Summer break has only been going on for a few weeks, but parents may already be hearing the age-old “I’m bored” whine from their kids. Trash and recycling may not be your first thought when it comes to summertime activities, but we’ve got a list of ideas for you that are sure to keep your young ones happily occupied for a while.
Talking Trash
Do your kids love messy projects? Well, then they will really enjoy doing a waste audit with you! Take one of your trash bins outside, give your kids gloves, and have them do an audit of what you throw away as a household. Have them sort your waste into the following piles:
- Recyclables
- Trash
- Compostable
- Other (hazardous waste, e-waste, etc.)
It is a great time to not only an excellent opportunity to help your kids start thinking about what they are throwing away, but to put a plan in place to change habits as a family.
Another spin on this is to have your kids conduct a food waste audit. You can do it on the larger scale and have them measure how much food your family throws out each week, or on a smaller scale, have everyone scoop their leftovers from dinner into a bowl and weigh it on a food scale.
Flatten boxes
Boxes should be flat when they enter the recycle bin…but no one said they had to be done perfectly. Handing your kiddos a stack of boxes and challenging them to make them as flat as possible is a great way to get out their energy and save yourself some work. They will have a ball tackling and rolling around on the boxes to smoosh them.
Cardboard Forts
Have your kids ever played with the box something came in more than the item itself? Summer is a great time to capture the magic and endless possibilities of empty cardboard boxes by letting your kids have a box fort area they can rearrange at their hearts’ content.
Better yet - throw some art supplies inside and let them decorate the walls of their cardboard fortresses. Not only does it keep them busy, it taps into their creativity. If you really want to make their night exciting, let them grab a pillow and blanket and sleep in their fort. It may make some memories they’ll never forget.
Keep those cans
Before putting those aluminum soup or vegetable cans in the recycling bin - rinse them out and let your kids try to build a robot with them! Or you can pull out the old classic and have your kids make tin can telephones. If your kids are competitive...have a contest to see who can build the tallest can tower.
Cutting Up
For little ones in preschool and kindergarten, the various densities of recyclables can contribute to building their fine motor skills. Using their child-safe scissors, have them cut shapes out of bottles, cardboard boxes, plastic containers and more!
The different textures will help build strength in their hands and ready to start the school year.
For older kids, along with tweens and teens, cardboard boxes can be used to create art projects, such as miniatures of buildings or rooms. Instead of a big box fort, have them design a model of a real one with cardboard and glue/tape.
Other crafts
Teachers frequently make use of everyday items for crafting ideas in their classrooms. Now that we live in the era of the internet, there is no shortage of ideas online for parents who are looking for inspiration.
You can use paper plates and bottle caps to create animals, planets and more! Empty toilet paper rolls are an excellent source for crafting materials.
Regardless of how you entertain your children this summer, try to keep the three R’s in mind – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!