04 Jul 8 Easy Recycling Jobs for Pre-Schoolers

Try these fun ideas to encourage mindful practices at home.

If your primary-school-aged kids are like most, they’re the ones telling you to recycle and turn off the lights.

With younger children, you can take the lead and encourage mindful practices around the home.

Here are some ideas they will love:

1. Add a paper box in the kitchen that’s just for cardboard, paper and cartons. Each week it can be your child’s job to carry the box out to the recycling bin. You may need to add a small box just for them, but it will let them take part and feel responsible.

2. Sort out old paper into two piles: one for the recycle bin and the other for drawing. There is plenty of paper at home we can use more than once.

3. Give your kids the task of taking the food scraps out to the worm farm or compost. They can say ‘hi’ to the worms and see for themselves how our scraps turn into organic matter ready for feeding plants. For more information on composting, check out Clean Up.

4. Fill the sink with water and let your child rinse any empty milk or juice cartons. They’ll love playing with the water and the containers will be ready for recycling.

5. Turn your brown grocery bags into colorful paper bags using different colors, crayons and chalks that can be found inside your home. Let your preschooler go wild with his imagination and creativity!

6. DIY Gift Boxes. Lots of great ideas here, check Red Ted Art for complete instructions.

7. Milk Carton Bird Feeder using the larger 2L plastic milk containers. Check She Knows for complete instructions.

8. Make your eco-friendly recyclable toys from recycled materials see 9 toys kids can make

Do you have any tips for encouraging mindful behaviour at home? Share your ideas with us at editor@childmags.com.au