Whether you are working to instill environmental responsibility in your kids or you are on a budget and simply looking to do some fun activities with your kindergartener, you need not look further than your recycling bin.
Recycling activities are not just earth and budget-friendly fun, though. These activities actually have many benefits.
The Benefits of Recycling Activities for Kindergarteners
Before you open your recycling bin to see what activity potential is inside, you should know that you are doing so much more for your child than just setting up a fun activity.
Here are some benefits to these activities:
- Improved fine motor skills
- Practice with problem-solving
- Increased creativity
- Increased attention span
In addition to all these amazing benefits, your child will be learning that some of the things we toss in the recycling bin can still be useful to us.
You may be wondering how to go about turning your trash into treasure, though. We've got some fun recycling activities for kindergarteners to get you started.
1. Toilet Paper Roll Bunny
Bunny crafts aren't just for the Spring holidays - kids enjoy these cute, furry animals all year round. Luckily, empty toilet paper rolls are in constant supply in most households.
Why not pair these two facts of life and make some toilet paper bunnies with your empty toilet paper rolls?
Learn more: The Best Ideas For Kids
2. Junk Mail Pinwheel
If there is one thing no household is in short supply of, it's junk mail. Often overlooked when it comes to repurposing, junk mail actually has quite a lot of activity potential.
Making a junk mail pinwheel is a great recycling activity for kindergarteners.
Learn more: Cheap Eats & Thrifty Crafts
3. Milk Carton Bird Feeder
Those large, bulky plastic milk cartons take up a lot of space in a recycling bin. Why not free up some of that space and set up a station in your yard where birds can stop by for a tasty treat?
Fashioning a bird feeder from a plastic milk carton is a great recycling activity for kindergartners.
Learn more: SheKnows
4. 2-Liter Bottle Tropical Fish
Another bulky recycling bin item is the 2-liter bottle. These large plastic items have great potential when it comes to recycling activities, however.
This 2-liter bottle craft is not only a lot of fun to make, but it also has endless opportunities for open-ended play and learning about ocean life, as well.
Learn more: Deceptively Educational
5. Water Bottle Octopus
Kindergarteners are ripe for learning about ocean life. So, why not encourage their curiosity about sea creatures while learning the joys of repurposing items from the recycling bin?
Making an octopus from a water bottle is a great recycling activity kids will enjoy.
Learn more: Crafts by Amanda
6. Plastic Bottle Shaker
If there is one thing kindergarteners enjoy as much as crafting, it's music. Why not combine the two and craft a shaker from plastic bottles?
This activity is easy, fun and the end product lends itself well to music and movement activities your whole family can enjoy.
Learn more: Thing to Make and Do
7. Plastic Bottle Cap Snake
There are so many fun recycling activities that can be done with plastic bottles, but what about plastic bottle caps? These little guys are easy to overlook, but there are a lot of fun activities that can be done with them.
Any kindergartener would enjoy making this colorful plastic bottle cap snake. (It really moves!)
Learn more: Krokotak
8. T-Shirt Tote Bag
Paper and plastic are not the only things that we toss out that can be repurposed. Old tattered or stained clothing has great potential for recycling activities for kindergarteners.
Making a tote out of a t-shirt not only gives children a neat carrying bag for their toys and stuffies, but it's also a wonderful pre-sewing activity.
Learn more: Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
9. Tin Can Apples
Using tin or aluminum cans to make apples is a great activity to include in-home learning units about apples or any other fruit.
These tin can apples also make fun decorations for window sills and small gardens.
(Plastic bottle caps can be substitutes for the wine corks featured in the photo below.)
Learn more: Glued to my Crafts
10. Cereal Box Sun
No recycling activities list would be complete without a cereal box craft. And this one is amazing.
Using nothing more than yarn and a cereal box, your kindergartener can create a beautiful woven sun.
Learn more: Michele Made Me
11. Mini Lid Banjos
Lids to jars are one of the more difficult recycling items to find uses for. This mini lid banjo is genius, though!
Combine this tiny banjo with some plastic bottle shakers and your kindergartener is well on their way to starting their own mini jam band. How fun!
Learn more: The Craft Train
12. Egg Carton Flowers
Using egg cartons to make flowers is a recycling activity that every kindergartener will enjoy. The possibilities with this craft are endless, from petal shape to color.
This is a great craft to add to birthday and holiday cards.
Learn more: Easy Peasy and Fun
13. Lego Head Mason Jars
If you have had a baby or young toddler in your house recently, there's a good chance you've got some baby food jars or small mason jars laying around. Before you take them to the recycling bin, you have got to check this activity out.
