Before The Green Mommy started wearing a cape and officially began protecting the planet, she was a fifth grade teacher for 15 years. She worked hard to educate her students and often that meant being creative with how she did so. She had organized boxes of “bits and do-dads” to make science, math, and history hands-on. These were things that she came across herself (that others didn’t see the potential in) and were given to her (by those who did). She was “green” then without even knowing it.
This week, the Eco Women have been helping you out with “going green” for back to school. The Green Mommy is here today to get you thinking about ordinary things you may have sitting around in your home that a classroom could get a lot of use out of. I’m sure you wouldn’t be surprised to know that there’s a lot of hard working teachers out there who purchase supplies for their classroom with their own money. Giving them quality supplies is something many of them would appreciate. Think about leaving a message for your child’s teacher or art teacher and ask them if they could use any of the items listed below in their classroom. They may appreciate it more than you would think.
Here’s a list of items to consider:
- a box of gently used crayons or other art supplies
- buttons or pom-poms
- old magazines
- paper that could be used for drawing
- glass baby jars with lids
- toilet paper/paper towel rolls
- plastic yogurt containers with lids (if your town doesn’t recycle #5 plastics)
- gently used books for the classroom library
- carpet squares to make a cozy “reading corner”
- junk mail envelopes where the corners have been diagonally cut off and made into book marks
- gently used t-shirts, jeans, or sweat pants for the nurse to have as “back-up” clothes for younger children.
Or, you can suggest having a “teacher’s wish list” at your child’s school, like they do where Enviro Girl’s little Super Heroes-in-training go. Teachers keep an updated list of items they really need in a notebook that’s excessable near the main office so visiting parents can easily take a look. Something they desperately need might be collecting dust in your attic!
Can you think of anything else that should be added to the list?
Egg cartons for those little caterpillar projects;) And I’ve hooked up some teachers with my grandma’s old furniture–bookshelves and a couch for their classrooms. Another mom donated an old rocking chair for a teacher to use during rug time.
That’s a great list. So many things I had not thought of.
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I also save leftover fabric and yarn that I can’t use when a project is done – and I donate it to the local elementary school. Plus, they can usually use toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls.
Old washcloths; they make great white board erasers!
Magazines; I use loads of them for collages of many kinds.
Yes, the carpet samples.
thank you for thinking of teachers! I teach grade 4.
From a middle school teacher–
Definitely Magazines and catalogues– even junk-mail flyers that have pictures of bathtub refitting and dentist discounts can be used for illustrating vocabulary in foreign-language classes.
T-shirts for middle and high schools, to cover up those who come in school in tiny little clothes that show more skin than they cover.
Coffee cans, especially the plastic ones, for holding all of those pencils, pens, markers, etc.
Outdated but still working electronics. Many schools still rely on VCRs, and the cables/remotes that go with them are always needed. Same for microwaves and coffee pots.