Art Ed Wednesday is written by Rachel Johnston, a fiber artist and early childhood art educator in Lincoln Parish.
Hi everyone! Today I’ll be sharing a few ideas for using recycled materials as art supplies. If your children go through art supplies quickly, it can be handy to keep a container filled with recycled items that they can use. This will provide them with free materials, and it will keep a few
things out of landfills. Recycled materials can be used for collages, sculptures, and many other projects. Let your kids decide what to create based on the materials you have!
The List:
Cardboard (from food packaging, shipping boxes, etc.)
Tin cans (make sure there are no sharp edges. These can be painted and used to store pens and pencils.)
String, ribbon, rubber bands
Bubble wrap
Fabric scraps
Oatmeal containers
Cancelled postage stamps
Magazines, catalogs, junk mail
Spice containers (reuse by storing dyed sand, rice, etc. in these)
Broken jewelry (use beads for new jewelry, chains for collages, etc.)
Objects from nature such as pinecones, leaves, acorns, small sticks, feathers, rocks and shells
Use this is list as a starting point, and put together your collection of materials based on what you have, and what your children will enjoy. Finding new uses for items like these will help stretch your child’s imagination and creativity.