Make a list of items you would like the parents to save for you at home.  (Download letter here.)  Create your own little recycling center in your classroom by labeling plastic bins where children can sort the objects that they bring in.

“SAVE” LIST FOR PARENTS

Join our green team!  We are constantly trying to model positive attitudes about our environment for our students.  We encourage them to help us conserve energy, reduce what we use, and recycle materials.  You can help us by saving some of the items below.  We will recycle them into books, games, art projects, and learning materials.
Please wash the containers and remove any food particles. 
(For safety reasons, no glass or items with sharp edges.)

margarine tubs
milk jugs
bottle caps
coffee cans
paper grocery sacks
paper towel rolls
plastic water bottles
shoe boxes
wallpaper scraps
fabric scraps
wrapping paper scraps
greeting cards
old magazines, junk mail, catalogs
juice cans
wood scraps
empty spray bottles
string, yarn, buttons, sewing notions
cardboard boxes
Styrofoam packing
miscellaneous plastic spoons, cups, straws

Just ask yourself, “Is there another life for this?” 
Thanks!!

Hint!  Ask each child to save cardboard food boxes for a week and bring in what their family uses.  Recycle those boxes with some of these projects.

Cardboard castle – Let children use masking tape to create a castle or other play sculpture.

Books – Cut the fronts off the boxes.  Hole punch and bind with a book ring.  Great for reading environmental print.

Puzzles – Cut box fronts into puzzle shapes.  Store in zip bags.  For younger children use two like boxes.  Cut one up and let them place the pieces on the second box.

Fronts and backs – Cut front and back panels off of boxes.  Mix them up and then ask the children to match up the ones that go together. 

   

Play a memory game where you place the fronts and backs face down on the floor.  Children try to match up pairs.

Stencils and templates – Cut geometric shapes out of box fronts.  Children can trace these with colored pencils, crayons, or markers. 

Cut seasonal shapes or objects that relate to a unit of study for the children to trace.

Sewing cards – Punch holes around the sides of boxes.  Children can sew these with yarn, string, or old shoelaces.

   

Weaving – Cut notches around the sides of boxes and let children weave through these with yarn.

Fractions – Give each child the front panel off a box.  Can you cut it in half?  Fourths?  Eights?

Math – Have children sort the boxes by product, size, etc.  Graph favorite cereals, cookies, crackers, etc.

Nutrition – Cut the side panels with nutritional information from cereal boxes.  Have children rank them according to sugar content, food value, etc.