Creative Recycling For Creative Kids at Home

Posted by Christie in Moms Advice

My oldest son is a creative mastermind, always coming up with some complicated idea or story. He also has a passion for drawing and creating the most amazing objects. Nothing is off limits for him, a simple cardboard box can be a spaceship, a speedboat, and a submarine all in a single afternoon.

I know that my son is not alone in this… many, many children have overactive and wild imaginations. I think as parents our biggest challenge is to find unique ways to foster their creativity and keep them grounded at the same time. 

About a year ago, I was cleaning the house and there was an empty plastic container that I was getting ready to throw away. My son, who had apparently been eyeing the container for some time quickly asked if he could save it from the garbage and use it for a “project”. 

I gave him the container, having no idea of what I was starting. He took that plastic container and made it into a bug home, I believe, that was so many “projects” ago that I have lost track a little. 

Now, when there is any item that could be transformed with a child’s imagination into anything of fun it goes into our “project box”. To date the box contains… empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, cleaned out egg cartons, bits of ribbon, twine, rope, plastic containers and bottles of various shapes and sizes, odd socks that have long since been without a mate, an assortment of boxes in different sizes and shapes, and so much more.

My son tells me that soon he is going to use all of these items to begin constructing a recycling robot, a creation that he plans to fashion entirely out of discarded household items that once would have been thrown immediately into the trash. 

I am amazed at the amount of time he spends with this box of “junk”. He gets excited when he sees new “trash”  go in there and you can almost see his small wheels start turning, thinking up ideas for each and every piece in the box. 

So, if you have a creative kid at home, you know the kid who really does like the boxes at Christmas better than the gifts that are in them… you may give this idea a try. I just took a large Rubbermaid tub and set it in the garage by the kitchen door so that I could easily toss new “treasures” into the box for him. 

I have been amazed at some of the things that my son has created and I think I am getting as much enjoyment out of watching him stretch his imagination as he is doing it.



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