Teaching kids to learn Earth-friendly habits like reducing, reusing, and recycling is important. But the younger they are, the more likely they are to throw away and waste items that should be used as recyclable materials. That’s why we have come up with some hands-on activities to help them learn in a fun way.
Whether you want to do this at home to prevent food waste or you want to incorporate these eco-friendly activities into the classroom, kids will have a blast!
1. Make A Squirrel Feeder
There is no better activity for children than making something that has a double purpose. Grab different recycled products, like egg cartons, plastic, and cardboard, to make a squirrel feeder. This is a great spin on the traditional bird feeder.
Learn More: Nature’s Path
2. Homemade Recycling Bins
The same can be said for recycling bins. Spruce up this project by having kids bring in something from their house that can be used as a recycling bin. Then let the kids decorate it to make it personal. If they struggle to find something, give them a list of possible ideas.
Learn More: Nature’s Path
3. Waste-Free Lunch
This exercise doesn’t take a lot of time, but learning not to waste food is very important in the reduce, reuse, and recycle theme. Kids often throw away food just like adults do. So, taking time to pack a lunch that is going to be eaten is great for the parents and kids to learn.
Learn More: Nature’s Path
4. Donate, Donate, Donate
You can do this at home or have a little donation drive at the school. Bringing in old coats and clothes that don’t fit your kids anymore is a great way to give back to the community. Send kids home with an activity sheet that has listed items that they can bring in.
Learn More: Nature’s Path
5. Cereal Box Puzzles
If you are looking for a fun building activity, this is a great one! Take cereal boxes and make them into puzzles for your kids. Or, let them bring in a box of their favorite cereal and have them make a puzzle to exchange with a classmate.
Learn More: Hands-On As We Grow
6. Water Bottle Bubble Blowers
No need to keep buying plastic bubble blowers. Save the wands and buy an extra large bubble soap mix. Then, you can pour it into different water bottles. For additional activities, you can decorate and paint the water bottles to make them more fun for kids.
Learn More: Hands-On As We Grow
7. Recycled Flower Planters
If you want some craft activities that are going to make your classroom prettier, then look no further than styrofoam recycled flower planters. Kids will love watching their plants grow so pick something that can develop over the course of the year.
Learn More: Crystal and Comp
8. Earth Day Collage
If you are looking for a fun activity to do with your kids at home or in your class, make an earth day collage. You can do this in a few ways. You can cut out pictures of the Earth and pretty landscapes, or grab objects from outside and make a literal collage made of the earth!
Learn More: Crystal and Comp
9. Egg Carton Caterpillars
This is a classic activity that kids love to do. Grab some paint and a few piper cleaners to make caterpillars from egg cartons.
Learn More: No Time For Flashcards
10. Milk Carton Bird Feeder
For this reusable project paint a milk carton one solid color to attract birds. Then cut out holes at the top and on the sides to create openings for the birds to feed. You’ll need a hole at the top to tie a string through to hang it.
Learn More: No Time For Flashcards
11. Field Trip To a Recycling Center
Kids love field trips which is why bringing them to your nearest recycling or compost center is a great idea. Here they can learn where the trash actually goes.
Learn More: We Are Teachers
12. Bring In a Guest Speaker
If you can’t bring your kids to a recycling center you can bring someone from the center to you! Have a guest speaker or an environmentalist come in and explain the importance of recycling.
Learn More: We Are Teachers
13. Paper Roll Craft Contest
Toilet paper rolls get recycled in all types of ways. Why not have some fun with them first? This is a lovely activity where your kiddos can decorate their paper rolls and bring them in for contents.
Learn More: Artsy Craftsy Mom
14. Cup Piggy Bank
Styrofoam cups can be dressed up into a money-saving activity when you turn them into piggy banks. This is a great exercise to do with your kids to teach them about saving and having fun in the process.
Learn More: Artsy Craftsy Mom
15. Recycled Robot Contest
Kids love robots. That’s why collecting different recyclable items around the class or at home can be a great way to turn them into a robot. This can be another class contest idea to spark innovation.
Learn More: Good Housekeeping
16. Juice Carton Rockets
A great rainy day activity is to take your empty juice and milk cartons and let your kids paint them into rocket ships. You can give them other crafts to stick to for more fun.
Learn More: Good Housekeeping
17. Egg Carton Sorting Activity
Reducing, reusing, and recycling can be applied to therapeutic techniques as well. Have kids sort colors, shapes, and other themes into different pockets of an egg carton.
Learn More: The OT Toolbox
18. Recycled Bubble Wrap Color Pop
The same type of concept can be done with popping bubble rap. You can color-code the bubbles with stickers and have the kids pop them in a specific order.
Learn More: The OT Toolbox
19. Cardboard Jewelry
Who doesn’t love a good game of dress-up? Play dress up a little differently this time and let your kids make jewelry out of items throughout the house. Paperclip necklaces anyone? Cardboard paper bangles? We love it all!
Learn More: The Craft Train
20. Recycled Dream Catcher
There is no limit to creativity when you are working with recycled products. Dream catchers can be made from just about everything. You just need to have some string handy. A clothes hanger works particularly well.
Learn More: The Craft Train
21. Recycle Scavenger Hunt
If you have a boring class and a rainy day there is no better activity than going on a recycling scavenger hunt. Create a list of items for the kids to bring back to the class for a combined project.
Learn More: The Mom Junction
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