We're growing up green
- Learning Resources Posted On Jul 25, 2014 | Learn
Here at Learning Resources we do our best to reuse and recycle, we know it’s important to take care of the world around us and keep it clean for the generations of little learners that are inheriting it from us!
We are proud distributors of over 20 Green Toysâ„¢ products, the 100% recycled alternative to traditional plastic toys! Let me tell you what makes Green Toys great:
- All products are made from 100% recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials.
- Even the packaging is fully recyclable and easy to open (with no twist ties!)
- All Green Toys products contain no traceable amount of Phthalates, BPA or PVC.
- No external coatings or paints are used on the products.
- All Green Toys vehicles have no metal axles, so the toys can be recycled too!
- Green Toys kitchen sets are all dishwasher safe!
The Green Toysâ„¢ Tugboat is good for the earth and for the youngsters who play there! It’s a very popular product, and many parents have told me that they use it to wash their children’s hair in the bath! The tugboat is suitable for play from just 6 months. We’re not the only people who think the Green Toysâ„¢ Tugboat is great, it was voted as one of the best eco toys by The Independent!
My personal favourite is the Green Toysâ„¢ Tractor! Living in the rural county of Norfolk, we see a lot of tractors out and about, and this little recyclable one is great! With its chunky tyres and detachable trailer little farmers can really let their imaginations grow!
Recycling can be linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage, including Understanding of the World, Expressive Art and Design and Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy. There are many activities that can be done at home and in the classroom to get little minds inspired by recycling and the environment. Here are some ideas that Jo, our ‘Educational Expert’ used during her time in the classroom:
- Go for an 'environment’ walk around your school or local area. Talk about the importance of recycling and putting rubbish in a bin on the animals in our environment.
- If you are lucky enough to have an allotment/ vegetable patch at your school you could begin composting left over fruit skins and cores from snack time whilst teaching children the benefits of doing so. You could also set up a recycling station within the classroom for other items such as paper and plastics. You could have weekly 'recycling monitors’ as children love taking ownership and feeling like they are doing an important job.
For smaller spaces, our Now You See It, Now You Don’t See-Through Compost Container is a great visual composting resource!
- Have some fun and create recycled junk models. Use unwanted cartons, paper, boxes, clothes etc to make all kinds of crazy models!
- Make a recycling collage! Let their imaginations run wild about the picture they are going to create or link it to your current topic!
- Michael Recycle & Litterbug Doug books. Read the books, discuss and then children could make a poster all about recycling and looking after our world.
- For some 3D shape development, encourage the children to sort the recycling into different 3D shapes! This allows for real-life problem solving.
- Recycling treasure hunt! Hide lots of things around the classroom/ playground that could be recycled. Provide the children with recycling containers labelled plastic, cardboard, paper and fabric then let them hunt and sort!
- Musical recycling! Have hoops around the room containing objects that need to be recycled plus the 4 recycling containers ( plastic, cardboard, paper and fabric). When the music stops children have to grab an item to be recycled, correctly place it in the correct recycling container and be the first to sit down!
Parents, do you recycle? Let me know what recycling you and your family do at home. For more information on recycling, visit the Recycle Now website; recyclenow.com.
Until next time…
Laura
