Practical Life Skills – Recycling for Kids

Montessori education emphasizes the concept of "following the child" in their interests and pursuits in life. Little Bee has made it very clear, from a young age, that he is conscientious about caring for our environment. He adores all things that relate to picking up trash, taking the trash to the curb for the garbage truck, and recycling. He personally makes it his job every morning to go throughout the house and collect the trash for the big trash can outside. At three years old, he knows exactly what items are for the trash and what is for recycling. He knows what day the trash truck arrives and he makes it his duty to put ALL the trash cans/recycling cans out on the curb... all by himself. It's seriously his favorite thing to do! Let me share with you 6 activities that encourage - recycling for kids.

Start at a Young Age - Be a Good Example to Your Children

On our walks around the block each day, Little Bee (2 years old) eagerly looks for trash and picks it up. He willingly carries the trash in his little hands until he finds a trash can to dispose of it. Where did he learn this cleaning up technique? He learned it by example. The adults in his life are conscientious of keeping a tidy and clean environment. This mindset made an impact on Little Bee. The pieces of trash laying around on the ground really bothered him and he felt compelled to pick it up (without any promptings from me). I hope my child will continue to model this behavior as he matures because it makes me sad to see teenagers and adults blantantly throwing their trash on the ground, with no respect for our beautiful earth. God bless those who make a difference and who care enough to clean up.

Play a Game - What is trash? What is Recycling?

I prepared a tray of small items for Little Bee to sort, that contained items for trash or for recycling. As Little Bee sorted the items, we looked for the recycling symbol on each item. I also explained to him that some items do not have a recycling symbol, but because it is plastic or paper for example - it can still be placed in the recycling can. Little Bee has a mini recycling and trash can to practice putting these various items into. This helped make the learning activity more fun for him. He loves playing with his mini trash cans.

Organizing Recycling Items

I purchased this recycling printable from the Montessori Print Shop to help Little Bee understand the various ways that we can recycle items. I loved this printable because it showed bright clear pictures of the recycling items that can be sorted into 7 categories. I taped the main category heading to the top of a plastic cup and then I gave Little Bee 6-8 recycling item cards to place in each cup. 

Encourage the Helpers

Little Bee's favorite chore is to help take out the recycling. He gathers the recycling paper bag full of items from the kitchen and carries it out to the big recycling can in the garage. I love that Little Bee is enthusiastic about helping with the trash and recycling. To encourage him, I tell him how much I appreciate him being a helper. I point out the specific ways that he is helping. For example, I tell him I appreciate how carefully he carries the recycling items so that they do not drop or break. He is very proud that he can carry glass items to the big can in the garage. He says, "I'm a big boy. I can carry glass carefully."

Maximum Effort

The recycling can is huge and Little Bee prides himself that he can maneuver the can to the curbside. He is in a stage of "maximum effort" and enjoys showing us how strong he is. My advice is to let your child manage these large tasks and not offer to help unless they ask. It takes more time to patiently wait for my little boy to roll all the recycling and trash cans to the curb, but in the long run he feels that he has accomplished a big task... all by himself. Just look at his smile in the photos below. 

Learning and Playing

Because Little Bee has such a love for trash, recycling, and garbage trucks - we decided to buy him a Bruder garbage truck for his birthday. It is manually operated with a lever on the side for lifting up tiny trashcans and depositing small items into the hopper. Then there is a crank that can be turned to compress the "garbage" into the back of the truck. Little Bee plays with this truck everyday.

Sorting Items at the Recycling Center

After Little Bee loads his garbage truck with "trash" (pompoms, beads, buttons, and jewels), he drives it to the recycling center and dumps his load. Then he sorts all the similar items into various piles, just like the workers do at the recycling center.

This is Little Bee's favorite garbage truck video. Blippi (the funny guy that narrates the video) takes you on a tour of a recycling center. One day when Little Bee is older, we will visit a "real" recycling center, but for now... this video is a fun alternative!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xTyKc6LGdY

12 Months of Montessori Series

June: Practical Life

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Favorite Montessori Practical Life Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers | Living Montessori Now

Practical Life Skills - Recycling for Kids | Mama’s Happy Hive

Montessori Practical Life Checklist | Sugar, Glitter & Spice

Montessori-inspired Shark Themed Practical Life Activities | Every Star is Different

Practical Life for an Older Child | Grace and Green Pastures

10 Ways to Encourage Family Chores this Summer | Christian Montessori Network

Practical Life at 2-Years-Old | The Kavanaugh Report