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It has never been more important than today to teach our younger generations about environmental awareness. We only have one world and our children will be the ones making decisions about protecting its future. Teaching children about recycling can be fun and rewarding, in every sense. Children should feel empowered to contribute to the world around them, and creating fun activities to help encourage them can be fun for both children and adults alike.
Here are our favourite activities that teach children about recycling that you can use to spark exploration about the environment with your little ones.
Before recycling packaging and other unnecessary items, try to repurpose them into a craft. Have your children make their own toys, forts or decorations. A cardboard box can be a robot, a car, a rocket ship – anything they put their minds to!
Some of our favourite recycled waste crafts are creating bird feeders and loo roll robots.
Instead of throwing away toys and clothes your children no longer use, how about getting them involved in the donation process? Ask them to help choose items they no longer use, separate them into different categories, and take a trip to a donation shop. This is great for demonstrating compassion as well!
Ask your children to help you in sorting your recycling at home. Getting them involved will make recycling part of their everyday life and show them that their families consider this an important part of their lives. You can create recycling baskets or boxes and teach them about the different types of recycling waste. Making it a fun game with rewards will help reinforce these positive habits.
Head out into your local area for an educational field trip. This could be to your local recycling centre to watch the recycling process, or to a park nearby where you can all help pick up left-over rubbish. Engaging as a family is so important in teaching good habits. Children emulate their parents and will engage in practices that they see their parents involved in.
Worms! Yes, please. Creating a compost system at home can help teach your children about food waste and recycling our resources. Children love getting into the garden and making a mess, so this will be a hit.
Ask your neighbours if they are already composting, as you can often get help starting your own with some gifted worms and soil.
Lead by example by ditching single-use waste were possible. For packed lunches, switch to reusable packaging and talk to your children about the move. Instead of using plastic water bottles, use a reusable drink bottle. When shopping, discuss your choices with your children, including using reusable shopping bags and buying in bulk to reduce waste.
There are many child-friendly movies available to watch that deal with the topic of environmental awareness and recycling. For example, Wall-E and The Lorax are great for delivering these messages in a fun and easily digestible manner.
Do these take some extra thought on your part? Yes. But they are fun and rewarding for the whole family.
Want to know more about how we teach children to be earth-conscious? Contact your local Heritage House centre or reach out to us online.