Making lego heads out of those small glass jars is a fun activity for kindergarteners. These lego heads can be used as party favors or decorations.
Learn more: Beau Coup
14. Crayon Gems
It's always so frustrating when crayons get too small to use. Why not save them in a bin and make something beautiful with them?
Grab a muffin tin and gather all of those tiny crayons and make these wonderful crayon gems.
Learn more: The Spruce Crafts
15. Yogurt Pot Snake
If you are a parent, single-serving yogurts are likely a fact of life for you. Making a yogurt pot snake is a fun activity that can make use of some of those containers.
Learn more: DIY Thought
16. Toothbrush Bracelet
This is one of the most creative recycling activities for kindergarteners out there. Who would have thought that old toothbrushes had crafting potential?
Making bracelets out of toothbrushes that can no longer be used is a fun activity with a built-in science lesson.
Learn more: Apostrophe Designs
17. DIY Tinker Toys
Tinker Toys are so much fun. What's even more fun is letting your kindergartener make their own.
Using empty toilet paper rolls and straws for dowels, you can make some fun DIY Tinker Toys.
Learn more: 30 Seconds
18. Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder
Making bird feeders is a popular thing to do with items from the recycling bin. Did you know, though, that empty toilet paper rolls make great bird feeders?
Learn more: The Resourceful Mama
19. Homemade Wind Chimes
Using aluminum cans to make wind chimes is a fun recycling activity that kids will enjoy. The result is a beautiful set of wind chimes that kids can admire long after the craft is finished.
Learn more: Hands On As We Grow
20. Egg Carton Mushrooms
Used egg cartons have so much potential when it comes to recycling activities. These egg carton mushrooms are an adorable craft that your kindergartener will enjoy making.
Learn more: The Merry Thought
21. Cardboard Cameras
Kindergarteners love to play pretend. Pretending to take snapshots lets kids feel like they are capturing the beauty of their surroundings.
Making cardboard cameras is a fun recycling activity for kindergarteners that can foster some great imaginative play.
Learn more: The Merry Thought
22. Recycled Solar System
Your recycling bin likely contains more paper than any other item. Why not use that paper in a recycling activity?
A paper mache solar system is the perfect activity for kindergarteners.
Learn more: Red Ted Art
23. Peanut Finger Puppets
If your family enjoys snacking on peanuts, you have likely wondered what could be done with all those peanut shells. Red Ted Art has come up with a wonderful idea your kids will love.
Making finger puppets from the peanut shells is a great activity that lends itself to some fun and creative storytelling.
Learn more: Red Ted Art
24. Newspaper Tea Party Hats
Little kids love dressing up for tea parties. Using newspapers you are finished reading, you and your kindergartener can craft these adorable tea party hats.
Learn more: Maya Made
25. Coffee Can Drum
If you have children, there's a decent chance you drink coffee. That means one thing- you probably have coffee cans you wish there was some other use for them after the coffee is finished.
Making drums out of coffee cans is a great use for them.
Learn more: Kids Activities Blog
26. Plastic Bottle Rocket Bank
Teach your kids about saving money and saving the environment with this out-of-this-world recycling activity.
There's no need to limit the activity to rockets, though. The only limit is your child's imagination with this activity.
Learn more: Krokotak
27. Cardboard Playhouse
Kindergarteners enjoy cardboard playhouses. What do you do, though, when you don't have enough cardboard for a house your child can play in?
You make a cardboard playhouse for dolls to play in, of course!
Learn more: Kids Activities Blog
28. Tin Can Windsock
Crafting a windsock from tin cans and ribbons is a fun and easy recycling activity for kids. It's also a great excuse to get your family outside to enjoy nature and teach your kindergartener how to appreciate a cool breeze.
Learn more: Happiness is Homemade
Using items from your recycling bin is an inexpensive and fun way to teach young children creativity through repurposing items.
What activities does your kindergartener enjoy doing with recycling?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you recycle things for kids?
You can teach your kids how to sort and recycle to have it picked up, but you can also show your kids how to recycle by using things from the recycling bin to create items they can use. This is called "upcycling".
What can you make out of recycled items?
In addition to the fun recycling activities listed above, there are many other online resources available for you to draw ideas from. Thousand of useful items can be made from items that get put out with the recycling.
How do I start recycling at home?
In order to start recycling, you need to find out what items your locality accepts. From there, it's a process of selecting and sorting. For the full rundown on how to get started recycling at home, click here.
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