, harden the plants off by placing outdoors during the day, bringing the greenhouse in at night for several days. Then transplant to the garden.
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