Recycling Ideas For Your Kids

This past weekend we had our town clean-up day which was actually a lot of fun.  The kids and I went on a hike around the neighborhood and did a major trash pick-up.   That got us talking about other things we can do to “Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.” 

Having grown up in an urban area, the idea of composting never occurred to me but now that we’re in the middle of the woods we’re going to try it this year.  There are a lot of good websites to explain composting with kids but essentially this is a great way to use leftover vegetal and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, newspapers and other items.  Hmm, kids, dirt, water and garbage – a definite hit with the little ones!

I’m not a big craft person but, with two little girls, I’m starting to get the hang of it.  Everywhere I look around the house there are hair ties, clips, beads and other crafty things.  We now are re-using coffee cans, soup cans and other containers as holders for all this little stuff.  They decorate the outside with pictures from old magazines and personalize it with other items such as old bottle caps, corks and buttons.

One of the easiest things we’ve learned to do is take our own bags to the grocery store.  They hold more, are easier to carry and we actually get money off our bill when we use them.  Money is definitely a motivator for the kids.  They are now in charge of recycling all of the bottles and getting the bottle deposits back.

Perhaps the toughest lesson they’ve had to learn is not wasting electricity.  They are oblivious to the fact that lights should be turned off when leaving a room.  So, we’ve now started charging them a quarter every time they forget.  Hey, easy come, easy go with the bottle deposit money!

Related Articles
Important Tips to Keep Children Safe
Toy Safety for Children and Parents
What You Need to Ask Your Child’s School Regarding Safety 

• Tweet