Since I live in a far-away place, my daughters are in the middle of their school year (luckily, they are both too young to really care that their friends in the US are frolicking in the pool and doing arts & crafts at camp…their days aren’t much different!)  Right now, my Pre-K daughter is learning about recycling.  This is very interesting, considering there is no country-wide recycling program to date here…only private, expensive services.  I won’t complain, however.  Learning about recycling can be fun and motivating for kids to help out…

The book my daughter’s class is using to explain recycling is Where Does the Garbage Go? by Paul Showers.  The book outlines what people used to do with their trash, ie, bringing it to the ‘dump’ or incinerating it, then explains the recycling process and how recycling happens in school or at home.  It has great illustrations of a landfill, how trash (doesn’t) break down into the earth, and gives tips on what kids can do to help.  The most amazing tidbit about the book is it was originally published in 1974!  The author actually had to revise it 20 years later to integrate recycling!

                                                                                                                                          I’m also loving Ecoart!: Earth-Friendly Art and Craft Experiences for 3-To 9-Year-Olds by Laurie Carlson.  This book has a broad age-range of crafts, which is great for families with children of different ages in the house.  Materials include natural items such as twigs and pebbles, and moves on to recycled products like plastic bottles.  A great starter book for crafting with your kids…