The Green Classroom

20 Easy and Free Classroom Activities for Earth Day

2013-04-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hey, All!

I've been finding a lot of amazing resources for celebrating Earth Day in the classroom, so I wanted to share. I know we are all so busy trying to cram in lessons for testing and to meet the standards, but if you have any time at all, I encourage your to do something meaningful with your students to celebrate Earth Day.

Here are some super fantastic FREE resources to make it even easier for you (P.S. Try to use recycled paper and materials whenever possible!):

Adorable FREE Writing Templates by The Science Penguin

Freebie Earth Day Poems by Lisa Lilienthal

Pretty Recycling Art Project by Runde's Room

Nice Math Game by Fantastic First Grade Froggies

Nice Writing Freebie for the Little Ones by Miss Kindergarten

Mr. Eco Music Videos! You have to check these out. Great brain breaks leading up to Earth Day.

FREE Planet Word Challenge by Laura Candler

FREE Owl-Themed Recycling Poster by Lucky Girl

Protect The Earth Mini Book FREEBIE by Education to the Core

FREE File Folder Game by File Folder Fun

FREE Earth Day Bingo by Jason's Online Classroom

Recycling Posters in English & Spanish by FlapJack (me!)

Adorable Earth Day Craftivity and Word Search by Fun 2 B in First

Sorting Activity Freebie by All Students Can Shine (scroll down a bit)

Lorax Earth Day Sampler Freebie by Primary Junction (scroll to the bottom)

FREE Online Recycling Book and Activity at The Classroom Magic Blog

FREE Printable by Fun in K1

Earth Day ABC Order Freebie by Ideas by Jivey

Awesome Earth Day Craftivity Freebie by The Lesson Plan Diva

Really Cool Earth Day Task Cards for the Upper Grades by Study All Knight

Found some more!!

Math Freebie from Primary Inspiration (scroll to the bottom)

Super Awesome Power Point explaining the history of Earth Day by Science Stuff

Place Value Freebie by Teacher Idea Factory

Cute activities for K-2nd by First Grade Fun

Really adorable game board by See Jane Teach

FREE Worksheet and Bookmarks by Teaching Heart

Earth Day Smart Board Attendance by Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

"Earth Day Digits" FREE task cards for math centers on Earth Day by Classroom Game Nook.

Really neat and free video activity for Earth Day by Heidi Raki

Make it count this Earth Day! April 22nd! Don't Forget!

Bowling Math

2013-01-18T15:57:00.001-08:00

Hey, Green Friends! I apologize for being absent for so long at this blog, but I'm here now at least, and I hope you all have been well!

I've seen this green math-tastic idea for awhile now, and wanted to try my hand at it. Students knock down pins that contain some sort of math objective... pins can have numbers they need to add or subtract, math fact problems, or students can try to create a certain number using the numbers on the pins they knock down. We're practicing estimation and rounding, so I customized this game for that purpose.

What I Did:

I drink those DanActiv yogurts in the morning, although I know I've got to stop with all the useless plastic they create. But for now, I've at least transformed them into a fun learning game for my students.

After I washed the bottles and took of their wrappers, I created some labels using Avery.com and labels 5410.

I found the bowling ball at Goodwill, and the find made me so excited, I had to do a happy dance right there in the toy section which I immediately regretted. :P

How to Play:

1) Students take turns trying to knock down the pins.
2) After their roll, they pick up two of the bottles that fell down. They round and add them. Their partner(s) use a calculator to check.
3) If they're correct and made a strike, they earn two points. If they're correct and didn't make a strike, they earn one point. And if they're incorrect, they earn no points.
4) Continue play until center or group time is up. The winner with most points wins.

My students used dry-erase boards for their work, but I've created a recording sheet, also, that you can use for whatever skill your students are practicing with this game. Just click the image for your copy.

Thanks for stopping by, green teachers!

Happy Toilet Tube Turkey Day!

2012-11-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well, today was America Recycles Day, and since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, my students and I decided to combine the two with some thankful toilet tube turkeys! It was a lot of fun, and they did a great job of writing what they were thankful for on each feather (in Spanish - we're an immersion program).

Green Classroom Giveaway!

2012-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey, green friends! Since this Thursday is America Recycles Day (November 15th), and The Green Classroom has reached 200 followers, I think it's definitely time for a giveaway!

