Waste Reduction
Activities and Learning Games
Assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op, Minnesota
[email protected]
Introduction
In 2006 – 07, Chisago Lakes Area Homeschool Co-op program leaders created a 10-month waste
reduction curriculum for homeschool families called “Waste Not” and “Second Impressions.”
Families attended monthly waste reduction activities and completed at-home assignments
between meetings. Families started to compost, changed buying habits to consume less
packaging, etc. The families also coordinated two “Totally Free Swaps” to promote reuse of
household goods, involving over 150 community members. Several articles about the project
were published in local papers. 100% of families reported that they will continue using lessons
and activities from the curriculum in the future.
Table of Contents
Reducing Lunch Waste
Repurposing Household Items
Edible Landfill
Arts and Crafts Projects
Games
Additional Ideas
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5
9
11
17
21
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Reducing Lunch Waste
The Great Lunch Dilemma (Math / Problem Solving)
Objective:
Students will consider actions that generate lunch trash. Students will examine ways to generate
less lunch trash.
Materials:
LUNCH A
Lunch box containing a thermos of drink, a piece of fruit such as an apple, pear or plum, a
sandwich container, chips and/or carrots and celery sticks in a reusable plastic container,
napkin.
LUNCH B
Paper bag containing juice carton, sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap, bag of chips, Twinkie or
fruit pie, banana, carrots or celery sticks wrapped in plastic wrap, and a pudding cup, paper
napkin and plastic spoon.
Procedure:
Examine the contents of each lunch. Discuss and estimate the amount of trash that will be
generated by each lunch.
Record your estimates in grams / ounces on a student worksheet.
Devour food.
Weigh the non-recyclable/ reusable waste from each lunch.
Record your results on the student worksheet.
Concluding Questions:
Which lunch produced less trash?
Why did one lunch produce more trash than the other?
Why would students not bring the "less trash-producing" lunches to school?
How might you alter your lunch so that it produces less trash?
Extensions To This Activity:
Design a lunch box.
Using magazines or drawings, compose the perfectly packaged lunch away from home.
Do Supermarket Safari activity.
Calculate how long items from a lunch could last (see below).
How Long will Litter from your Lunch Last?
Aluminum cans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 - 100 years
Glass bottles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,000,000 years
Plastic bags. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 - 20 years
Plastic coated paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 years
Orange and banana peels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 - 5 weeks
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Supermarket Safari
Find at least 5 in each area.
No Wrapping
One Wrapping
Apple
Bread
Two Wrapping
Three or More Wrapping
Cereal
T.V. Dinner
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Boxes, Bags and Bottles
How much garbage is in our lunch?
DO THIS:
___ 1. Put your lunch out on your desk.
___ 2. Count the number of boxes, bags and bottles. Write it below. Remember to count your
lunch bag or box.
___ 3. Count the number of boxes, bags and bottles that you will keep and reuse. Write it below.
___ 4. Count the number of boxes, bags and bottles that you will throw away. Write it below.
Total number:
_____
Number that will be reused:
_____
Number that will be thrown away: _____
TALK ABOUT:
Pick one thing that you will throw away: ______________________
What could you use instead that can be reused? _______________
Why does your family use the throw-away box, bag or bottle?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Decomposition Study
Drill holes around the side and bottom of a clear plastic five-gallon bucket. Place one or two
gallons of potting soil in the bottom. Discuss which objects to put in the compost heap.
Place objects in the center, then cover with grass clippings. Keep a record of what has been
composted. Add water. After one week, record the temperature in the center, dump the
contents out onto a sheet of plastic and observe the decomposition. Record findings, return
objects to the bucket and add another layer, if desired.
Water weekly, record temperature weekly and dump out again in a month. Make graphs of
comparisons, write essays about composting and create posters
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Repurposing Household Items
Sweatshirt Mittens
Turn an old sweatshirt into mittens with the easy steps below.
Materials:
old sweatshirt
heavy paper
pencil
scissors
needle and thread or sewing machine
Steps:
1. Make a pattern by tracing around your hand on heavy paper.
2. Place the cuff of the template on the cuff of the
sleeve of the sweatshirt (figure A), which makes a
natural cuff for the mitten.
