Rather than just pitch them in the recyclables, we’ve been trying to use them in a few recycled crafts for kids.

This Water Bottle Suncatcher is so simple to make and it looks beautiful hanging outside in the garden.

We love crafting with recyclables.   They offer so many possibilities, and you can’t beat the price when it comes to using recyclables for kids crafts.

When it comes to recycled water bottle crafts, this one has become one of our favorites to do each spring.

It makes a fun backyard camp craft idea!

If you are looking for a fun way for kids to carry their own water bottles this summer, check out this idea for a duct tape water bottle holder.

Water Bottle Suncatcher

Materials Needed:

• Water Bottles
• Permanent Markers
• Scissors
• String or Wire (to hang them)

To make your plastic bottle suncatcher, start with a clean, dry water bottle.

We decided to craft outside so permanent marker didn’t get on the kitchen table.  You may want to put a protective cloth down if you are crafting at a good table.

I gave the kids a selection of permanent markers and told them to color the entire bottle.  

The more you color the water bottle, the prettier your suncatcher will be.

Once the coloring is completed, carefully trim the bottom off the bottle.  (This step is best done by an adult.)

Next you will make a cut on the bottom edge and then start cutting around the bottle in a spiral.  Our spirals were about 1 inch thick.

Plastic Bottle Suncatcher

When you are finished, tie your hanger around the bottle’s neck and check out your creation!

The kids were fascinated by the rainbow shadows this recycled craft made on the ground.

Your water bottle suncatcher will look beautiful hanging outside. 

You may want to make several to hang from the trees or in the garden.

You may also like:

• Water Bottle Crafts for Kids
• How to Make a Beach-Themed Fairy House for the Garden 
• Recycled Parts Water Wall for Fun Outdoor Play
• Make a Colorful Water Bottle Fish
• DIY Calm Down Bottles
• Kids Crafts — Our complete collection of craft ideas

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Originally published July 5, 2014. 

The post Beautiful Recycled Water Bottle Suncatcher first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Kids love taking things apart, and mine are no exception.  Dead batteries? They go running for small screw drivers, excited at the possibility to unscrew the object to remove the batteries.  I knew they would love taking the old computer mouse apart!

That was just the beginning of taking apart electronics with kids.

The rest of the day was spent taking apart computer parts and other electronics in their new favorite upcycled STEM activity.  After all, not all STEM activities have to involve building something; you can learn a lot from taking things apart, too!

Affiliate links have been provided below. Click here for my full disclosure policy.

Taking apart computer parts and other electronics can be lots of fun, but you also want the kids to be safe, which is why I strongly suggest that parents supervise the activity closely.

You’ll also want to provide kids with safety glasses — you never know when small springs and other parts may go flying.   Also, consider removing all batteries ahead of time as well as power cords.

Upcycled STEM Activity: Taking Apart Electronics

Old, out-dated computer parts, like that old computer mouse, floppy disk drives and old CD-ROM readers are perfect for this activity.

If you don’t have any on hand, you probably know someone who would gladly give you these old parts.  You can also find parts at places like the Goodwill store.

Old televisions, microwaves, and cell phones should not be used for this as they contain a lot of glass components.

Broken electronic toys are also fun to take apart.

My daughter got a kids’ sewing machine as a gift, but it didn’t really work.  Instead of donating it somewhere and making another child frustrated by its inability to actually sew, she decided to take it apart.

She had fun dismantling it and learning what was inside, including a small motor.  Checking out all the tiny gears and seeing how they connected was truly fascinating.

Once they started this upcycled STEM activity they just couldn’t stop!

We found an old floppy disk drive and out-dated CD-ROM player to take apart next.

When taking apart electronics, having a variety of small screwdrivers is a must.

You may also want wire cutters, needle nose pliers and tweezers on hand to help with tiny parts, plus a tray or bowl to hold small parts.

Why should you let your kids take apart electronics?

First of all, it’s in their nature to learn about the world around them by exploring.  By letting children take apart old computer parts they are fulfilling that natural desire while learning about what makes those parts work.

They will find small springs, motors, and magnets to explore and learn about.

For older kids you can easily find information about how those pieces work together.  (Try typing in “what’s inside a ______”  or  “how does a ______ work” into your search engine.)

Another reason to encourage your child to take apart old electronics is that while they are removing all those tiny screws and components your child will be improving their manual dexterity, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.

And finally, you should let your child take electronics apart because it’s fun!

Seriously, you will find yourselves fascinated by the tiny components inside.

Those parts may even inspire new dramatic play ideas and upcycled crafts.   (We have a small box of components the kids are itching to build with in the future.)

Taking apart electronics with kids may just become your favorite STEM activity too.

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You’ll also enjoy these STEM activities:

• Purify Water with a Solar Still
• Make Yummy S’Mores with a DIY Solar Oven
• Design a Boat That Floats
• Create a Cardboard Tube Marble Run 
• Classic Egg Drop STEM Challenge

The post Your Kids Should Be Taking Apart Electronics! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

This year we are making simple homemade confetti poppers to set off when the clock strikes 12:00.

It’s just one of a few fun New Year’s STEM activities you could do this year as you celebrate New Year’s with kids. 

Homemade Confetti Poppers

Each DIY confetti popper was created with a balloon and empty plastic bottle.

Making the popper is very simple.  I cut the top portion off each bottle and then stretched the mouth of a balloon over the bottle’s mouth.

