Reuse and Recyclables to Make Your Child Able!
How many of us know about the child that receives a thought-fully planned present; only to find that little one playing with the box? Kids love using items in new ways! It also helps with things that are already in your home for a budget friendly activity, helping your family learn in the process.
Benefits to recycling:
Reduces waste
Conserves natural resources
Increases economic security
Prevents pollution
Saves energy
Supports American manufacturing
Helps create jobs
But, can you believe the recycling rate is only 35% (in the country)!
Here is a site to help with the basics: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics
Did you know recycling just 10 plastic bottles saves enough energy to power a laptop for more than 25 hours? Raising consciousness is important for all ages, to help our future. A study found that with increasing age and cognitive maturity, children's responses showed a marked change toward more awareness of, and more feelings of responsibility toward, conserving earth's resources if taught about it from a young age.
Some ideas for combining using reusable items for games and activities for fun:
Action Cube
Materials:
Cube shaped tissue boxes (As many as you like; the more you have, the fewer times you'll need to change the content of the sides of the dice)
Newspaper
Cardboard from a cereal box or similar box
Solid color paper (construction paper or brown paper bags)
A 4" x 6" photo album with plastic pages that can be cut out of the album – 6 pages needed per die
Scissors
Tape
Preparation:
Fill the tissue box with crumpled newspaper balls.
Cover the opening to the box with a piece of cardboard cut from a cereal box.
Tape the cardboard piece to the opening of the box.
Cover the box with solid color paper.
Cut out 6 pages from the photo album.
Tape one photo album page to each side of the box. These photo album pages allow the content cards to be quickly changed in and out, maximizing time and minimizing storage space. Slip one card into each photo album page on each side of the box.
Super Sock Ball:
Roll a clean sock from the toes toward the top of the sock. When you get to near the top of the sock, turn the last 2" inside out to secure the rest of the sock in a ball shape. For a bigger ball, use two socks.
Super Scoreboard:
Circular plastic container lid
Dry erase marker
Small felt square or an unmatched sock as an eraser
Tip: Use a hole punch to make two holes on opposite sides of the lid. Tie a 16" piece of yarn in each hole. To one piece, attach the eraser; to the other, attach the marker.
Bottle Bowling:
Materials:
Pins
Remove the labels from ten plastic bottles
Add water, dry rice, dry beans, or sand to each bottle to weigh them down and make it easier to stand them up when resetting the pins.
Math tip: Measure and/or weigh the contents added to each bottle or bowling "ball".
Bowling Ball
Each player selects a bowling "ball", choosing from coffee cans, a roll of tape, a ball, or cylindrical container. If needed, add weight to the coffee cans or cylindrical containers to make it easier to knock the pins over.
Score cards
Cut cereal box or granola bar boxes into index card size score cards.
Table Tennis:
Paddles (2): hard plastic lid (example: thick circular plastic lid (plastic coffee lid), foil pie plate) Ping Pong ball: examples: ping pong ball, crumpled paper ball or mismatched sock ball (2 Clean mismatched socks folded into a ball)
Table: a large box or a table
Tape (example: masking tape, painters tape)
Net: small cardboard items taped together (example: travel toothpaste boxes, paper towel rolls, jewelry boxes, small cereal boxes, etc)
Timer: electronic timer or homemade sand timer
Scoreboard
Containers of various sizes: tissue boxes, shoe boxes, large plastic tubs (examples: whipped topping)
2 action cubes
Hockey:
Hockey sticks: paper towel rolls, wrapping paper tubes, or mailing tubes
Hockey puck: small wide plastic container (example: margarine or soft cheese spread) or small thick plastic lid (minimum storage!) (Activity #1: 1 puck, Activity #2: 8-10 pucks) or lids (hard plastic- economy/wholesale pretzel/cracker/snack, coffee lid, ice cream lid)
Goal: 2 goals for Activity #1 and 3, 2-4 goals for Activity #2.
Option #1: 2 Liter Bottles (2), paper towel roll or wrapping paper tube (1), tape. (Tip: fill liters with a little water to weight down if needed)
Option #2: large shoe box or printer paper box turn on it’s side or upside down with a goal cut out of one side
Timer: electronic timer or sand timer
References:
Recycle Bin Bonanza: References: Amy Schlessman PT, DPT, DHS
Ardoy, D. N., et al. "A Physical Education trial improves adolescents' cognitive performance and academic achievement: the EDUFIT study." Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports 24.1 (2014).
Becker, Derek R., et al. "Physical activity, self-regulation, and early academic achievement in preschool children." Early Education & Development 25.1 (2014): 56-70.
Lees, Caitlin, and Jessica Hopkins. "Peer reviewed: effect of aerobic exercise on cognition, academic achievement, and psychosocial function in children: a systematic review of randomized control trials." Preventing chronic disease 10 (2013)
United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Recycling Basics.” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics. Accessed: June 13, 2018. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Learning and Teaching about the Environment” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/students. Accessed: June 13, 2018. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “President's Environmental Youth Award” Available at:https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-youth-award. Accessed: June 13, 2018. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Resources for Students and Educators” Available at: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reduce-reuse-recycle-resources-students-andeducators. Accessed: June 13, 2018. Witt, Susan D., and Katherine P. Kimple. "‘How does your garden grow?’Teaching preschool children about the environment." Early Child Development and Care 178.1 (2008): 41-48.