3. Cut out the template on a double layer of fabric,
twice, for two mittens.
4. Stitch around the outside edge of a double layer by
hand or on the machine. Turn right side out.
Figure A
More Activities With Old Clothes
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Cut up an old sock to use as a waterbottle cozy (figure B).
Figure B
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Make a dishrag by cutting the cuff off an old sock and cut the remaining portion of the
sock open so it lays flat. Take the cuff that is leftover from the dishrag and cut it into
rings about a half inch wide and use the rings to make a potholder (figure C). Alternate
colors for more pizzazz. Make your own weaving frame for the potholder with an old
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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picture frame. Drive nails in just until they don't wobble at half-inch intervals. Use an
even number on each side.
Figure C
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Recycle old T-shirts into baby wipes. Just cut the shirt into little squares, wet them with
water and use.
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Make a chew toy for teething
puppies by slitting an old
sheet into three strips and
braiding the strips (figure D).
The sheets are soft on the
puppy's mouth and gums.
Figure D
MORE RESOURCES:
Cheap Talk with the Frugal Friends:
Over 600 Tips, Tricks, and Creative Ideas for Saving Money
by Angie Zalewski, Deana Ricks
Starburst Publishers, 2001
Uses for Fabric Scraps
Fabric scraps can come from sewing projects, clothes that have been dismantled, worn linens, or
de-upholstered furniture. Whatever the source, they have dozens of uses.
Launder all items that go into the scrap bag. Remove and save zippers, buttons, hooks and
eyes; and cut through most seams. Cut away areas with serious rips and snags so you’ll have a
selection of good, flat fabric.
You needn’t be a seamstress to reuse fabric scraps. Depending on the project, fabric can be tied,
pinned, glued, or stapled to good effect.
Pillow Power
A pillow is nothing more than a pocket of fabric, stuffed and sewed shut. For a simple pillow,
cut a piece of fabric twice as large as the pillow should be, fold it in half, right sides together,
and stitch up two sides.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Stuff the pillow with old stockings, more fabric scraps, or polyester fill. Whipstitch the open
end closed.
After mastering the basic pillow, experiment with size, shape, and decorative effects.
Remember that a stuffed animal is just a pillow with a funny shape.
Dust Puppy
One of the quickest ways to stop the drafts that sneak in under doors is to sew up a dust puppy.
Cut a piece of scrap fabric 4 inches wide and 2 inches longer than the width of the door. With
right sides together, stitch up the long side and one end. Turn the tube right side out and fill
with sand so the puppy is floppy, not stiff. Sew up the open end and lay the puppy snugly
against the bottom of the door.
Make dust puppies for all doors between warm rooms and cold ones, and even for windowsills
if they are drafty.
30 Things to Make From Fabric Scraps
If you have sewing skills you can make almost anything from a bag of cloth scraps. Even if you
don’t have sewing skills, you can make most of the things on this list.
Trim edges with pinking shears so they won’t ravel, and use fabric glue to hold your seams
together.
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Aprons
Bandages
Bean bags
Belts
Bibs
Bows
Collars
Cuffs
Facings
Handkerchiefs
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Hats
Headbands
Hobo pouches
Hoods
Hot pads
Kerchiefs
Napkins
Patches
Placemats
Pockets
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Potholders
Pouches
Rags
Ruffles
Scarves
Shawls
Ties
Tote Bags
Tourniquets
Wallets
Felting
For 100% wool items (e.g., sweaters, blankets, vests), wash them in your washing machine using
the hot wash/cold rinse cycle. Do this a couple of times to shrink the wool. Dry the wool in a
hot dryer. Once the wool is shrunk, you can cut and sew it like traditional wool felt/material.
Some ideas for using felted wool: pillows, blankets, scarves, puppets, mittens, and decorative
items.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Crafty Lunch Sack
Show off chic cafeteria style with this easy-to-make -- and easy-to-wash -- lunch bag.
MATERIALS:
Old pair of pants
Fabric scissors
Sewing machine or thread and needle
Cord
Patches, paint or buttons
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. To begin, cut a 12- to 16-inch section from a pant leg. Fold over a 1/2-inch strip around the
top and sew it down to create a casing.
