Recycling

We recently planted a vegetable garden leading to the construction of a bin for vermicomposting this next weekend which has inspired all sorts of worm/nature's recyclers type projects with my kids. We're doing them partly in preparation for our newest squirmy family members, partly because they extend the learning and mostly because they are just fun.

We had a basic, basic plastic container worm bin about four years ago, which didn't yield a substantial amount of rich humus. However, maintaining the box proved to be fruitful in an entirely different way. Our young son (4 at the time) was totally mesmerized by the bin and its squirmy occupants which opened up several discussions on worms, recycling and taking care of living things. Who knew a silly little bin would hold so many teachable moments? I was crushed when we no longer were able to maintain it due to a home remodel (RIP worms).

Easter is over and Earth Day is almost here. Why not impress the kids and get a jump start on the greening with this clever idea from Chronicle Books for turning your empty egg shells into seedling containers?

Chronicle Books:

As rainy days begin to give way to warmer weather one can't help but feel that Spring is finally here to stay. And since the seasons are changing so must the decor. Out with the frosted glass votives, in with the daffodils in milk glass.

Yeah, Easter is great and all but what gets me is when all the hunting/egg-dying/basket-giving is over what do I do with all the egg-shaped goodies (both candy and plastic)? Sure it's fun to relive the magic by staging mock egg hunts but after the 100th time you've run out of places to hide the eggs and your still left w/dozens of egg-shaped plastic. I'm always on a look out for fun ways to reuse those plastic eggs so they don't end up as carpet bombs in my kids' rooms.

Pesach is here! Rich in Jewish tradition and storytelling, we dig it and my kids can't get enough of Moses, especially the part about the Red Sea. Yeah, that's pretty awesome!

I'm loving the whole idea of sensory tubs. And I find raiding my cupboards for items to fill the tubs strangely exhilarating. My husband must think I'm some kind of crazy when I exclaim things like "A half empty bag of dried lima beans...SWEET!" But I don't care because these tubs tot tons of educational pluses (shout out to fine motor skills) and they are so versatile and cheap to make. But best of all the tubs seem to have an awesome power over my daughter's short attention span.

Every year my kids seem to receive a nice supply of Valentine's chocolates from their adoring grandparents. And each year I feel kind of sad (and guilty) tossing the cool heart-shaped boxes all that tasty candy comes in. This year I'm determined that we're going to craft a few things from the boxes. One of which will be this cute Candy Box Photo Frame tutorial posted on the Kodak site.

Lee of Craftstylish has a fantastically simple how-to for making a kitty hat "(for humans)". I'm in love with how one ugly, old sweater can be transformed in a cute kitty hat.

With a freshly-minted middle schooler and kindergartener at home the days are now numbered for our well-loved (worn out) board books. And although we're sure to find good homes for many of our cherished page-turners there are a few in our collection that just won't make the cut.