Recycled Materials Become Great Craft Supplies
The environment is on many people's minds, and May is a great month to encourage kids to "think green" and "create by recycling."
The inspiration: At www.HighlightsKids.com, you and your kids can find lots of great craft ideas, including ones that use recycled materials.
What you can do at home: You and your children can gather pebbles, shells, acorns, dried beans, and other natural materials. Play a game by taking turns seeing how many different ways you can arrange the same set of items. Once you've found an arrangement you like, glue the items onto a firm cardboard surface to create a representational picture or abstract design.
The inspiration: On pages 20 and 21 of the May 2007 issue of Highlights, kids can learn how to use buttons and beads to design their own musical instruments and how to make a stationery holder.
What you can do at home: You and your child can brighten your home with crafts made by recycling old wrapping paper and greeting cards. If you glue these to unadorned surfaces, you can transform juice cans into decorative pencil holders, empty milk cartons into colorful planters, and plain notebook covers into individualized masterpieces.
The inspiration: On pages 22 and 23 of the May 2007 issue of Highlights High Five, you and your kids can learn how to create pictures using pieces of colorful yarn, paper, and glue.
What you can do at home: Encourage your child to make collages using a variety of different found materials. Besides yarn, you can use scraps of fabric and colorful or textured papers, such as corrugated cardboard, old wrapping papers, or even the Sunday comics.