Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Create an Educational Game from Recycled Plastic!

What could be more fun than a Nouns and Verbs game?! Enjoy an educational moment with you darling little one and learn some valuable lessons in grammar with this interactive learning game easily handmade with plastic water bottles!

All you need are two individual-size plastic water bottles and a large collection of water bottle lids. I took a utility knife and carefully made a cut all the way around each water bottle; making each finished piece measure approximately 4" to 5" tall. Then I took red acrylic and blue acrylic craft paint and a sponge brush and painted the outside of these containers; making one red and one blue. I suggest getting your sponge brush a little damp before you dip it into the paint so your brush does not absorb too much of the paint. Next, create and print out a document that on the computer featuring the words "Nouns" and "Verbs" as well as many different nouns and verbs such as:

Nouns:
Woman, Dad, Ducks, Dogs, Doors, Eyes, Mom, Man, Juice, Cat, and Tub

Verbs:
Run, Plays, Eats, Ask, Read, Laugh, Go, Cleans, Sings, Give, and Sits

Once you've created your document on the computer, make sure that all of the words are spread out on the page so you can cut around them (making sure that the words "Nouns" and Verbs" are slightly bigger than the rest...this should all fit on one page). Print your page, and then take your scissors and cut around each word. Once you have all of your words cut out, take some craft glue and paste them on the plastic water bottle cap lids and the words "Nouns" and "Verbs" onto the red and blue painted cups. Let everything dry, next apply glossy Mod Podge to the tops of the lids and on the cups to secure the words for play and usage! Enjoy!

Below I have listed some of my favorite vintage and upcycled toys and books on Etsy...

This incredibly educational "Quiet Book" by Remainewicked...this book is charming book is handmade to order and is created from recycled clothing fabrics!
This delightful, classic children's book called "Under the Window" can be found in my sister Andrea's Etsy Shop "Storybook Artifact"; this darling book brings back found memories of yesteryear with the adorable poems, stories, and illustrations!
This is a fun and educational memory game featuring animals and it comes with a repurposed bag to keep the cards in that is made from recycled t-shirts. You can find this Memory Match Animals Game in this Etsy Shop "Drawn to Letters".

This blog article was contributed by Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles

2 comments:

Artifact Andrea said...

Love this blog post on creating a noun and verbs game out of recycled plastic bottles!!! By the way, your little nephew loves this game that you made for him. ... Today we signed up for a 100 book reading log to hopefully fill out before kindergarten. Your recycled educational toys are a great addition to his learning.

Also thank you for featuring my vintage children's book. :-)

Joanne said...

These bright books and games will make happy memories for our little ones! Thanks for including my own animal memory game. If readers want an incentive, just use code FREESHIPPING2 in the order. Enjoy.