2. Through an opening left in the casing, thread a 3-foot length of cord and knot the two ends
together.
3. To form the bag's bottom, cut another piece of fabric from the pants, about 1/2-inch larger
than the leg's circumference. Turn the leg inside out and sew the two pieces together.
4. Customize the bag with patches, fabric paints or buttons.
Pocket Purse
Transform an old pair of blue jeans into a petite purse.
Materials:
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Jeans (1 pair for every 2 children)
Fabric scissors
Fabric glue
Appliqués
Silk flowers
Fabric paints
Newspaper
 Paper towels/wet rags (to clean up
fabric paint)
 Ribbon
 Strings of beads
 Feather boas
 Hot glue
 Hot glue gun
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Directions:
Start by snipping along the edge of a back pocket of jeans, leaving a rectangular flap at the top
of the pocket.
Now the fun part: decorating! Glue on appliqués and silk flowers, or create a unique design
with fabric paints.
If you want a fringe at the bottom of your purse, leave a couple of inches of fabric along the
bottom of the pocket when you remove it from jeans and snip it into strips.
Next, cut a 3-foot length of material suitable for a strap (ribbon, a string of beads, feather boas,
and so on).
Hot-glue the end of the strap to the sides of the purse (about an inch or so on each side).
Let the glue dry fully, then fill your bag with fun stuff and swing it over your shoulder or give it
to someone on their birthday or other special day.
Crazy Caps
Decorate old baseball caps by gluing on beads, ribbons, sequins, feathers, fabric scraps, pipe
cleaners, buttons, artificial flowers, or anything else on hand. Use these caps to create characters
for dramatic play.
Edible Landfill
Science, Elementary level
Humans have a long history of being careless with our trash — from the world’s first municipal
dump to Earth Day and on. Humans have always generated trash. The trait could be considered
inherent to our nature. But it is not only a trait of the 20th century. What are some of the earliest
records of waste?
• The Cretian capital (3000 BC) built a landfill site where rubbish was put in pits and
covered over with earth at intervals.
• The first municipal landfill in the Western World was opened by officials in Athens
around 500 BC. Regulations required waste to be dumped at least a mile from the city
limits.
As for modern landfills, now we have safer locations and operations, better designs and
technologies, greater environmental protection, waste-addressing regulations and laws, and
even reclamation and reuse. But things can always be better than they are.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Check out books from the library or do a search on the internet (with parental supervision)
about the history of trash throughout the world. Create a lap book and/or history timeline
illustrating this topic. Or, create an Edible Landfill (see below).
Activity Time: Allow 1 hour and do it AFTER lunch
Concepts Taught: Following directions, cooperating, sharing
There are enough things to do that almost every child in a class can have a job--taking wrapper
off Oreos, putting 'tarp' down, etc. DOUBLE-CHECK ABOUT ANY ALLERGIES. Enjoy!
Materials Required: Lots---see below--this is pricey, but worth it. This makes two landfill pies,
enough for 16 - 24 children.
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dish pan
2 plastic/vinyl drop cloths or tablecloths
2 rubber spatulas
roll of paper towels
1 sharp knife
1 large zip-top plastic baggie
2 rolling pins
waxed paper
2 large, deep bowls
2 egg beaters (the machine, not the fake eggs)
2 graham cracker pie crusts in foil pans (unbaked)
1 box fruit roll-ups (you need 8-10 roll-ups, total)
2 packages graham crackers
2 handfuls coconut
2 boxes (reg. size) INSTANT vanilla pudding
1/2 gal. cold milk, either 2% or whole (1% and skim won't let the pudding set up)
1 6 oz. pkg. chocolate chips (get the cheapest)
1 large pkg. regular Oreos
green food coloring
8 pieces licorice, each about 3-4" long
WHAT YOU DO:
Everybody wash hands. Divide class into 2 groups. You will need 2 areas on the floor for this.
Keep all of the wrappers, etc. from this stuff; you'll use them later.
