Stop tossing out empty plastic bottles or cardboard boxes from deliveries and transform them into materials for fun activities!

Children can learn a lot through their interactions with materials – the more variety of materials offered, the more unlimited their learning potential. Utilising recycled materials also encourages a healthy respect for the environment and care for our world.

Here are 5 ideas on how to reuse materials you already have at home and turn them into art projects to bond with your little ones!

1. Homemade instruments

Save empty boxes, toilet rolls, rubber bands, and cans to turn them into musical instruments. Let your little musicians shine with a tin can drum set, tissue box guitar, and shakers with rice grains. You can even let them put on a performance for you as you encourage their self-expression through music!

2. Bottle bowling

Have leftover drink bottles from parties or empty detergent bottles lying around? Use them as pins for some bowling fun with the kids! Try adding water to the bottles to increase the difficulty with each round. Remember to clean the bottles with warm soapy water before you start playing!

3. Make a playing board

Gather some glue, toilet paper rolls, and cardboard boxes to assemble rings and hoops on a bigger cardboard piece to create a fun challenge for your child! Get them to throw a ping pong ball through the hoops successfully like an old-school arcade game. This is a good opportunity to hone your little one’s motor skills!

4. Create scrap paper collages

Leftover paper scraps can be a canvas for your child’s creativity! Get your kids in to tear out coloured sections from newspapers and sort them by colour. Next, get them to glue these paper scraps onto blank paper to create unique and colourful masterpieces. For this activity, you can even explore using magazines or scrap cloth. This allows them to experiment with different shapes, shades, and textures to create different artworks!

5. Stage a puppet show

Breathe new life into old fabrics or paper bags by turning them into hand puppets. Let your child design their own characters and bring them to life by using different materials. This encourages their creativity while indulging in imaginative play. Set up a stage using cardboard boxes and they can put on their very own puppet show just for you!