GRAND PRIZE

One special green teacher will win the following four items:

1) The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle Book
2) Two Bumkins Reusable Snack Bags for your school lunches
3) A Reusable ChicoBag for all your shopping needs (I have this and it's awesome! Can hold up to 40 lbs.!)
4) Paper Recycling Kit - fun activity that involves recycling

RUNNER-UP PRIZES

Five winners will win a Strawberry Reusable Bag. They are probably "made in China," but I always have one in my purse and it's holding up great!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Just enter the Rafflecopter below. You need to 1) share about America Recycles Day and 2) list one way you are going to promote this day in your classroom this week.

The rest is just optional but it will add more points. The contest ends at 12:01 am (est) on November 15th - America Recycles Day!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recycled Animals Project

2012-10-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

Hey, Green Teachers!

This week my students and I had fun completing an animal guessing game project that incorporated recycling and technology.

First, students chose a mystery animal and created it out of recycled materials at home. They brought it to school, hidden in a box or bag.

At school, we created power points that contained clues about their animals (habitat, food, class, characteristics, etc.). Then, we made QR codes that opened the PP when scanned.

We finally had a reveal day. Beforehand, students scanned the Qr codes and recorded their guess of what animal the clues were describing. Then, one at a time, students revealed their animals and checked the guesses on their recording sheets.

It was a lot of fun, and I loved the creativity my students showed.

Recycling is a HOOT

2012-09-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

So, I'm sure you've noticed, but owls are EVERYWHERE. So I thought, why not make a compilation of lots of cool ways that you can recycle while making those cute little birds that everyone seems to love right now. So, here goes:

It's fall now, so what could be better than toilet tube owls? These are by Apartment Therapy.

How about some egg carton owls by My Owl Barn?

Go to Teachers Notebook for a free owl-themed recycling poster by Lucky Girl.

This paper bag owl pinata is just waiting for a fiesta! Tutorial is by Inspired Mama Musings.

Adorable owl-themed desk organizer by Fave Crafts

Love these TP Christmas Owls by Con M de Mujer.

This just blows me away. I want to try it right now! By Recycle Renew Reuse Mother Earth Projects.

These TP owls by Fun Family Crafts are so wonky and cute!

Go to Find Make Do to see many delightful created by Robyn Stewardson out of kitchen metal scraps.

And here's an owl door sign I made out of various recycled materials that is posted right here at The Green Classroom.

Don't forget - Recycling is a Hoot!

Classroom Recycling Bins Giveaway!

2012-09-02T08:56:00.001-07:00

Hey, guys! A classroom recycling center has been such a great experience in my classroom that I wanted to pass that on to another green teacher who really wants to educate his/her students in recycling and making the most of everything we have.

Sooo, if you head on down to the FlapJack blog, you will see that I am giving away one of these 3-bin sets to be used in the classroom as a recycling center. It's really easy to enter, and if you'd like more info. on the bins, just click on the image below.

As you can see, this system has awesome reviews. The winner will have it mailed right to his or her doorstep! And I already have two freebie posters on recycling that you can use to decorate, so the setup will be too easy!

Here's my recycling center. You can click on the image if you'd like to read more about what we recycle, although I think this year we are going to be able to recycle even more - yay!

So, don't forget to enter! It ends Saturday night (the 8th).

Stay Calm and Recycle On!

Upcycled Bulletin Board - Green Theme Day 7

2012-09-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

My partner teacher gave me a bulletin board passed on to her from a teacher who left, and it was just what I needed. However, it was a little Raggedy Andy, so I googled on some ways to redecorate bulletin boards and decided to decorate mine pretty much redneck style.

What I Did:

1) Put masking tape around the inside edges (don't know why because I ended up covering it with fabric)
2) Primed the outside frame
3) Painted it by brush with acrylic paint
4) Sealed it with enamel spray
5) Used some left over fabric. I thankfully had two edges that were pretty straight, so I stapled those edges under the top edge and left-handed side edge.
6) I pulled the rest of the material taut to the other two edges and stapled like crazy.
7) I think you should use a rotary cutter and all that stuff, but I just used a razor to cut the remaining edges, and it worked pretty well!
8) I found some old red ribbon that was long enough to hot glue to three of the edges ad cover the staples. That was good enough for me!
9) Printed out some Avery labels with a cute design and added them to some green caps.
10) I hot-glued different sizes of green caps all around the border.
11) For a cute touch, I glued push pins inside of several green caps. We'll see how long they last!