• put tablecloths/drop cloths down to protect floor
• have kids sit around edge of cloth
• place pie crust (w/o wrapper, but with aluminum pan) in center of each tarp (represents
HOLE IN GROUND FOR LANDFILL)
• line crust with strips of fruit roll-ups (PLASTIC LINER)
• following directions, mix pudding in bowl, stir in half of the choc. chips (you have split 1
bag between the 2 groups) and let set up (GARBAGE)
• put graham crackers between 2 pieces of waxed paper and roll w/rolling pin to crush
(GRAVEL) and sprinkle in pie shell on top of roll-ups
• cover the crushed graham crackers with half of the pudding mixture, set the rest aside
• crush Oreos (DIRT) (again, you've given each group half a pkg) like you did the graham
crackers and sprinkle some on top of pudding mess/mixture
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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• continue to layer pudding and Oreos till pan is full.
• put coconut in plastic bag, add green food coloring, MAKE SURE BAG IS SEALED, and
shake till coconut turns green (GRASS)
• sprinkle 'grass' on top of 'garbage' in pie pan
• poke licorice down thru mixture in four areas for VENTS
• let landfill set up for a few minutes, then cut as for pie, cut those sections in half, serve.
• While landfill is setting up, have discussion on how where trash goes, how much trash you
got from the activity (packaging, etc.), recycling, etc.
A simpler version of this activity can be done with individual glasses or jars for each child to
construct.
Arts and Crafts Projects
If you look around your house or school, you will find many scrap materials which can be
recycled in art projects. These include items such as junk mail, magazines, bottle caps, and small
pieces of gift wrap. Reuse old file folders, shoe boxes, and other containers to store your
materials until you need them.
Visit http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/product.html for ideas. You will find art/recycling tips
and past projects in the section called Previous Activities.
You can successfully use trash as art materials if you follow these simple steps:
1. Treat scrap materials with the same respect you give to art supplies bought at the store.
What you work with is not as important as what you do with your materials.
2. Try to use new and interesting ways to make art. You're familiar with drawing and
painting, but there are many other ways to create. Look at the site above for ideas.
3. Always think about craftsmanship and neatness when making art. This is especially
important when you are using trash or solid waste as art materials. Work with clean
hands; take care of your art equipment and work space; and look over your art to make
sure it is in good shape before displaying it.
Shadow Puppets – Exploring Light and Sound
Objective
 Provide a hands-on investigation of light and sound followed by a shadow puppet play
which gives the children the opportunity to apply what they have learned.
 Identify different light sources, including the sun, and that darkness is the absence of light.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Materials
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Light sources (lamps, flashlights)
Dry erase board
Markers
Objects that reflect, show, and block light
White bed sheets
Clothespins
Clothesline
One shadow puppet theater (made ahead of time to show what children can make at home)
Tagboard (cut into 9x12 sections for each child; 2 per child)
Dowels, Pencils, Rulers or Sticks(2 per child)
Tape
Scissors
Pencils
Directions
Light (10 minutes)
The children begin with a practical investigation into light - its sources, materials, and objects
that reflect light, and how shadows are formed and change. Introduce the words opaque,
translucent, and transparent. Test different materials to see if light goes through them.
Shadow Puppetry (5 minutes)
Demonstate how shadow puppets work. (Have a bed sheet hanging from a clothesline across a
section of the room. Have a light source (or two) about 4 feet behind the sheet. Go in between
the light source and sheet and show how your shadow is projected onto the sheet. Now sit or
lay down and use your shadow puppets to show how to put on a shadow puppet play.
Show an example of a shadow puppet theater that they can make at home. Briefly describe how
you made it and demonstate how it works.
Make Puppets and Scenery (25 minutes)
Distribute a piece of tagboard to each child. Have her/him draw a figure (human, animal,
imaginary) onto the tagboard and cut it out. Using tape, attach the dowel to one side of the
puppet. If the child has more time, they can create another puppet and/or scenery (e.g., tree,
sun, moon, dragon, grass, castle, house).
Shadow Puppet Introduction (15 minutes)
Remind children that they as puppeteers sit on the ground while the puppets are manipulated
above their heads. Have each child go behind the screen one at time to introduce their
puppet(s) and/or scenery they made.
Make A Shadow Puppet Theater
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Shadow puppets as entertainment go back to the 18th century in Europe and America. In Asia,
they go back even further. Professional shadow puppeteers used multi-jointed figures to create
some very fancy characters, but even simple stick figures can be impressive, when accompanied
by sound effects, clever dialogue and voices, and creative movement.
