Tip 118: July 2018 – Recycling - Treasures from Trash

Website Educational Tip for Physical Development

Recycled projects can excite even the youngest child’s imagination and promote a sense of great achievement. Children need to learn that not everything that is fun needs to come from a store. Household materials that are usually thrown away, such as egg and milk cartons, magazines and soda bottles, can be made into games, toys and learning materials to stimulate children’s creativity and interest, and developing their critical thinking skills. They can assist in the growth of many other skills, including large and small muscle development, eye-hand coordination, sensory discrimination, concentration, how to solve problems and make decisions.

The process of the experiences are always more important then the finished products! Adults should keep in mind that it is in the doing that children learn. It is during these processes that children discover their own independence, as well as the mystery of combinations, the joy of exploration, the delight of creating, and the frustration of challenges – all important pieces in the puzzle of learning. These processes allow children to explore, discover, and manipulate their world. The adult’s role is to prepare the environment, but not to make models because it will hinder the child’s creativity.

Infants: Mesh Prints – Fill pantyhose or onion mesh bag with cotton balls, foam or fiberfill. Tie and dip into print pans. To make print pans, fold a few squares of paper towels together and moisten them with water. Place them in a Styrofoam tray and pour paint on them. There are other printing tools that older infants might enjoy using such as flyswatters, cookie cutters, corncobs, corks, potato mashers, thread spools, toy cars, etc.

Toddlers: Coffee Filter Art – Place an open, flat, round coffee filter on a piece of newspaper. Use water-based markers to scribble on it. Spray the filters with a spray bottle filled with water and watch the lines blurring and spreading into the absorbent filter. Cotton handkerchiefs and paper towels can also be used.

Preschoolers: Sniff Bottles – Squeeze bottles such as those that mustard comes in can be recycled for a smelling experience. Simply drop a cotton ball with a fragrance on it (oil of cloves, peppermint, lemon, etc.) into the washed container and snap the lid back on. Tape it shut. When the bottle is squeezed a delightful aroma will stimulate the child’s senses. Floral tubes can also be used.

We all have the ability within us to create things that are useful, beautiful and fun, by giving new life to household junk. These can be turned into inexpensive, creative projects. Only two rules apply; recognize the value of useful materials before they are thrown away, and use the above projects as guidelines only, encouraging the child’s own imagination and creativity.

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.

(Franklin D. Roosevelt)