Recycled Fun: 5 Spring Activities that are Truly Green

Monday, 3/15/2010

 “Green is the new black.” To quote the fabulous new book, Girls Gone Green, conservation and green living could not be more popular right now. As parents and educators, living green takes on new meaning as we think about our children’s lives on this planet in the years to come.

While Walden.com has offered many easy tips to help you live green (links below), today we’d like to share some clever activities to help educate our children about living sustainably and recycling. These activities are as educational as they are fun, and each uses recycled household products.

Soda Bottle Terrarium

What better what to teach our children about the environment than by creating a mini eco-system right before their eyes. In this activity, children use a soda bottle to mimic the earth’s water cycle. Help explain the water cycle with the Heal the Bay Aqua Explorer Guide.

Materials:

• 1 clear plastic 2 liter soda bottle with its top
• Potting soil
• A handful of small pebbles
• A few small plants (available at a local nursery or hardware store)
• Activated charcoal (available at pet stores)
• Scissors
• Water

Directions:

1. A parent or teacher will need to cut the bottom of the soda bottle off, about 6 inches up from the bottom
2. Place the pebbles at the bottom of the soda bottle
3. Sprinkle the activated charcoal on top of the pebbles
4. Add the soil
5. Plant the small plants into the soil
6. Water the plants
7. Slide top of the soda bottle back onto the bottom. Squeeze the bottom portion as necessary, so the top fits over it
8. Place your terrarium in indirect sunlight indoors

Milk Carton Bird Feeder

As spring approaches, encourage your children to explore the wildlife in their own backyard. After your kids create this adorable bird feeder, go online to AllAboutBirds.org to learn more about the birds species enjoying your new feeder.

Materials:

• ½ gallon milk carton, empty and rinsed out
• Scissors
• Construction paper
• Craft Glue
• Markers
• String
• Hole Punch
• Bird Seed

Directions:

1. A parent or teacher should cut a hole into half of the milk carton. It should be big enough so a bird can sit on it, but not so large as to make the carton unstable
2. Use the construction paper and markers to decorate the bird feeder
3. Punch a hole in the top of the milk cartoon. Thread string through the hole
4. Affix the feeder to a tree outside, and place bird seed in the bottom of the feeder

Mason Jar Herb Garden

These micro-herb gardens make great gifts for friends and relatives while introducing children to gardening. Visit SimpleOrganic.net for some great gardening tips.

Materials:

• Empty, clean glass jars
• Potting Soil
• Pebbles
• A variety of herbs (available at a nursery or hardware store)
• Ribbon (a variety of sizes and colors)
• Popsicle Sticks
• Craft Paint
• Craft Glue
• Craft Paper
• Markers

Directions:

1. Place a layer of pebbles at the bottom of each clean jar
2. Fill the jar about 2/3 full with soil
3. Plant an herb of choice in each jar. Water
4. Tie a ribbon around each jar
5. Paint popsicle sticks a variety of colors
6. Affix a small piece of craft paper to each popsicle stick, and decorate with the name of the herb

DIY Wind Chime

Use otherwise un-needed household items to create a fun wind chime. Consider donating the finished product to a nursing home where it can be enjoyed by all the residents.

Materials:

• Unwanted household items such as CDs, keys, silverware, etc.
• Fishing Line
• Wire Hanger
• String

Directions:

1. A Parent or Teacher should bend the wire hanger until it makes a circle
2. Tie fishing line to the various household products
3. Tie each item onto the wire hanger frame
4. Tie the string to the wire frame to make a handle.

Plastic Bottle Flowers

This adorable craft comes courtesy GraceViolet.com. It’s an inspired way of turning plastic bottles into beautiful works of art. Younger kids can paint and decorate the flowers, while older kids will be able to try their hand a cutting out the flowers themselves.

Directions and materials list can be found at GraceViolet.com.

Green Resources

• Girls Gone Green: New Book
• StopGlobalWarming.org
• Whole Foods Market Offers 10 Tips to Green Your Life
• Great Green Initiative: Reverb Takes Green on Tour
• Heal the Bay Lesson Plans

Image Credits: Terrarium Flickr/Matthew Hall, Bird Feeder Flickr/Clairity, Herbs Flickr/TimPatterson, Wind Chime Flickr/JonathanVail, Plastic Bottle Flowers Graceviolet.com

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