Here are some suggestions for building your own shadow screen theater and puppets. You can
use them to tell a story of your own creation, a favorite fairy tale, or even a joke!
Making a Screen
This can be done many ways, but one of the easiest is as follows: Find an
empty cardboard box with a bottom as big as you'd like your screen to be
(say 12-by-18-inches, or so).
Turn the box upside down and draw a line (with a pencil, pen, or marker)
1 1/2 inches in from three edges and 2 1/2 inches in from what will
become the bottom edge (see dotted line on Figure 1).
Cut the cardboard out from the middle of the frame, using a utility knife,
graphic artist's blade, or scissors.
Next, draw lines on the sides of the box as shown in Figure 2. Use a knife or
scissors to cut along the lines to remove the top, front, and bottom sides of
the box. (You now have a theater frame with "wings!")
Find a piece of white cloth - like a handkerchief or a piece of an old sheet--big
enough to cover the opening in the frame. Use masking tape or duct tape to
fasten the comers of the cloth over the back of the frame opening (Figure 3).
When the corners are tight and there are no wrinkles, put tape along all the edges. (It's
important to keep the screen tight and wrinkle-free!)
Set your screen up on a table edge as shown in Figure 4 and position a chair or short table so
you can set up an unshaded light (or even a floodlight) as shown.
Making Shadow Puppets
These can be simple stick figures or puppets with articulated
limbs. For a stick figure simply draw (or trace) the outline of
a character (a man with a cane, a woman wearing a
hat, a roaring lion, whatever) onto thin but stiff
cardboard, and then cut the figure out.
You can cut characters out of magazine or
newspaper photos and trace them onto cardboard,
but remember to leave extensions below the feet for
the puppeteer to hold (see Figure 6); or you can
glue light wooden extensions your cardboard
puppets.
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To make an articulated puppet, cut out two cardboard versions of the same character. Use the
second one to cut out just the leg (or arm) you want to move. Punch a hole through both the full
puppet and the limb. Put a brass paper fastener, through both pieces and spread the prongs.
Practice "walking" with your puppet by moving the hinged leg back and forth as in Figure 6.
Think of all the puppet characters you can make with hinged legs or arms or jaws, from kids
and clowns to horses and alligators. You're limited only by your imagination!
Showing Your Shadows
Set your theater up as in Figure 5, with a lamp a few feet behind your screen. Sit on a short stool
or kneel on the floor at point B to operate your puppets.
(NOTE: You might want to put a tablecloth or drape over the table front to hide your actions
from the audience.)
Hold your puppets up at point A and the audience (at point D) will see the shadows on the
other side of the screen.
As in most theaters, turning out unnecessary room lights will help the audience focus on the onscreen action.
Find or make up a fun story script and create as many puppets as it takes to tell the story. You
can create shadow scenery too - including trees, buildings, bridges, and anything else with a
recognizable shadow shape.
You can tape the scenery pieces in place - to the chair or the back of the screen, wherever they
need to be between the light and the screen.
If you have no script, just start "ad-libbing" with your puppets, creating funny interactions
among the characters.
Invite a friend to help operate one puppet while you move another behind the screen.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Examples of a piece of scenery and shadow puppets.
Snowman Kit
Make a snowman gift from re-used materials.
Materials
Jar (1 per child)
Cotton balls
Felt (variety of colors)
Scissors (that can cut felt and paper)
Pen (1 per child)
Cotton fabric (variety of colors and patterns)
Sock (1 per child)
Rubber band (1 per child)
Colored scrap paper and/or gift tags that are made ahead of time (1 per child)
Hole punch
Ribbon (variety of colors)
Directions
1. Fill the jar with cotton balls.
2. Cut two tiny mittens from felt. Put them along the inside of the jar so they show.
3. Cut a scarf from a piece of cotton fabric, fringe the ends and wrap it around the outside
of the lid.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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4. Make a hat using the toe of an orphaned sock. It works great! Use a rubber band to
attach the hat over the top of the jar so that the jar looks like it is wearing a hat.
