"Encourage your kids to wear gardening gloves if handling compost or wash their hands thoroughly once they have finished!"
Become a wormery wonder
Most children love creepy crawlies, so what better way to get them interested in nature than with something that they're fascinated by? A wormery is a great way to manage your kitchen waste and will provide a great insight into nature's wonders.- The wormery comes with special tiger worms who like fruit (not citrus), vegetable peelings, tea bags, egg boxes and cardboard and even vacuum cleaner fluff! Visit www.recyclenow.com/compost to see how you can buy a great value wormery in your area.
- The produce from your wormery is a high quality compost which you can use on your garden, patio, hanging baskets or pot plants. A wormery is also a great way to introduce kids to the natural world of decomposition and growth - even if you live in an urban area
- Worms are an essential part of the environment, mixing up and breaking down organic matter. As they burrow deep into the soil creating tiny tunnels, they leave behind worm casts (or waste) which contains nutrients that enrich the soil.
Kids' corner
- To keep the project interesting for kids, talk to them about the worms and their activity.
- Allow them to examine their worms discuss their appearance and colour- do they have a head and a tail and can you see them digesting their food?
- Ask questions about their wormery activity; can they spot any worm cocoons (worm eggs)? The little yellow egg shaped balls are really easy to identify and get darker the closer to hatching they get. They're a great way to show children the natural progression of worm reproduction.
- To find out more about what Elvis the Earthworm and his friends get up to in your compost bin go to www.recyclenow.com/compost.
Nature trail in your compost bin
Compost bins naturally attract a number of creatures which make the bin their home – and they help with the decomposition of your waste. Why not take a sample from your compost bin and ask your child to investigate which minibeasts are breaking down the waste? For example:- Tiger worms are stripy worms that like hotter temperatures than earth worms and eat lots of rotting waste.
- Slugs and snails eat waste mostly greens.
- Woodlice eat rotting wood.
- Springtail insects and centipedes will also be present in your compost.
You could even get them to draw a picture or make a collage showing the mini-beasts from the compost bin. If you don't have a compost bin, why not consider purchasing one from your local council?
Make your own musical instrument
Learn to make simple musical instruments by recycling some of your rubbish and explore the world of sound!
Gather together empty bottles, cereal boxes, yoghurt pots, plastic cartons, foil, elastic bands, dried rice and pasta, sand and some sticky tape. You can make shakers by sticking two yoghurt pots together and putting dried rice or pasta inside or by filling plastic bottles with sand. To make a guitar, stretch elastic bands over an empty tissue box or plastic pipe. You can decorate all your instruments using coloured paper and glitter and then its time to perform; why not think about making up a "rubbish rap"!
Go potty for plant pots
Even if you don't have a garden large enough to grow your own vegetables you can still produce some great organic products by planting seeds in pots. Why not brighten up the pots and get the kids' artistic talents flowing by painting the terracotta pots; you could theme them according to the time of year that their contents will flower or just by what is in the pots.Be a leaf collector
Teach your children to identify local trees and plants by collecting and drawing leaves. This will introduce them to a visual form of recording and help them maintain confidence and interest in drawing as a means of communication.To find out about the huge variety of composting bins and wormeries available and for top tips on how to get started, visit www.recyclenow.com/compost.
