Recycle and Play

Book excerpt: Have fun, create, learn, and help the planet with the young kids in your life through 50 colorful, enriching activities made from stuff you already have. With Recycle and Play, learn how to transform cardboard, bubble wrap, lids, containers, egg cartons, and other things that might otherwise be headed to a landfill into hours of engaging play at home. The fun, process-oriented projects invite children to be creative, explore senses, develop skills, and discover how things work, all while reinforcing the importance of reducing waste as part of a sustainable lifestyle. In this book, you’ll find tips on how to extend play and learning for each project as well as helpful hints to engage your kids to come up with fun additions and extensions of their own. While each of the projects includes clear step-by-step instructions and materials lists, you should feel free to adjust to your child’s interests and the materials you have on hand. Organized by the type of material used, the zero-waste projects include: Car Garage and Ramp made from toilet paper tubes and cardboard (Learning Skills: Fine motor skills, creative play, and color recognition) Mess-Free Bubble Wrap Painting (Learning Skills: Art, sensory exploration, creative skills, color recognition) Busy Board Lid Activity (Learning Skills: Fine motor skills, cognitive skills) Alligator Letter Feed made from egg cartons (Learning Skills: Letter recognition, fine motor skills) Milk Carton School Bus with family photos (Learning Skills: Social development, cognitive skills) Matching Memory Game made from wipe lids (Learning Skills: Cognitive skills, fine motor skills, memory, object recognition) Bond with your child, help them learn through play, and instill a lifelong respect for the environment with Recycle and Play.