To protect little hands from the cut-edge of the bottle, I covered it with some tape.

Want to decorate it a bit?  Let the kids use permanent markers to decorate the bottle with colorful designs!

Then you just need confetti, which is a perfect opportunity for kids to work on cutting skills.

On New Year’s Day  put a handful of confetti into the popper.  Right before the clock strikes 12:00,  hold onto the balloon and bottle mouth,  pull back on the balloon….

…and let the confetti fly!

This is just one fun kid-friendly New Years activity.

You may also want to check out:

• New Year’s Fizzy Science
• Homemade Confetti Playdough
• 15 New Year’s Activities for Kids 
• New Year’s Drink for Kids by JDaniel4’s Mom

The post Homemade Confetti Poppers first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Pop!  Pop!  Pop!

Hear that?  That’s the sound of this month’s Project: Recycle & Create’s topic — bubble wrap!

There are so many ways you can get creative with bubble wrap!  We’ve used it in a Sight Word Game, painted with it, and this week the kids decided to make their own bubble wrap shoes!

I love when they come up with their own creative ideas with the materials on hand!

When my 6 year-old found the bubble wrap sheets in the kitchen, she immediately started to walk on them.  It didn’t take long for her to go from walking on the sheets to folding them around her feet…

Of course little brother had to do the same thing…. He was bouncing in no time!

It was a quick and easy bubble wrap sensory activity that provided plenty of giggles!

Have your kids gotten creative with bubble wrap?

***

Check out the other great ideas using bubble wrap from the co-hosts of Project: Recycle & Create!

• P is for Preschooler
• Powerful Mothering
• Afterschool for Smarty Pants
• Still Playing School
• Lemon Lime Adventures
• Creative World of Varya
• Mama Miss
• There’s Just One Mommy
• Little Bins for Little Hands
• Peakle Pie
• Sugar Aunts
• Teach Me Mommy
• Danya Banya
• ALLterNATIVElearning
• Widsom Knowledge Joy
• Preschoolers Day by Day
• Playtivities

The post Bubble Wrap Sensory Play and Link-Up first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Plastic lids.   Every milk carton, juice bottle, and food canister has them.  You could just toss them, but why not have some fun with them first?

This month Project Recycle and Create is focusing on plastic lid activities, including plastic lid crafts!

We have used our plastic lids to make lower-case letter manipulatives, like those we used in our Vehicle Letter Transport activity.   They’ve also been tossed into water to see if they float or sink and have even given a Lego person a ride or two.

This time around I thought we’d try crafting with them.

I thought they made a lovely flower center for this simple upcycled card — perfect for a teacher at the end of the school year or maybe even Mom on Mother’s Day!

To make the card, I cut strips from a couple colorful magazine pages.  Then I made a loop with each strip, gluing them into place in a circle.  (I chose to make a second layer with the magazine strips, but one layer with five “petals” was also cute!)

Then I glued my plastic bottle cap to the center and added the other details with markers.

I showed the card to the preschooler, thinking it would inspire him to glue the plastic lids to a drawing.  (I figured they’d become car wheels…)

Of course kids always have their own ideas!

The preschooler didn’t want to glue his plastic lids at all.  Instead he decided to use them to trace circles.

He was quite content to trace a multitude of circles of various sizes.

Looking for other ideas for those plastic lids and bottle caps?

Enjoy other great ideas on how to use plastic lids and bottle caps from these Project Recycle and Create co-hosts:

The post Plastic Lid Activities first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

For the letter “H” we focused on helicopters.  We chose to do a recycled craft when making our fun helicopter craft.

This helicopter craft was my son’s favorite activity for H is for Helicopter.

We have done a different vehicle for each letter of the alphabet.  You can find all of them on our vehicle crafts & activities page.

Helicopter Craft

Affiliate links have been provided below; see my full disclosure here.

Materials Needed:

• Small Plastic Drink Bottle (Water Bottle or Soda Pop Bottle)
• 2 Craft Sticks
• Pipe Cleaners
• Plastic Ball (a ball pit ball works great)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Scissors
• Hole Punch

To create your helicopter, hit the recyclables box and find a small plastic drink bottle.  This will forn the main body of the helicopter.

Cut the bottle in half, saving the half with the mouth piece.

Cut a 1/4 inch thick piece strip from the other half of the bottle.

To begin your helicopter, use a hole punch to make a hole in the plastic bottle top, about 1 1/2 inches from the mouth piece.

Tread a 3 inch piece of pipe cleaner through the hole, twisting it around the end you cut off.  Twist to secure it.

Use two other pieces of pipe cleaner  to form a cross.   Secure them to the piece of pipe cleaner that is threaded through the hole.  This will form the main propeller on top.

Use the hot glue gun to secure the 1/4″ wide strip of plastic bottle upside down to the bottom of the bottle half.

Hot glue the craft sticks to the edges of the plastic strip to form runners for your helicopter.

Twist 1/2 a pipe cleaner around the mouth piece of the bottle to form the rear propeller.

Stick the plastic ball into the bottle’s opening and your helicopter craft is finished!

You may also like:

• Plastic Bottle Rainbow Fish
• Duct Tape Water Bottle Holder
• 13 Transportation Activities from Kids Activities Blog
• Kids Crafts for All Ages 

The post Helicopter Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.