Respecting our planet and making it a better place to live is something that you can teach your children all year round.
Just taking everyday household items like emptied food containers and turning them into cute and quirky crafts is an excellent way to show your kids how to reuse things that would normally be tossed away.
Here are some simple and fun craft ideas for your next rainy day; start by having a scavenger hunt to find the items around the house!
Baby Food Jar Garden
Using an empty baby jar and some easy to find household items, you and your child can bring springtime indoors with this tiny garden in a jar.
Materials
- Baby food jar with lid
- Small silk flowers
- Rolling pin
- White craft glue
- Green play dough
Instructions
- Roll out the play dough with the rolling pin.
- Using the mouth of the baby jar, cut out a circle.
- Glue the play dough into the lid. Arrange silk flowers and stick into dough.
- Set the lid aside to dry and harden overnight.
- Screw the lid onto the jar and turn upside down.
- Decorate the lid by gluing down a scrap of felt and tying a piece of ribbon around it.
Egg Carton School Bus
An empty egg carton will give your child an adorable new toy that will keep him entertained for hours.
Materials
- Lid (TOP) of an egg carton with holes down the center
- Yellow paint or markers
- Black construction paper or two lids from milk jugs (for wheels)
- Small cutouts of people from magazines
Instructions
- Cut the lid off of the egg carton.
- Paint (or color with marker) the lid yellow.
- While the paint is drying, cut two circles out of black construction paper.
- Or, you can use the lids from milk jugs as an alternative to the paper wheels.
- Also while the paint is drying, cut small images of people from magazines.
- Once the paint is dry, glue on the wheels and glue the people into the holes.
- Write SCHOOL along the top of the bus.
Milk Jug Bird Feeder
This is a great way to utilize a used milk container and keep the birds fed at the same time.
Materials
- An empty milk carton (gallon jug)
- Thin wire or strong string
- Scissors
- Marker
- Birdseed
- Markers or paint (optional for decoration)
Instructions
- Clean carton with hot water and rinse thoroughly.
- Outline cutout holes on the two sides away from the handle.
- Cut out holes.
- Remove cap and wrap wire or string around the base of the opening and replace cap.
- Decorate as you wish with markers or paints.
- Hang your new milk jug feeder from a tree branch and fill it with birdseed.
Oatmeal Tin Drum
Your child will love turning a boring oatmeal container into his very own musical instrument.
Materials
- Empty oatmeal canister with cover
- Yarn
- Pen
- Two pencils
- Two spools
- Construction paper
- Crayons
Instructions
Before beginning, you can decorate the oatmeal canister with construction paper and crayons. Place the cover on the container. Use a pen to make a hole in the center of the cover and in the center of the bottom of the box.
Through these holes, pull a piece of yarn long enough to hang around child’s neck and down to their waist and tie. For the drumsticks, place the spools at the ends of the pencils and secure with glue if necessary.
Teaching your kids how to respect the earth does not have to be overwhelming. By doing these simple crafts with them you are encouraging them to reuse and recycle, which is one of the most important things we can do to help the environment.
