Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in portland, OR

It's a box, it's a plane, it's........recycled fun!

May 26, 2009

We've been talking a lot in our house about repurposing items. My daughter's school is in the process of getting "green certified" and they have enacted a very progressive recycling program. They have cut their dumpster usage in half, and compost lunch waste, as well as wash melamine trays. This heightened awareness at school is translating to many discussions at home about buying less, and using what we have in creative and frugal ways. Instead of just recycling items around the house, we have been thinking of ways to take simple objects and create new, useful things. Take a cardboard box (cereal box, soap box, vitamin box, shoe box, pasta box) and make these cool things:

1) If you have a large enough box (cereal box works best, or sturdy box from Horizon individual milks or wine) you can make your own recycled magazine holders/chapter book organizers. We also use these boxes to hold magazine subscriptions (save all those Ranger Ricks to refer to or use for collaging !) Measure a line across (four inches from the bottom of the box) and then draw a diagonal line from the mark to the upper opposite corner of the box. Repeat on other side and cut out with an exacto blade. Your child can cut out pictures and decoupage the box (go with a theme that reflects the contents or go wild with a variety of your child's favorite things!) They can also freehand decorate the box, or you can use patterned contact paper to jazz up your organizers

2) One of my daughter's favorite things to do when she's cooped up on a rainy day, is make a diorama or her very own television set out of a cardboard box. She gets to control her very own little world and Mama gets a little time to read the paper. Your child can decide if they want to make a mini replica of something from their own life, or something from out of this world! Use other recycled goodies to fashion knobs, knights, or kitties in capes!

3) Make a doll house, dog house, or firehouse from a cardboard box. Use fabric scraps to make carpets (you can often get wallpaper books, carpet scraps from flooring stores or check with SCRAP for awesome supplies on the cheap) watercolor the walls, and fashion vehicles out of smaller boxes (you could even make a car wash!) Use shoe boxes to make an entire apartment building or go bigger and make an whole city!

4) Create some kid-friendly "electronics"! Why not make a cardboard camera from a small box and toilet paper roll, a faux iPod, or a rubber band guitar (you can make the accompanying maracas from recycled materials too)

5) If you visit Trader Joe's, you may be able to get your hands on a cardboard box with dividers which would be perfect for an emerging collection (think shells/stones picked up on vacation, bottle caps, marbles, or corks. Your child can decorate the box and keep their special found objects organized (instead of taking over the coffee table like my daughter's "important collections" are prone to do)





 Read more...