Reduce Reuse Recycle

How can we incorporate recycling into our classrooms. Douglas County, Oregon’s Waste Reduction website has many easy ways to contribute in recycling to keep our area beautiful, clean and green. They have links on their website to cover any questions you may have, among the many links they offer, one that is relevant to our field is “Education.” They even give simple ways to compost for your garden at home, or at your school.

Recycling in the classroom They offer programs where they will visit your school, available in all grade levels, that give information about recycling, what it does for the environment and the consequences of not recycling. There are simple ideas on how to reduce waste in your homes, reuse and recycle. This can be a resource for the basis of a community curriculum that can be integrated into science, art and many other parts of your curriculum.

Getting the Families involved Tell the families that you have been talking about recycling and reusing throughout the springtime season and that you have a special week where the theme is dedicated to this subject. ask them to start saving different items such as milk jugs, baby food jars, egg cartons, packing peanuts, etc. and bring them in for art projects. Tell them about the Douglas County Earth Day Fair.

The Earth Day Fair Earth Day and Energy Fair, which this year is on April 23, 2011 There is contact info on the events portion of the Oregon’s waste and reduction website where you can have a flyer sent to you with the info about the fair that you can hand out to families. It is free admission and their is a chance to win a brand new adult or children's bicycle.

More Fair Fun There are booths set up where the children learn how to make paper. You will learn about different animals indigenous to our area You can win prizes. A free douglas fir sapling is offered that they can take home and plant as a family. There is a story time booth where the children can sit around and listen to a story.

Is it necessary to learn about recycling while you are so young? This subject lends itself to learning about nature, which we already incorporate into our curriculum. We are aware that it is the prime time in a child's life to learn about nature and their surroundings. It will give them a better idea of where our food comes from and how it grows. They will gain knowledge about science, an appreciation for beauty, and respect for the animals.

More on why it is important. It is important to educate our little ones on this subject because some parents did not come from a time when this was an issue facing the earth and us who inhabit it. Our little ones will grow up in a time period where it will be the norm to have an awareness of energy efficiency and waste reduction. What a gift we will be giving them by modeling that awareness as early as possible on their path of life and the knowledge to make it successful and happy.