WHAT WILL I BE WHEN THEY RECYCLE ME?

You know all those cardboard food boxes you throw away?  Well, here's a great opportunity to give them a second life, teach your children to recycle, and make some cool materials for your classroom.  Send a note asking families to save their cardboard food boxes for a week and then let the fun begin!

Cardboard Castle – Let children use masking tape to create a castle or other play sculpture.

                                        
What's for Breakfast? Book - Each child chooses the front of their favorite cereal box.  They can write original sentences or fill in the blank "(Child's name) likes (cereal)."

Puzzles – Cut box fronts into puzzle shapes. Store in zip bags. For younger children use two like boxes. Cut one up and let them place the pieces on the second box.

                                                                             
Fronts and Backs – Cut front and back panels off of boxes. Mix them up and then ask the children to match up the ones that go together.

*Play a memory game where you place the fronts and backs face down on the floor. Children try to match up pairs.

Stencils and Templates – Cut geometric shapes out of box fronts. Children can trace these with colored pencils, crayons, or markers.
*Cut seasonal shapes or objects that relate to a unit of study for the children to trace.

                                                  
Sewing Cards – Punch holes around the sides of boxes. Children can sew these with yarn, string, or old shoelaces.

Weaving – Cut notches around the sides of boxes and let children weave through these with yarn.

Fractions – Give each child the front panel off a box. Can you cut it in half? Fourths? Eights?

                                                                               
Math – Have children sort the boxes by product, size, etc. Graph favorite cereals, cookies, crackers, etc.

How about a free song download and flip book about recycling?    

http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2015/04_Apr_css/index.html

                         
What Will I Be When They Recycle Me?
(Tune: “Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?”)
What will I be when they recycle me? (Roll hands in a circle.)
What will I be when they recycle me?
What will I be when they recycle me?
I’ll come back to life—you will see! (Clap your hands and then point your finger.)

I am an empty soda can (Pretend to hold a soda can in front of you.)
Made of precious aluminum.
I can save lots of energy
If you will recycle me. (Roll hands in a circle.)

I’m an old bottle of plastic (Pretend to hold a plastic bottle.)
But I could be fantastic!
Toys, pipes, car bumpers, and much more—
That’s what my plastic is for. (Roll hands in a circle.)

A pile of used boxes and papers we (Make an invisible square in the air.)
Come from the precious wood of trees.
Recycled we’ll be as good as new (Roll hands in a circle.)
And save some other trees, too.

I am a fine jar made of glass— (Cup hands to make a bowl.)
Please don’t treat me like plain old trash! (Shake head “no.”)
I’ll make new jars again and again
Recycle me—yes you can! (Roll hands in a circle.)

Though we may look like old used stuff, (Open palms.)
Stop, wait! Please don’t give up on us! (Make sign language for “stop.”)
Think of the great possibilities— (Put index finger on your head and tap.)
Recycle us, set us free! (Roll hands in a circle and then throw up hands in the air.)

JOIN THE LITTER PATROL

One of the best ways to be on the "green team" is to keep the earth beautiful by picking up trash.  There's nothing more frustrating to me than to see trash along the road, but maybe we can improve things in the future by getting our students to join the LITTER PATROL!

Litter Patrol
Well, here we go, (Clap and snap fingers to the beat.)
We’re on the litter patrol.
We’re going to work all day
To put the trash away.
The planet earth, you see
Is our habitat.
We’re going to clean it up,
Well, how about that!

Litter Bags

Ask your students to bring in an empty cereal box or cardboard food box.
1. Cut the tops off the boxes.
2. Punch a hole in each short side.
3. Tie on a piece of string. Use these to collect trash or have the children place these in their cars.

Earth Day Project

Plan a community project where parents and children come together to clean up a park or natural area in your community. Make sure you have gloves and trash bags for the participants.

Trash Snack
How about a “trash snack”? You will need ice cream cones, Gold Fish crackers, Cheerios,  pretzel sticks, and peanuts. Take 4 lunch sacks and put a different item in each sack. Write “old tires” on the sack with Cheerios, write "dead fish" on the sack with the crackers, “sticks” on the sack with pretzel sticks, and “stones” on the sack with peanuts. Take a large bowl and make up a story about collecting trash. As you name the different items, invite different children to dump the contents in the bowl. Stir with a large spoon and then serve the “trash” in trashcans (ice cream cones). The cool thing about this snack is that there is NO trash when the children have finished eating!
                                       
Hint! Substitute raisins for peanuts if you have students with food allergies. You can also use sunflower seeds or other snack foods.

