Summer Boost
Activity:
Kitchen Compost Pail
Your child can repurpose and recycle a used can into a useful compost bucket! Composting is turning all your fruit and vegetable bits into healthy fertilizer for your garden or plants around the house! This Earth Day, she’ll be able to create something pretty to sit on the counter to remind the family to compost, which is great for Mother Earth!
Click to find similar content by grade or subject.
What You Need:
- 28-ounce tin can
- Acrylic paints
- 20-gauge craft wire
What You Do:
- Invite your child to help wash and dry a 28-ounce can.
- Now she can cover her workspace with scrap paper or a large plastic bag. And, it might be a good idea to get out the smocks, too!
- Offer your child a selection of acrylic paint to use for painting the outside of her compost bucket. She can decorate the outside however she’d like using bright colors or patterns.
- While painting discuss with your child which items are compostable and which are not. Organic matter, such as leftover bits of fruits, vegetables and beans are great to put in the compost bucket. You shouldn’t compost items such as milk products, bread, pasta or rice.
- Once your child has finished painting the outside of her compost bucket, she can let it dry overnight.
- Now give your child a three-foot length of 20-guage craft wire to use for creating a handle for her bucket. She can wrap the wire around the top of the can and then twist it up and around to create a handle! Offer help as needed!
- Invite your child to place her finished compost bucket on the side of the counter next to the sink to collect bits of food daily and then she can take them outdoors and create a compost pile, which will turn into healthy fertilizer for your plants!
Did you know: Composting dates back to Roman times! And, that two-thirds of our trash could be composted
