Recyle That Pumpkin!

Don't throw that pumpkin in the trash after Halloween! Instead, you use it to give your kids a great/easy lesson in recyling (and make your trashman happy with a lighter load).

Here's what you can do with that pumpkin after Halloween:

1. Put it in the compost heap - it will make good fertilizer
2. Bury it in the garden - it will decay quickly and enrich the soil
3. Wash, dry and save the seeds to plant next year (they will grow!)
4. Wash and roast the seeds - they make good eating.

Brown Paper Bag Art - Ages 3 and Up

This is a first in a series of examples of how you can recycle common day-to-day items as art materials for your children.

Who said that all painted art works has to be on white paper?! Cut out the bottom of a brown paper grocery bag and you have a great piece of paper for your child to create a beautiful work of art. In the examples shown here children applied color to the brown paper with colored marker and tempera paint. Here are the supplies you need for this project:

* Brown paper grocery bag with bottom cut out to create a flat piece of brown paper

* Washable & non-toxic colored markers

* Washable & non-toxic tempera paint in various colors - highly recommend some white and silver and gold colors that really look wonderful on the brown paper

* To apply the paint: paint brush, paint roller and small piece of sponge