5. Make a gift tag, such as "I couldn't send you snowman by mail without it melting so
here is your kit to make your own". The children could either write the words
themselves or use the pre-printed gift tags.
6. Punch a hole in the gift tag and attach it to the jar with a ribbon.
Gift Bags
Create special gift bags that can be used from year to year.
Materials
Variety of fabric (holidays, patterned, and solid color)
Fabric scissors
Straight pins
Thread (variety of colors)
Needles
Sewing machines (if parents want to help the children sew their bags by machine versus by
hand)
Ribbon (variety of colors)
Directions
STEP 1:
Decide on the size bag you want to make.
STEP 2:
Cut the fabric to twice the desired bag depth and fold in half so the fold
forms the bottom of the bag.
STEP 3:
Turn the fabric inside out and pin the sides together. Stitch the side seams.
STEP 4:
Turn outside in, fold the raw edge along the top of the bag, and hem, either
by hand or with a sewing machine. (If fabric does not run, you can finish the
ends by cutting with pinking shears.)
STEP 5:
Attach a ribbon by cutting a cloth ribbon (at least 12" long) and stitching it to
the seam about four or five inches from the top.
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Games From Reused Materials
Math Bean Game
Instructions for making a fun math game using an empty film container.
Materials Needed:
· Film Container
· 10 Beans
· Paint
· Miscellaneous Items to Decorate Container
Instructions:
Let children decorate the film container. Add wiggly eyes and some felt to make feet, arms, and
a hat. Have available lace, material scraps, and other desired craft items.
Paint the beans with one color on one side and the other side with another color. Let the paint
dry and then place the beans in the film container.
To play the game:
Place the lid on the container or your hand over the top, gently shake up the beans, and then
dump them out. Separate the beans by color and create an addition, subtraction, multiplication,
or division problem using the given numbers.
Example: 3 red beans + 7 blue beans = ?.
This is an excellent way to practice math. You can also have children estimate how many times
a certain problem will be rolled out of 10 shakes. Create fractions from the bean numbers rolled:
4 red beans and 6 blue beans = 4/6. Can it be reduced?
There are many options with this game! Have fun.
Poetry Lids
Grade: 4-8
A super way to get the creative writing juices flowing.
What You Need:
· Metal juice lids, or plastic milk lids
· Paint supplies, or markers
· A covered work area.
· A shoebox, or other empty container
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What You Do:
· Clean lids.
· Paint or marker words onto lids.
· Choose a number of words -- people, places, things, action words etc. Some good ones are:
1. he
8. you
15. orange
2. she
9. happy
16. red
3. to
10. in
17. blue
4. love
11. to
18. purple
5. dog
12. a
19. green
6. went
13. my
20. swim
7. walk
14. your
21. bike
· Use your imagination and make sure you draw some punctuation marks on some lids as well
(comma, exclamation point, period, question mark etc.)
· Once the lids are painted, let them dry and seal them with hairspray or spray varnish if
desired.
· Put all the lids into a box or empty container. You can decorate your container with paint or
markers as well.
· Play a game of poetry lids. Each player chooses a number of lids from the box and tries to
come up with a poem or story.
· Makes for a great way to begin a short story for those times when you have writer’s block!
Bowling Game
A fun and easy way to create your own bowling set.
What You Need
· Plastic bottles (2 liter or 20 oz.), clean and dry
· Stickers or shredded tissue paper, shiny cloth or plastic grass from Easter baskets
· Nerf or lightweight rubber ball
How To Make It
1. Make pins -- decorate bottles with stickers, or fill them using tissue paper (bunched or
shredded), shiny cloth, grass, or other lightweight items.
2. Use an appropriate sized ball (Nerf or light weight rubber) to knock down the pins.
Knapsack Checkers
This is a great idea for homemade checkers.
Materials:
• light-colored cotton bandana
• ruler
• felt-tip pen
• square sponge dipped in paint (optional)
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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•
•
buttons, stones, or other reused materials
ribbon or rubber band
Steps:
1. Use a ruler and a felt-tip pen to draw a grid on the bandana to resemble a checkerboard-eight squares down and across
2. Fill in alternating squares with the pen, or use a square sponge dipped in paint.
3. Find buttons or other items for game markers. Each player will need 12 of the same type of
item. Have several larger items ready to be used when a marker becomes a king.