At Goodwill, I found a beige, pretty ugly wall basket. I primed and painted it, and I think it made a nice addition to the board.

I also had a double frame that I actually had painted and polka-dotted two years back. I added some decorations that tied in with my theme and will probably use it to display exceptional student work.

As always, stay GREEN my friends!

Classroom Recycling Center - Green Theme Day 6

2012-08-31T00:00:00.000-07:00

Whether it's a standard or not, educating children about the why and how-to of recycling is SOOOO important... in my small, little, humble opinion.

You don't have to waste your money on recycling bins like I did. Just use copying paper bins and make it a class project to decorate them.

Some items to consider recycling in your classroom:

1) Glue sticks (I know Walmart will take them, but you may know of a place that will take them and pay you for them.)
2) Water bottles (Although I encourage kids to bring reusable ones, if they don't, they can feel good about recycling. We applauded two students the other day who recycled their water bottles.)
3) Crayons! Yes, I had no idea until my school's awesome Green Team leader Jennifer Hood (who will soon be posting here with me, yay!) shared this Crazy Crayon website with me that will take in mailed-in bits of crayons.
4) Paper. Check into your county's recycling center to see what kind of paper they will take. In my classroom, if a white sheet of paper has been used on both sides, they will put it in the large green bin you see in the picture. If it's only been used on one side, I have a tray where they will place it, so we can later use it to make books, write letters in Spanish, etc.
5) Obviously aluminum cans although I don't think we have too much of that in schools now.
6) I have recently come across the site TerraCycle that looks pretty amazing and allows you to recycle items such as chip bags, sharpies, pens, etc. I definitely want to check more into this.

Anything else? Please let me know what I'm missing! A lot depends on your county.

If you'd like the two little circle posters above the recycling bin in Spanish or English, click on the image below.

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

Recycled Free Time Display - Green Theme Day 5

2012-08-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

During summer cleaning, I came across this awesome business card holder/display that my husband was about to throw out. He really didn't want me to keep it because he didn't think I would do anything with it, but looky-here, I turned it into one of those fun, popsicle-stick free time displays!

I HATE wasting time, probably to a fault. I know all of us teachers are that way, and it's so hard to see students who are content to just sit and do nothing when they finish an assignment. Uuuugh! Do they not realize that when the blink their eyes they will be almost thirty-one!! Obviously not.

So anyways, I created a little phrase poster in Spanish. It basically says - "Take advantage of every moment of your life...That moment you just saw pass is not going to return." ¡La verdad que sí!

The wonky flower I made out of a plastic bottle and molded with a heat gun. I added Avery labels with task ideas to the sticks and brushed with Mod Podge.

To get the poster in two different designs in English or Spanish, click the image below.

Here's to making the most of every moment in our classroom!!

Upcycled Candle Holder for Grouping - Green Theme Day 3

2012-08-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

I wish I had taken a before picture to show you the fun transformation that this candle holder went through! This is probably my favorite piece of "greenery" in my classroom.

I found it at Goodwill and it occurred to me that with magnets, some kind of classroom cool could be created out of this.

What I Did:
1) Washed it
2) Primed it
3) Airbrushed it green (took a million coats!)
4) Created circles on the computer (with the right measurements), and printed them out on whole sheet sticker paper
5) Cut out circles and attached them and added Mod Podge and some enamel spray
6) Bought circle magnets and attached Avery circle labels #5408. They were a little big, so I had to press the overage around the sides of the magnet.
7) Mod Podged and enamel-sprayed the magnets
8) Made circle labels 1-12 using Avery labels #5410, maybe??
9) Attached the stickers to green bottle caps.
10) Cut squares out of adhesive magnet strips and hot-glued them to the bottoms of the green lids

How It Works:
* I have two classes - Homeroom Greenleaf and Homeroom Carro. Each child is labeled by the first letter of their homeroom teacher's name (C or G), and they also have a number. In the circles, you can see I split each circle in half and color-coded the two groups of students to remove confusion.

