As more people are required to stay home and school closures ripple across the country, simple and fun activities your kids can focus on may be at the top of your list. You won’t have to look further than your pantry or kitchen cabinets for activities to keep your kids focused and busy. Reusable goods include cereal boxes, aluminum cans, and corks to name a few.
We’ve gathered six activities that will bring hours of fun, and work towards zero waste with reusable materials you have around your home!
As you start planning, it’s important to heed the National Institute of Health’s latest information on how long COVID-19 stays on surfaces before you begin these crafts and ensure materials are clean.
Cork Love Bugs
We can’t be the only ones with extra corks lying around. After you open a corked bottle, rinse the cork with soap and hot water and save it in a clean container.
When you’ve gathered enough corks, collect some scrap paper from your home office, assemble markers and scissors and get to work.
Check out the full instructions here.
Jar Lid Memory Game
Reuse the various jars you have in your refrigerator, such as pasta, pickles, or other condiments.
When you’ve collected at least 12 lids, grab a permanent marker and write pairs of letters on the inside of the caps. For example, two “As”, two “Bs” and two “Cs” if you have six lids.
For beginners, play with the letters facing up saying “Can you find…”, giving hints along the way. For more experienced players, turn the lids face down. And, for those empty jars, refill them with craft scraps, markers, pens, and more!
Check out the full instructions here.
Tin Can Wind Chimes
Upcycle your tin cans into colorful, homemade wind chimes. Remove the label and wash and rinse each used can. Cut up used pasta boxes as stripes to color and decorate each tin. Use small metal washers or nuts within the chimes to make different sounds.
Let the wind do its job and enjoy the sounds of your child’s homemade wind chimes. Or, let your child make some more noise and create their own rock band using the filled tins.
Check out the full instructions here.
Soda Bottle Jet Pack
All good space explorers need a jetpack. Recycle empty and washed two-liter bottles, used cereal boxes, and scraps of paper to create this fun and easy accessory.
Remove the lids from two 2L plastic bottles and set aside. Paint or cover the bottles in used paper to look like the jet fuel containers of the jet pack.
Then, cover a square or rectangle of a cereal box in black tape or paint. While you’re constructing the jet pack, let your child color the used paper with red, orange, and yellow markers to create the flames. Glue one red, one orange, and one yellow flame into each bottle opening. Glue all pieces together and let your kids soar with their recycled accessory!
Check out the full instructions here.
Egg Carton Creations
There’s an abundance of creativity that can be generated from a single egg carton – from caterpillars to cars, let your child’s imagination run wild. Clean and save empty egg cartons. Then use scissors, paint, glue, and extra scraps from your craft bin to create a world of recycled friends.
And, if you need a paint tray, reuse an egg carton to separate paint colors. Too easy!
Check out the full instructions here.
Cork Painting Rainbows
Feeling artistic? Save extra corks in a clean place and let your kids reuse them as brushes or stamps to paint works of art. Use the inside of a cereal box as the canvas and simply dip corks into different colors of paint Practice seeing what shapes and textures your kids can make or have them experiment what colors can be combined to make new ones.
Check out the full instructions here.
We recognize these are unsettling times and we are here to provide our guidance, support, and continued commitment to service. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions regarding waste handling practices.