Three fun and quick recycled crafts for kids (and adults that act like kids)
Guest post by Holly Martinez
Being a good parent is more than plopping your youngster in front of the boob tube – it also means teaching them about important concepts like sustainability (even if they’re too young to fully grasp the idea) and get them outside once in a while. It’s summer, after all!
Getting kids to use their noggins takes little time, but the results can last for the rest of their lives. Here’s three simple and fun crafts for kids that use recycled materials. While building these, consider talking to your kids about the environment and the impact we have on it.
Soda Bottle Bowling
You will need:
- 10 empty 2-liter bottles
- Spray paint that works on plastic
- Craft paint and brushes
- Sand / gravel
- Glue
- A large ball (like a kickball)
First, cut the labels from the empty bottles using soap and water and wash out the insides. Let them dry and fill them with a bit of gravel. Add enough that they won’t blow down the street in the wind, but don’t make them too heavy to get knocked over.
Take your bottles outside and spray them evenly with your spray paint on newspaper or a cloth. This may take a few coats, so be sure to let them dry between coats.
Now comes the creative part (this is where you bring in your kids). You can draw whatever you want on your pins. Paint zombies, cats, flower people or your favorite cartoon characters (Spongebob, anyone?). Don’t worry about perfection – this is just for fun. You want to give your pins faces so they’re more fun to hit, but of course, you could paint them just like boring, regular pins.
When your paint has dried, glue the caps on. You might want to spray an overcoat of something like polyurethane sealer so that your artwork won’t peel or crack.
Next, take your finished bottles outside and take turns with your child rolling the ball and knocking down the pins. You could also set these up in a hallway so that the walls will act as “bumpers” and make it a little easier.
Want something more nature themed? Here’s a craft that involves flowers.
Stamp Pad Leaf Printing
You will need:
- Empty cereal boxes
- Paint or stamp pads
- A nice rod or stick
- Natural cord, like raffia
- A large poker or skewer
Cut a bunch of rectangles from your cereal boxes. Find a size that you like and make them all the same. Paint the cardboard cut-outs with a light color. White or cream will work best. Let dry while you’re outside.
Go for a safari walk with your kid, acting like naturalists taking samples of flowers, leaves, pine cones or anything else you can think of. Bring your finds back home.
You can use stamp pads or paint in this scenario. Either press your flowers onto the stamp pad and then onto the cardboard or dip your specimens into paint and then apply them to the prints. Lift to get your print! Mix up the colors so you get a good variety. Let dry.
Puncture holes into the tops of your prints and then string your cord through them. Tie them to your rod or stick and let them hang. Beautiful!
If you want to get your kids to get a little more organized too, this project works great:
Chalkboard Organizers
You will need:
- Scissors
- Chalkboard paint / brushes
- Chalk
- Empty juice or milk cartons (vary size)
This is so easy it kills me. Just cut the tops off the empty cartons, paint them with a coat of your chalkboard paint and then doodle some fun designs or cartoons on the sides. You can seal the designs in using some more of that polyurethane spray or even hairspray.
Then, you can organize your desks, your kitchen or even plop some potted plants in there. Boom!
About the Author:
Holly Martinez has three beautiful kids with her husband in Texas. She also breeds rare types of cats for pet shows as she travels the country while maintaining the website Time Warner Cable Austin.