* I placed 10 hanging numbers around the classroom to mark the spots of ten different centers

(Just a side note, the twirled plastic cables I actually made out of thin soda bottle strips that are curled with a heating gun. It is therapy making those!)
* Every day, if students finish their work early, they will go to a specific center. They will use the candle holder grouper to know where to go.
* The center they go to will change every day. This is easily done by the magnetized green bottle caps above. I already have a student who rotates the numbers at the end of the day for me.

So we shall see! We've tried it once so far. My centers are SmartBoard, iPad, computer, Qr code worksheets, and various math games. Students are given specific activities to do on the SmartBoard, iPad, and computer that correspond with what we're learning at the moment.

So, always think twice before you throw away or donate something. It could be a really unique learning tool in your classroom. And who knows what you might find at your local thrift store. Just carry your hand sanitizer and an open mind, and you'll probably find something too cool for school!

If Al Gore an Charlie Sheen spoke at the same time, it would probably sound like this - GREENING! :P

Bottle Cap Word Wall Labels - Green Theme Day 3

2012-08-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

My husband and I drink a ton of Tropicana and they each come with such neat, little orange caps. So, I took these along with other caps and lids to create labels for my Word Wall.

I'm sure there's a much better way to do this, but what I did was: 1) cut popsicle sticks to match the size of the diameter of each cap, 2) hot-glue each end of the stick to the rim of the cap, and 3) hot-glue circle magnets to the center of each stick.

I tried those adhesive magnetic strips and that was an epic fail, so I resorted to the more costly circle magnets (Hobby Lobby has a very strong brand of magnets that are 6.99 for 50 and they always have a 40% off coupon). Walmart also sells some for $6 that are a little weaker, but I think would still do the job. Amazon also carries some for about the same price as Hobby Lobby, I believe.

I made the letter circles on the computer and printed them out on full sheet sticker paper. I did not use Avery, so I had to hand cut each circle. Then, I added a coating of Mod Podge, so hopefully they'll last for more than this year.

If you'd like the alphabet stickers, you can download them for free here at TpT.

Bottle caps and lids are AWESOME!! Use them everywhere you can - as counters, bingo markers, manipulatives, etc.

I also used them for our lunch count.

The students have been creatively placing their bottle caps around their lid choice in a circular fashion like flowers. So cute!

And here's my partner teacher's owl lunch display for some extra adorableness!

I also used bottle caps on my magnetic objectives board.

I'm just making sure, but have you heard about my free bottle cap math games? If not, just click one of the links below and start saving your caps!

Math Facts Bottle Cap Game

In my math facts bottle cap game, students will time each other and write their times here. Did you notice? More bottlecaps!

QR Code Bottle Cap Games

Cupcake Number Word Lids (English, Spanish, & French)

Keep it GREEN my friends!

Recycled Cookie Sheet for Groups - Green Theme Day 2

2012-08-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

So here it is, my upcycled cookie sheet. :) I had seen how you could use cookie sheets in the classroom on Pinterest since they're great with magnets, so I was super happy when I got my hands on an old one at Goodwill the other day.

What I Did:
1) Washed it of course
2) Primed it white
3) Added masking taped strips evenly
4) Painted the lines without tape with acrylic green and let dry
5) Removed the tape and airbrushed the rest a light mint green color
6) Designed four large circles on the computer using JW Illustrations HippieChic Papers (I made sure to take measurements. My circles are split through the middle because I teach two classes - my homeroom (Carro) and my partner teacher's homeroom (Greenleaf). Hence all the Cs and Gs.
7) I also created numbers 1 through 4 for my four different science groups. I pasted them onto the board and then added Mod Podge - BIG MISTAKE! I still keep trying to use Mod Podge on copying paper. It always wrinkles it. I need to remember to use card stock.
8) Made Avery labels for each student's number and stuck them to thin water bottle caps.
9) Attached magnets to the opposite sides and now I've got changeable grouping!

I do science groups, so I'll be using this for that. I attached the cookie sheet to one of my metal doors using strong circle magnets.

Stay tuned. More green theme stuff to come!

Recycled Door Signs - Green Theme Day 1

2012-08-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been so preoccupied with getting my classroom ready, that I have totally abandoned my blogs (my apologies!). But I do want to share some things I have done, so this week, I am going to try my best to share one post every day about how I have tried to be more green in my classroom.

Today's post is all about door signs! There are so many items out there than can be reused without having to give Hobby Lobby a third of your paycheck!

