July-August 2009 Selected Content

When Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic Meet Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

How green are your lesson plans? In an age where green has nothing to do with pigments and the reflection of light and everything to do with growth, renewal and environment, is it any wonder that going green can be applied even to our teaching methods? If you're ready to color your daily homeschooling routine green, start with these recycling projects that keep learning fresh, tactile, and fun.

Listen to the sweet sounds of learning, as you turn old, unwanted CDs into reusable learning tools. Make this hands-on activity by leaving an old CD in its jewel case. Using a dry erase marker, turn the CD into a clock face. Remove the paper insert and replace it with a blank paper. This activity can be used two ways. On the paper, you can write a time in words or numbers, ie. 7 o'clock, or 7:00. Then have your child draw clock hands on the CD to represent that time. Or, you can draw the hands on the clock face and have the child identify the time in words on the paper. Either way, telling time has never been so much fun!

Make math facts stick like a magnet to the refrigerator.

Ever wish you could get your children to practice their math facts more? Rummage through your recycling bin for milk caps. Trace each cap onto cardboard. Then trim the cardboard to fit into the backside of the cap. This provides a nice flat surface to glue a magnet onto. Now use permanent markers to write a number or a mathematical symbol on each milk cap. Put all of the magnets up on the fridge and watch children create equations - just for the fun of it!

Bring new life to old worksheets.

Are you tired of printing out the same old worksheets day after day? Feel like you've used more than your share of the forest doing so? Save piles of paper by creating reusable worksheets. Slide any worksheet into a clear plastic page protector and you've given a one-time use lesson dozens of extra lives. The simple act of using a dry erase marker instead of a standard number two pencil has children interested. When the work is done, papers are corrected and scores earned recorded, just wipe the plastic clean and it's ready to reuse again and again.

Do away with workbooks when an activity will teach the same lesson. Visit a pond. Count the ducks, swans, turtles, etc. At home, make a bar graph charting the results. Even better: make the graph in the driveway with sidewalk chalk.

Encourage a love of words

Use this activity with beginning readers or those studying a foreign language. In the tradition of Magnetic Poetry, print out words from current lessons and cover each 8 x 12 sheet in clear contact paper. Then back with magnetic backing and cut the words apart. For Spanish I used pink paper, for German I used yellow. The children each knew which words were theirs, but they sometimes dabbled in the language that one of their siblings was studying as well.

End rolls are for endless fun

Stop by your local newspaper pressroom; end rolls are the rolls of paper that don't have enough left on them for another complete press run, but have plenty of paper for hours of creative fun. Often these rolls are free for the taking. We rolled out a height's worth of paper for each child, then had children lay on the paper while tracing their outline. Children drew in hair, a face, fingernails and toenails, but left the rest free. Each day we talked about the function of one body organ. Then we added it into the shadow body, consulting a medical book when necessary. Another time we collected seashells at the beach then rolled out an expanse of paper, spread out our findings, and while consulting a seashell identification book, children labeled each of their beachcombing finds. The novelty of big paper will have lots of big ideas hatching.

Math in 3D

Bring your math lessons off of the page and into 3D by raiding the recycling bin before hauling it to the curb. With an empty pint carton of half and half, a partially crushed quart carton from the holiday's egg nog, a half gallon jug from the morning's orange juice and the gallon milk container you're ready for a memorable math day. By lining these up along with a measuring cup next to the kitchen sink, students will see first hand that two cups is equal to a pint, two pints is equal to a quart and so on. With this one exercise you can accomplish what pages and pages in a math book struggle towards.

Milk Cap Madness

The only thing that accumulates faster than dust bunnies in our house is milk caps. Our purchasing follows the weekly sales and by buying different brands we end up with a colorful assortment. Choose one color and set them aside. These will be for scorekeeping. With a permanent marker have children put a letter on each of the other colored caps. You'll need quite a collection but once you've got it, spelling fun will reach all new heights. When children are complaining of fingers that are going to fall off from too much writing, this activity is just the thing. Pour out your collection of caps. While you recite each spelling words, children work to find the caps needed and spell the word out in front of them. For each correctly spelled word the child receives a special scorekeeping cap. Get creative with prizes as well. Each cap could equal a five-minute break during the school day or could be saved up towards a bigger prize like a subscription to a favorite magazine or book club.

The next time you long for the smell of a new workbook or the glint of shiny new manipulatives, turn your energies towards hands on learning projects to save money, save resources, and save the earth.

© 2009, Ruth Schiffmann