4. When the game is over, place the markers in the center of the bandana and bring the corners
together. Tie with a ribbon or rubber band.
Treasure Hunt
Kids can learn letters, numbers and more with this fun and simple activity that's part art, part
exercise, part learning and all fun!
Use the blank side of a sheet of paper, some scissors, glue and a pile of old magazines. Help the
kids go through the magazines and cut out pictures of things you could find on a walk through
your neighborhood.
Some examples of good clippings are:
large letters
numbers
colors
trees
birds
lawn furniture
BBQ grill
flower pot
cat
ladybug
ball
tricycle
mailbox
tire swing
sand box
bird house
etc.
Younger children are better suited for large, simple goals. They can find anything red, for
instance, or the letter D (check license plates, street signs and billboards). Older kids can have
more specific items like a robin, a black pick-up truck, the word "drive," or a maple tree.
Head out on a walk with the sheet and a pen. Cross off each item as the kids spot it and keep
wandering until all items on all lists are marked off or until everybody agrees to call it quits.
You may find that it's harder than you thought!
Sticky Shapes
Look through old magazines and newspaper supplements with your child, and either cut out:
(1) pictures of people in different shapes, for example wide, thin, twisted, bent, round, angular,
or
(2) pictures showing people in different moods, for example happy, unhappy, serious, laughing.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Help your child to make a dance poster by sticking the pictures onto a large sheet of paper. Can
they make some of the shapes or expressions from the poster? If your child enjoys doing this,
you could help them to make another poster by taking photographs of friends and family.
Safari Miniature Golf Set
Recycle old cardboard boxes into golf fun.
MATERIALS:
• Cardboard (from large boxes and cereal boxes)
• Scissors
• Acrylic craft paint
• Paintbrushes
• Empty cardboard egg carton
• Masking tape
• Lids from cans of frozen juice concentrate
• Flexible drinking straws
• Construction paper
• Toilet paper tubes
• Gift wrap tubes
• Craft knife
• Aluminum foil
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Cut 6 animal shapes from cardboard. You also could cut pictures of animals from magazines
or a book that you no longer use, glue onto cardboard, and cut out the shapes.
2. Cut a semicircular opening from the bottom of each animal.
3. Paint the shapes.
4. Fashion a rectangular cross-brace from cardboard, paint it, and join it to the animal shape
using an interlocking-slot design: cut a 2-inch slot in the bottom of the animal shape and the top
of the brace and fit the two together.
5. For each tee, cut a small circle from cardboard, tape on an inverted cup snipped from the egg
carton, and paint.
6. To make each hole for the course, center a juice can lid on a small circle of cardboard, trace it,
and cut a hole. Tape the juice can lid over the opening with the lipped edge down, then turn the
cup over and paint. Tape the short end of a flexible straw to the rim, then bend the long end up
and top with a construction paper flag.
7. For each club, flatten one end of a toilet paper tube and insert it into a slot -- 2 inches long and
1/4 inch wide -- cut into the end of a gift wrap tube. Secure with tape and paint.
8. Crumple up aluminum foil to make the golf balls.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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Additional Ideas
Ball (the maker of canning jars) has some fun seasonal project ideas that reuse canning jars. See
www.homecrafting.com/collection_elite/downloads for a lot of wonderful ideas for yearround projects.
Arts Edge put together an interesting informational booklet with pictures from an art
installation called “Recycled, Re-Seen: Folk Art from the Global Scrap Heap.” Examples of
recycled art from all over the world is shown. Several art disciplines are addressed (e.g., visual
arts, music). See "Art Booklet from Arts Edge" for more information.
Exploring Reuse During the Great Depression: Check out books from the library, do a search on
the internet (with parental supervision), and/or visit antique stores to see some ways that
people made do with what they had. Create a lap book illustrating this topic.
Interviewing Family Members: Have children interview an aunt or uncle about how they
creatively reused things around their home when they were children. Compare and contrast
aunts’, uncles’, and children’s lives.
Activities created/assembled by Ann Rinkenberger, Chisago Lakes Homeschool Co-op
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