This one I made for my partner teacher. She is so awesome and such a help that I have to do what I can to make up the difference. Here's what I used: a dish from Goodwill (primed and painted), bottle caps (painted white), plastic packaging, bubble wrap foam packaging, used buttons, straws (the eyebrows), twisted soda bottle strips (molded with a heat gun), and soda bottle leaves (cut out and heat gun molded).

I also made her a large sign for the outside wall of our portable. First, I painted corrugated plastic (not recycled), printed out and laminated her name, attached and covered everything with outdoor Mod Podge. Then, for the recycling, the flowers are all an assortment of different soda bottle ends, cut and molded with a heat gun. I used bottle caps and buttons as centers. I used a combination of acrylic paint that was painted by hand and also airbrushed. The small flowers are actually bottle caps I cut open with heavy duty scissors. Everything was coated several times with a clear enamel spray. So far, so good!

Here's mine.

And here's my door sign. It contains used buttons, bottle caps, soda bottle, and a used dish from Goodwill that was primed and painted.

Here's a sign I made for my mom as she enters the classroom again after surviving cancer. Includes: soda bottles, candy wrapper, a pan from Goodwill, and hole punched circles from some old business cards.

So, here's a look at the outside of my green-themed classroom. Hope you'll stay tuned to see the inside this week!

Keep it green!

Giveaway Winners and Ripley's Believe It Or Not Recycling

2012-07-29T20:59:00.002-07:00

Hey, friends! I just got back from Myrtle Beach in time to randomly pick the three winners of the "Keep Calm and Teach On" giveaway. The three winners are:

#6 - Susan Warren

#40 - Erin Franklin

#19 - Malinda Gorham

Congrats! And thanks to all the wonderful, earth-friendly tips you all gave for making a green difference in the classroom. I hope to compile them all in a small ebook perhaps.

So, at Myrtle Beach you can find Ripley's Believe or Nor museum. It was my second time going, and I always enjoy it. I guess the people highlighted there make me feel a little normal!

There were many awesome pieces of art that involved recycling. It didn't occur to me to take pictures until the end, but here's what I got.

Made completely out of seashells

Made out of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons

I think this has a bunch of recycled metal and technology parts.

Maybe this will give me some inspiration for decorating my room with only recycled materials. This week I have got to begin!

Hope your week is peachy-green!

Keep Calm and Teach on Recycling Craft & Giveaway

2012-07-22T21:24:00.001-07:00

Right now most of us are hopefully pretty relaxed, but sooner than we wish, this phrase will become very fitting for us teacher folks!

These are some containers I made by recycling Christmas tins. Cool, huh? If you'd like to win one of these, scroll down and enter my giveaway. If you'd like to make your own and keep Christmas tins out of landfills, just keep on reading!

These are the "before" pictures for the above containers. I got these for $1 at Goodwill, but I'm sure you can just search through your attic and find a few.

What else you might like to have on hand:

1) Rust-oleum Clear Enamel

2) 3M Super 77 Adhesive (Caution: This sticky stuff will not leave you alone!)

3) Rust-oleum Universal Primer & Paint (amazing stuff)

4) Some kind of paper to wrap around the tin. I printed out digital scrapbooking paper from JW Illustrations Jungle Pack.

5) Keep Calm & Teach On Graphics (No worries, I have them already made for you at my TpT store here. :))

What to Do:

Apply several coats of Primer/Paint to the tin.

I kept the lid on because I'm worried about the paint chipping everytime you close the lid. But by doing so, you will still see the Christmas background when you open the lid.

Paste the graphic on the lid.

To do so:

1) Download the graphics from my TpT store or make your own.

2) Measure the diameter of your lid.

3) Insert your graphic into Power Point or whatever design program you're familiar with for resizing.

4) Resize your graphic to a little bit less than the diameter of your lid.

5) Print and paste (I used the 3M Super 77. I tried Mod Podge and had serious elephant skin issues because the paper was too thin. But you Mod Podge experts can probably do it fine.)

Add paper to the side.

I printed this paper and cut it into several strips based on the dimensions of the tin. I like using stripes because you can line up the strips fairly well without telling where one strip ends and one begins.

Add a protective sealant coat.

You could probably use Mod Podge once the glue has completely dried, but I took no chances. I added several coats of Rust-olem clear enamel. The more you coat, the glossier it gets. Any type of acrylic glaze or sealant I'm sure would do great.

