Hello my friends of the Omschool! April is Earth Month with April 22 being Earth Day. The purpose of Earth Month is to bring our focus to conservation and preservation of our earth's natural resources. When Teacher Omi was young we called this Arbor Day (aka Tree Day) and a common activity was to plant a tree. Earth Day has been expanded to include the many areas in which we can practice earth-healthy activities like conservation (also called ecology).
Teachers and homeschool parents, there are so many great environmental lesson plans you can use to celebrate Earth Month. My favorite Earth Day activities include practicing ways to reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle the many items we use in our everyday lives. We teachers have a special responsibility to teach earth-friendly habits in how we ourselves repurpose found materials, reduce waste and consumption of resources, reuse items on unique ways and recycle every possible scrap. Because while we focus on these disciplines particularly in Earth Month, we need to be demonstrating them all year long.
Probably the most effective recycling lesson plan is to used recycled trash as classroom materials. I like to use a visual such as a trash bag filled with reused items, to show students how much landfill waste we saved. You can make it a game or personal challenge to students to see how many ways they can repurpose, reuse, reduce and recycle. Assign them to list in science journals how many conservation activities they completed each day.
And when it comes to materials for craft projects and lesson plans, your recycle bin is your best friends. I've got loads of ideas to share on how to reuse various recycled items but today I'll focus on the ubiquitous egg cartons. Here are some ways that teachers and students can repurpose recycled egg cartons as science experiments, science games and science crafts. This will save money and reduce pollution.
Attribute sorting science activities and games
Sensory exploration is the core of science and a key component of preschool and Montessori education. Students can
practice sensory exploration in hands-on science games. To play, pass out clean,
recycled egg cartons--paper, plastic or Styrofoam-- with each section labeled with words or pictures of
attributes. Attributes listed will depend on materials being sorted and science
subjects being studied. Items may be sorted by color, shape, size,
living/non-living, wood/metal/plastic, etc. You can play this as a scavenger
hunt in which students search for objects--preferably recycled-- to fit each attribute category.
Labeling and sorting materials into recycled egg cartons builds science
vocabulary, adjective usage and description.
Sensory Exploration sorting science games for preschool lesson plans
*Taste: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, fruity, tart
Sort edible and non-edible by:
*Smell: spicy, bitter, sour, soapy, flowery, fruity, moldy, metallic, woodsy, earthy
*Touch: furry, fuzzy, smooth, cool, warm, hard, rough, scratchy, bumpy, squishy, sticky
*Sound: squeak, ring, buzz, beep, pop, clang, snap, crackle, scrape, scratch
Ecology experiments using recycled egg cartons.
Paper
or Plastic? Use cardboard and Styrofoam recycled egg cartons to demonstrate
what happens to both in a landfill. Place a piece from each carton in water and
soil put them in the window. Note any changes to each over time. Use this to
explore biodegradable materials and renewable resources for Earth Month.
Discuss how pollution is an environmental hazard and harms plants and animals.
Geology science experiments for Earth Month:
Use recycled egg cartons to classify and identify rocks and minerals. Here are free printable rocks and minerals identification charts to download and use. Here's are more free printable rocks and minerals guides with beautiful color illustrations. Students should label the sections of recycled
egg cartons and sort by:
hardness
on the MOHs hardness scale (use this free printable MOHs scale)
rock type (metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous)
mineral composition (calcite, silicate, carbonate, etc.)
uses (building, abrasion, decoration, chemistry, etc.)
Eco-Friendly Printing Tip
Since you’re already repurposing egg cartons, here’s a quick tip to keep the rest of your science lesson just as sustainable:
Pro Tip: To save paper and reduce waste, print your worksheets and charts on the blank side of used paper. To save on ink, print in grayscale (black and white) unless the images are essential, and select the lowest saturation or "draft" setting on your printer.
Biology science games.
Label the sections of recycled egg carton science crafts with taxonomy classifications from the kingdoms (plantae, animalia, etc). Use these free printable animal taxony charts. Students might sort by subcategories
KPCOFGS (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species).
Students might cut out pictures or make tiny cards with names of
members of various groups. Then they can sort pictures or words into categories. They
can test each other in partners or in groups. Label the bottom of the egg
carton with answers for self-checking. This can be adapted to any age or grade
depending upon what you are studying.
Quick Tip: Mastering the Taxonomy Hierarchy
Memorizing KPCOFGS (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) can be tricky for students. Use this classic mnemonic to help them remember the order from largest group to smallest:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Systems
science crafts. Most all science experiments are based on a system or cycle.
Use recycled egg carton science crafts to make 3D flow charts or graphic
organizers Places objects in each section to represent parts of the cycle and
draw arrows to show how they interact. Demonstrate electrical current, the
water cycle. food chains, human body systems, habitats, plant development and
insect metamorphosis.
Science
Timelines. Use recycled egg cartons to demonstrate how things change and
develop (or regress) over time. Make timelines of science inventions,
transportation, etc. Use this with any area of science that you teach.
Students find science experiments boring when they engage in same-old activities. These homemade science crafts and science experiments will challenge and intrigue students while also providing opportunities to practice vital conservation and ecology skills. The simple act of recycling works to improve all aspects of conservation: deforestation, global warming (climate change) from greenhouse gasses, over-consumption. We even practice wildlife preservation every time we reuse, repurpose or recycle instead of discard! And that improves all our lives.
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