You know when you buy your kids a great gift and they spend longer playing with the box that it came in? Well, my daughter is like that: every bottle, jar, tub, can and piece of wrapping paper is, in her eyes, an untapped source of boundless creative opportunity. And why not? Reusing and recycling resources is something humankind has always done, out of necessity more than anything else. And, while many of us may have forgotten this necessity over more recent decades, that doesn’t make reusing and recycling our valuable resources any less important. If we are to live sustainably, it’s an absolute must – and getting our children excited about how they can give new value and purpose to items in their play is a triple win for their learning, our environment and our pocket!
Join the June Junk Challenge and breathe new life into your family’s ‘junk’ by transforming it into wonderful play things! Here are a few of my favourites:
Handwash bottles as paint / coloured water dispensers
These are one of my favourite re-purposed play items. Not only can you fill them with whatever liquid your child wants to play with – paint, coloured water, soapy solution – but the fact they can’t be spilled, and only a little squirts out at a time, prevents waste. Plus children are able to freely access the bottles, which promotes their independent play, and the action of pumping the nozzle is great practice for fine motor skills and gaining hand and finger strength and dexterity. All from a few empty bottles!
Bubble wrap for print-making
You know those little bits of bubble wrap you’ve got hanging around that aren’t really big enough to pad anything out properly but you just can’t bear to throw away? Well, add them to your creative kit as print materials. Children just paint onto the bubble wrap, press paper on top and – voila – a beautiful dotted paint effect that works well as backing for homemade cards and displays. Then you can rinse the bubble wrap and do it over and over again!
Egg boxes as collecting trays
Whether it’s coloured leaves in the autumn (as pictured, on an outing with my little girl), the names of wildflowers in summer, or textures (something furry / prickly / smooth / rough / squashy), the lowly eggbox can so simply be transformed into a vessel for your child’s nature-hunt treasures.
Wooden cutlery as plant labels
It’s one of my favourite times of the year: chips and ice cream time! Which mean we end up collecting rather a lot of little wooden forks and spoons. And that’s great, because they make the perfect little plant labels for our veg! And after the growing season, once they’ve become a bit soggy, they can just be added to the compost heap. Winner! Right, who’s getting the chips in?
Plastic milk bottles as watering cans
Wooden cutlery as play label