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Thread: Give me your up cycling ideas

  1. #11
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    It would be fun to use the toilet paper rolls to paint--each child paints one or more and then you string them together and put them at the top of the room, going around the room, sort of like a Christmas tree garland.

    You could also also roll in glue and glitter and make them into a real Christmas tree garland--cut them in half and string them again.

  2. #12
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    But glitter is a problem for recycling.

    i do have a whole bunch of candy wrappers I want to use on pieces of styrofoam to make Christmas ornaments. 100% trash, but the ornament is likely to avoid that fate for a while....

  3. #13
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    We did trash clean up walks on the playground or close park, then we would sort the trash we found into recyclable, compostable and trash. We found a lot of school supplies that we just cleaned off and used. Another fun and quick activity is a recycle relay. You give each team a basket of basic trash and a recycle, compost and trash container at the other side of the relay area. Each kid picks an items and runs down to put it in the right bin. The fastest team wins if they don't put anything in the wrong bin. A great way to start off the club,

  4. #14
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    I like the relay!

    we’re going to have a scavenger hunt at some point too.

    at open house i’m going to have a “does it recycle?” table with cards to turn over after you guess. Some of them will have extra information - like styrofoam can be recycled (actually downcycled, but we’ll cover that later), but the closest drop is 123 miles from school. And maybe a garbage craft table.

  5. #15
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    My upcycle art is not always totally recyclable. However it saves a lot on buying new supplies and having people need to create new materials. I hear there is eco-friendly glitter coming out, I don't use it. I make better friends with the FM at school that way. You know what they call glitter, the herpes of craft supplies!

  6. #16
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    I am not a fan of glitter in general. I don’t use it at all. I have some beautiful metallic glitter effect glaze in my pottery class cabinet though.

    but also, it is important to me that the projects not turn recycling into garbage. That is the wrong direction.

    i am pretty good at cheap and free.

  7. #17
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    A couple of thoughts... spray the toilet paper tubes lightly with a dilute bleach solution before planting,

    and, fundraiser or get a grant for a water cooler/dispenser that has a bottle filling feature! I ran across these at the fairgrounds- so quick and easy!! Then kids can either carry a bottle or their own cup, and the school doesn't provide paper cups any more!

  8. #18
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    My friends and family save their toilet paper tubes for me. My dog loves them. I put a dog treat or two inside, fold the ends over to close it, and she will perform any trick to get it. She then tears it to shreds, eats the treats and I put the bits and pieces into recycling. If these were decorated in a doggy fashion, treats inserted, ends closed, then they would be great gifts for doggy owners.

  9. #19
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    Our water coolers will fill your bottle or mug. But there is no way the director will take away the cups! Even if we required the parents to buy bottles and handed them out at school, there would always be kids who couldn’t find theirs. Keeping the kids hydrated is more important than not using paper cups!

    I will try bleaching the tubes. (And make the kids wash their hands - we do for cooking, we can do it for planting too!)

  10. #20
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tybee View Post

    But my husband does plan seeds in toilet paper tubes, upended and filled with soil, and they work very well and biodegrade into the garden.
    I'm stealing this idea!

    My kids used to bring home bird feeders made from 2-liter soda bottles.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

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