EARTH DAY

Every day should be “Earth Day,” but is officially celebrated every April 22nd. It’s always important to think about our planet and get kids interested in protecting their environment. Your students are going to be so proud of this “Earth Book” when they take it home to share with their families.   
                                   
Materials: 8” squares of the following colors:
2 orange, 1 green, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 brown, 1 purple

Directions:

1. Use the attached patterns to cut out the different pages for the book.
2. To assemble the book put down the solid orange, then the purple, brown, yellow, blue, green, and end with the orange with the circle cut out.
3. Staple on the left.
4. Younger children can “read” the book by describing the colors of the earth on each page. Older students can write simple descriptive sentences on each page.
5. On the last page invite children to write or draw how they can help protect the earth.

Hint! Your students will be overwhelmed to do this all in one day, so stretch this project out by asking them to just do 2 or 3 pages a day.

Here's a pdf with the patterns.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljNnFFV0VhbU5YcEk/view?usp=sharing

Here's a special packet that Carolyn Kisloski and I created with 6 songs, writing prompts, lesson plans, and activities to help you celebrate Earth Week.  Best of all, it's on sale now for just $3.00!!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Going-Green-2636782
                              


Earth Day Song  (Happy Everything CD)
Earth Day, Earth Day! Let’s all come together.
Earth Day, Earth Day! To make this world much better.
‘Cause we love our planet Earth, beautiful and blue.
We want to take care of it with everything we do.

We can recycle – tell your friends and neighbors!
Glass, aluminum, plastic and paper.
‘Cause we love our planet Earth, beautiful and blue.
We want to take care of it with everything we do.

We can plant a tree, to create green spaces;
Walk or ride our bikes to go different places.
Cause we love our planet Earth, beautiful and blue.
We want to take care of it with everything we do.

Earth Day Necklace
1. Give children a small ball of blue polymer clay.
2. Give them a small piece of green clay and tell them to break it into 4 or 5 little pieces.
3. Attach the green pieces to the blue ball and roll in your hands.
4. Make a hole in the center with the nail.
5. Bake in a 275 oven for 12-15 minutes.
6. String the earth ball on yarn or string to make a necklace.
    
Nature’s Colors
1. Give children assorted pony beads and a piece of string or yarn 20-24” long.
2. Explain that they can select a bead to represent the different things in nature that they appreciate. For example, a blue bead might remind them of the ocean, or a red bead might remind them of a cardinal. (Hint! Limit one bead per color. To make it easier to string wrap a small piece of tape around the end of the yarn.)
3. Tie the ends of the string together to make a necklace.
*Older students could write sentences about each color.
4. Ask children to describe their necklaces and explain what each color represents.

RHYME ON WITH HUMPTY DUMPTY

Let’s keep the egg theme going this week with Humpty Dumpty. Read over these rhymes encouraging the children to fill in the rhyming word.

*Let children illustrate the rhymes and then put them together to make a class book.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a peg.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his leg.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a bed.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his head.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a rose.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his nose.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a pin.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his chin.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a boulder.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his shoulder.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a pie.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his eye.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a deer.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his ear.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the land.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his hand.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the sea.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his knee.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a drum.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his thumb.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a tack.
Humpty Dumpty fell on his back.

Humpty Dumpty said to his friend,
“I’m very tired so this is THE END.”

Humpty Dumpty Puzzle (Amy Fielbrandt)
Give children ovals and ask them to decorate it like Humpty Dumpty. Next, have them cut the ovals into 5-7 pieces. Ask them to "put Humpty Dumpty back together again" by gluing the pieces on another sheet of paper. Display on a bulletin board with this rhyme:
     Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
     Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
     All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
     Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
     But the kindergarteners got out some glue
     And put him together as good as new.
                           


Egg Drop
This is messy, but it's something your students will never forget. You will need a raw egg, a shower curtain liner, and wooden blocks. Place the shower curtain on the floor. Have children estimate how many blocks they can use to build a wall for Humpty before he will fall and break. One at a time let children put down a block, place the egg on it, and then gently push it over. Continue building the wall taller until the egg cracks when it falls.

EGG-STRA SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

There's more to eggs than dying them this week!
                              