Ta-dah!! This tin makes me happy.

GIVEAWAY:

So, if you would like one of the three tins above mailed to you (they are super cute but not perfect in condition):

* Do one OR MORE of the following and comment on this post:

1) Follow The Green Classroom blog.

2) Follow The Green Classroom FB's page.

3) Follow The Green Classroom Pinterest board.

3) Pin The Green Classroom blog.

4) Write one thing you do or are planning on doing to reduce/reuse/recycle in your classroom.

5) Link as many posts of your own that involve recycling here at this blog by clicking on the header "By Area" or "By Material."

* Be sure to list each action as a separate entry.

* Three randomly chosen winners will be announced next Sunday night, July 29th, 2012.

* Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize.

Keep calm and RECYCLE on!

Playing with Plastic

2012-07-18T17:38:00.001-07:00

This year I want to do a green theme in my classroom, not just thinking of the color but also of decorating with only recycled materials.

So right now I'm continuing to work with plastic. Plastic and I have a love/hate relationship. It's such a harm to the planet, and yet to enjoy many things, I have to encourage its production.:( But lately, plastic and I are really having a good time together as I've discovered how much can be done with it.

The following items were made using scissors, E-6000, tweezers, plastic bottles, and most importantly - a heat gun.

Flower Ring. all plastic

Lots of Flowers

My Favorite One

Beads!

I have a lot of time on my hands, right? Well, it's summer, and I'm a teacher, duh! :)

So, I'm looking for recycling ideas for classroom management and setup. Could you please comment with a tip for me? Thanks a bunch!

"Green is the new black."

Plastic Bottle Fantasy Flower 1 Tutorial

2012-07-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I'm such a weird person, but it's summer break, and what am I doing? Having fun with plastic bottles! I had no idea all that can be done with them. I've been making various fantasy flowers out of them (fantasy because they're not anatomically true to any real flower :P), so I'd like to show you how I made one that could almost be called a chrysanthemum.

This was made from a two-liter bottle of Sprite Zero. For this tutorial, I'll have to use one that my husband crushed I guess to show his manliness. :P

Here's what you need:

1) Two-liter bottle
2) E-6000 glue or any strong adhesive glue
3) Knife/scissors
4) Two Hershey kisses - NOT optional :P
5) Small cap from a hairspray bottle or other similar bottle
6) White Satin Rustoleum Universal Primer & Paint in One (or something similar if you want to paint your flower)
7) Acrylic paint if you want to paint
8) Double-sided tape if you want to stick your flower on a gift box, wall art, door sign, etc.

Assembly Instructions

1) Cut the top neck off and the bottom port off of the bottle (they actually have lines that make it easy to cut evenly).

2) Take the bottle neck and cut into MANY petals. Push the petals down flat.

3) Take the bottom portion and cut into many petals also. You will find that when you push them down, they twist into odd angles. This works to your advantage because you can push the petals back up into flower-like cup of petals.

4) Take the small cap and cut into many petals also. Bend petals downwards a bit at different angles to give the petals a natural look.

5) Using a strong adhesive glue, glue the bottom into the center of the bottle neck.

6) Next, glue the bottom of the small cap into the center.

7) Eat the two Hershey kisses (yes, eat them! You deserve it!) Then, wrap the two paper tails inside the aluminum and form a circular disc. Glue this into the center.

8) Optional: Spray a coat of Rustoleum's Primer & Paint on the flower.

9) Paint with acrylic brush-on paint or spray paint. I think in the future I would like to use an airbrush because it took FOREVER by hand.

10) Put double-sided tape on the bottom of the bottle cap on the underside of the flower and attach wherever you'd like - gift boxes, gift tins, wall art, your clothes........

Or maybe not! Unless you're going to a gypsy wedding! :P

If you have green ideas, please share! You can link them up by clicking on "By subject" or "By material" or you can just comment the URL here, and I'll link it for you! Thanks!

Livin' in a green world,

New FB Page & I Have a Green Baby!

2012-06-28T22:42:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share this little ball of green that brings a smile to my face every morning. :)

Also, I've started a Green Classroom FB page. I hope you'll join it, and please let me know of any way you would like to share or collaborate here with tips you have on being a green teacher. Together we can make a difference! Teachers are super significant!

