Tips and ideas for upcycling with children
Upcycling is a way of turning seemingly useless things into new everyday items. Here are three ideas for upcycling with children.
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Upcycling is a way of turning seemingly useless things into new everyday items. Here are three ideas for upcycling with children.
1. Preparation is key
As children’s creativity is something that can’t be planned, it makes sense to be prepared for the kids’ wildest crafting ideas. It’s a good idea to have a few boxes of craft materials at home so you can get started right away. Ideally, this craft box will also contain materials you can use for upcycling: things like scraps of fabric, buttons and maybe even whole old clothes, household and toilet paper tubes, tin cans, magazines, glass jars, PET bottles, drinks cartons, etc.
2. Leading by example
The more children see sustainability and old items being reused in everyday life, the more likely they are to want to make new things out of old and to get enthusiastic about upcycling. So if you yourself use upcycled crafts in the kitchen, garden or office, you’ll inspire your child. A simple example of this would be a penholder made of painted cardboard rolls on your desk at work.
3. What would it have cost new?
Finding a new use for old items or even packaging is a cheap alternative to buying new. However, children still have a limited grasp of money and prices. After doing some crafting, you could also work out together how much a flower pot from the store or a new piggy bank would have cost. And you could even put that amount in a family fund for treats.
4. Upcycling also has its limits
Crafting and reusing things – such as kitchen shelves made from old wine or fruit crates – is useful and fun, no question. But you can also explain to your child that there’s nothing wrong with having something new occasionally.
Three craft tips for you and your kids
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This article was written in collaboration with educator Marianne Heller, who has years of experience in teaching financial education and debt prevention programs for children and young people.
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