Rubber Egg
Materials: clear jar with lid
vinegar
raw egg in its shell

1. Put a raw egg in a jar and then cover it with vinegar. Screw on the lid and set it aside for 3-5 days.
2. Observe the egg each day and describe what is happening to it.
3. After 3-5 days, the eggshell should be almost invisible. Remove the egg, rinse it off, and hold it up to the light. How does the shell feel? Hold the egg several inches from the table and drop it. Does it break?


EggStra Special
Materials: 2 clear cups
1 brown egg
1 white egg
                         
1. Pass around the eggs for the children to gently hold and observe.
2. Discuss how the eggs are alike and how they are different.
3. Ask the children to predict if they are alike or different on the inside.
4. Break each egg into a different cup and compare.
5. How are people like the eggs? Do people look alike on the outside? Are people the same on the inside?
*They made good scrambled eggs, too!

Happy Teeth
Materials: 4 raw white eggs
4 clear cups
tea, coffee, cola, water

1. Place each egg in a different cup and cover with one of the liquids.
2. Observe the eggs for several days to see what happens.
3. Remove the eggs and encourage the children to describe what happened to each egg and why.
4. How are teeth like the eggs? What will happen to your teeth of you drink tea and coffee all the time?
*Brush the eggs gently with toothbrush and toothpaste and see what happens.
                           
Note! Brushing the egg with toothpaste didn't work too well. I might have left the egg in the coffee too many days. Or, maybe it was the toothpaste???

What’s in an Egg?
Materials: plastic egg
small toy animal that would hatch from an egg (fish, bird, alligator, frog, spider, snake, etc.)

1. Put the toy in the egg? Let the children shake it and try and guess what it is.
2. Have them make a list of all the animals they can think of that hatch from eggs.
3. Open the egg to confirm their guess.
*Make a t-chart of animals that come from eggs and animals that do not hatch from eggs.

Natural Dyes
Did you know you could dye eggs with berries, vegetables, and spices?  There are many ideas on the internet if you want to give it a try.

NAME YOURSELF DAY

Have you ever wished that you had a different name? Apparently April 9th is "Name Yourself Day."  Wouldn’t your kids get a kick out of changing their first name for a day?  Just to spice things up one day next week give it a try.

Tell them about it a day ahead so they’ll have time to make their decision. (They’ll probably sort through dozens of names before choosing one.) Start the day by having each student tell their classmates their new name and explain why they chose it.

Sing this good morning song to the tune of “Good Night, Ladies” using their new name.
Hello, (new name).
Hello, (new name).
Hello, (new name).
We’re glad you’re in our room.

Let them make nametags, necklaces, bracelets, or crowns with their new name. Their new name could also be the catalyst for a story about an adventure they might have. 
                    

You should probably change your name as well. How about Queen ___ or King ____?

Money, Honey!
And if you name yourself, why not make some money with your picture?  Wouldn't your kids love to draw their face on this $100 bill?  I found this template on the internet and made a download for you.
                           
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljdm04bFlZV01GVHc/view?usp=sharing

I couldn't resist!

A SPRING PENCIL WALK

Let's take our pencils on a walk today!

Story symbols can help children develop top to bottom and left-to-right orientation. They’re also an engaging way to develop small motor skills. These stories should be told multiple times so children can practice the pre-writing strokes and feel more competent. You might want to do the same story every day for a week as you invite the children to recall what will come next. You could also make a tape of the story to put in a listening center.

Demonstrate these stories on the board or a large chart so children will be able to copy what you do on white boards or clip boards.

A SPRING WALK

Let’s put a green dot at the top of the page to show us where to start. And let’s put a red dot down here at the bottom to show where our story will stop. Pick up your pencil and let’s use it to tell a story.

                            

It’s a beautiful spring day, so let’s go for a walk.

The grass is growing nice and tall.

The sun is shining in the sky.

The clouds are rolling around.

The insects buzz up and down.

The little rabbits hop around.

The kites are flying in the air.

All of a sudden, the wind starts to blow.

The wind is blowing in every direction.

Better run home as fast as we can!

Home at last!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljc0J0SF95WHZnS2s/view?usp=sharing

Here's another story about a walk in the zoo.  Can you guess what the different symbols represent?

                

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1SnEagA4jljY0FscXBmekxxSDg/view?usp=sharing