Fun Gift Idea with Clorox Containers

2012-06-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Today is my little brother's birthday (Happy Birthday, Nate! [Not that he'll get that message, since he doesn't even know about this blog :P]), so I decided to try my hand at a few things I've seen floating around on Pinterest.

First, I took a Clorox container, removed the paper and scrubbed it down really well.

Then, I tried some decoupage for the first time with Mod Podge and some candy wrappers from the best candy ever from Argentina (Bon Bon's and Marrocs!).

I knew it wasn't a smart idea from what I researched to use Mod Podge to attach aluminum to plastic since neither is porous, but I gave it a shot anyway. It kind of worked, kinda didn't. One wrapper never stuck well. But that's why you save these experiments for gifts for little brothers because they really won't care or notice either way!

Then I had seen this idea for tissue boxes, so I tried it with the Clorox container. I taped an undisclosed amount of $1 bills together and fed it through the mouth. The plastic lid is a little small, so it doesn't work perfectly. But I think my little bro will get a kick out of it anyway.

So, here's to recycling and gift-giving! If you have any cool ideas on gifts that involve recycling, please comment or link the post under "By Subject" or "By Material." Thanks!

Update - Nathan loved it! He's a cool brother like that. :)

Keep it green!

Recycled Designer Dresses

2012-06-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

School's out, it's vacation time, so my hubby and I headed to Argentina to visit his family. At the Atlanta airport, in concourse E, I saw the most spectacular thing - recycled designer dresses! Apparently, an artist named Nancy Judd of Recycle Runaway, has an amazing talent of creating gorgeous clothing out of plastic bags, old tires, newspapers, magazines, cereal boxes, and other recycled materials. Here are three of the many incredible displays I found while in Atlanta:

Happy Recycling!

Bottle Caps and Foam Packaging Pot Drainage

2012-06-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

As the school year ends, it's garden time! And I've found the uses for bottle caps still continue even outside of the classroom.

You know how you need to add pebbles or broken pottery to serve as drainage in your plant containers? Well, I've found that bottle caps and/or foam packaging work great as a substitute. They're free, eco-friendly, and so far my plants look great!

Do you have some great recycling tips in the garden to share? Please let me know! Happy Summer!

Plastic Lid Facts Game Giveaway at Hojo's Blog!

2012-06-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Heather from Hojo's Teaching Adventures was so kind to recently spotlight my math fact bottle caps idea and even better yet, she is doing her own giveaway of addition math fact plastic lids. Yay for green teachers!! I hope you will take a quick second to participate in her giveaway (it ends this Wednesday, June 6th, 2012). All you have to do is follow one of her social sites - super easy! Click the picture for a chance to be a lean, green, teaching machine next year with this recycling math game!

Going Green with a Garden

2012-05-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

We are starting a farming/gardening initiative at our school next year! I am so excited and think it's a super great idea because children (myself included) are so far-removed from the process of making food nowadays.

My husband and I just started the venture of square foot gardening this summer, and today we picked our very first produce - a long, fat zucchini! And I have to be honest, it was like having a baby! It was a miracle to me!

I have had no idea about any of this gardening stuff - how each plant will grow, where to find the fruit and vegetables on a plant, and when and how to harvest them. It's a lot! Thank God for YouTube! And my mom! So here's some pics of my green garden. It's not in the classroom yet, but it will be!

One of our four raised gardens my husband made for us

Baby eggplant!

Daddy zucchini!

Almost ready!

A flowering plant given to me by a student. Look how it's ready to blossom - just like our students!

Beets

Corn

Cucumber blossoms

And Basil blossoms

Have a great, green summer!

Trash to Treasure Ebook - Check It Out!

2012-05-14T15:23:00.002-07:00

I've been featured! And best of all, it's in a fantastic title all about recycling and reusing what we already have to teach our students. I couldn't be more tickled! Vicky Rauch, AKA Scipi of the blog Go Figure, has created a resource-packed ebook entitled "Trash to Treasure" that is available at her TpT store. She was gracious enough to give me a free copy, and I am so glad to have this amazing compilation of ideas to recycle what we already have in the classroom. If you are looking for ways to be a green teacher or just to be more frugal (aren't we all), then this title would be a great fit for you. To see more details, click on the image below.

Happy Recycling!