Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Musical Shaker
Place a clean yogurt container on your work surface, open side up. Fill the container with sand, rice, pasta or a combination of all three.
Place another clean yogurt container on top of the first, open side down, lining up the openings of the two containers. Attach the containers together with a strip of tape.
Decorate the containers as desired, using markers, crayons, glitter or strips of paper.
Recycled Paper
Tear two or three sheets of newspaper into small pieces. Place the pieces in your bucket with five cups of water. Allow the newspaper pieces to soak overnight.
Mash the soaked newspaper pieces with your wooden spoon. Continue mashing the paper until it has formed a uniform pulp. You can also use your hands for this.
Pour about one inch of water into your square pan. Lay the mesh fabric into the pan.
Pour about one cup of newspaper pulp into the tray on top of the mesh. Using your fingers, spread the pulp evenly around the mesh.
Lift the pulp-covered mesh out of the pan of water and place it on a surface that has been lined with newspaper. Place another piece of newspaper on top of the pulp. You will now have a sandwich of newspaper enclosing the pulp-covered mesh.
Flip the sandwich of newspaper upside down, carefully. The mesh will now be on top of the pulp.
Place a large book or piece of wood on top of the newspaper and push down to squeeze out any extra water. Remove the large book or wood, top layer of newspaper and the mesh. The pulp layer will now be exposed.
Allow the pulp to dry for at least 24 hours before attempting to handle it. After that, students can create artwork or crafts using the recycled paper.
Compost Pile
Find a suitable location for a compost pile on the school's property. Ideally, the location should be exposed to rainfall yet shaded. Inform the school principal and other necessary administrative and maintenance personnel of your desire to place a compost pile in this location.
Dig a shallow pit in the location where the pile is to be placed. Return the dug-up dirt to the pile to serve as the beginning of the pile's contents.
Lay some cornstalks or tree branches in the pile. These will help promote drainage and ventilation.
Spread a six-inch layer of organic material, such as grass clippings, lunchroom food wastes, sawdust, manure and hay, over the layer of cornstalks or branches. Only plant-based materials should be used. Meat and dairy products can attract pests and should be avoided.
Cover the layer of organic material added in step 4 with a one-inch layer of soil. You are now left with an eight-inch thick layer of compost.
Repeat steps 4 and 5, alternating layers of organic material and soil until your compost pile has reached four feet in height. This layering can be done in phases as more organic material makes itself available.
Turn the compost pile with a pitchfork to spread the inner material to the outside of the pile. This should be repeated every three weeks or so. Decomposition of the compost pile will be delayed if the pile is not turned this frequently. The compost is ready when it is dark in color and soil-like in consistency.
Spread the compost on garden areas of the school property, to help add organic nutrients to the soil. Alternatively, usage of the compost pile can be auctioned off in the community with the proceeds used for other reuse and recycling projects.