“Wow, Ozzie. I didn’t know that.” – Miro

The children and teachers have been recycling some of our old paper to reuse it and make new paper with the children. This process supports to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to recycle. In the last two weeks, we’ve involved the children in brainstorming ideas of what recycling means.

Ozzie: Recycling means you use something that’s old and use it again in a new way.

Miro: Wow, Ozzie. I didn’t know that!

Paisley: Yeah, I agree with Ozzie.  Like today we are using old paper, right?

Theo P: Yes, the ones that we made in little pieces.

Laz: Recycling means reusing it. Like in Paw Patrol they say, “ Don’t lose it. Reuse it.”

Theo P: It also means you put it in a blue bin and it goes in a factory and into a machine and it becomes something new.

Kayden: I have a blue bin at home and I recycle, Theo.

Greyson: Our blender sounds like an airplane.

Ozzie: The paper feels like snow.

Paisley: It’s becoming a new paper. Look, Ozzie, it became new.

Adriana: It transformed into a new kind of paper. It’s a different texture.

Ozzie: Yes, we transformed it.

The children are loving making paper. It’s such a fun experience in which they are enjoying seeing the process of what it takes to create new paper. Some of the children used this paper to create notes for Roleen. We are planning on having this kind of paper available for the children in the different spaces of the school. We are still gathering more information about the children’s thinking about recycling and reusing and our hope is that by collecting and sharing multiple ideas, a new collective understanding can become present in our school. – Teachers Katherine and Adriana