RECYCLED CARTON NEIGHBORHOOD, "GRASS" HOUSES

RECYCLED CARTON NEIGHBORHOOD: "Grass" Houses.

Recycled Juice or Milk Carton

Throw away's, no more!! You will be amazed at what you can create with these recycled juice/milk cartons. They can be art'zy, educational and while saving money on art supplies, you are also saving the environment by keeping "recyclables" out of the landfills. Let me show you just one idea I have used in my preschool classroom over the years.

MATERIALS NEEDED:    1) 1/2 gallon size juice or milk carton.  2) Grass seed. Any kind will do for this project. 3)Planting dirt. You can get a large bag very cheap at any home supply store.4) (Optional) Colored masking tape. I personally used the colored masking tape just to have a cohesive look to the front of the houses,  but, it can also act as a reinforcement to the planting box when you insert the dirt and begin watering. 5) Scraps of construction paper for paper houses. 6) (Recommended) Contact paper or lamination for the finished paper houses. This will protect the paper from water damage while you are watering the grass. 7) Tacky glue 8) Scissors. 

After cutting out the house form from the juice carton, mask the "grass box" at the bottom of house cut out.  

Depending upon the ages of your 'little carpenters', you can either allow them to cut and create their own houses or you can have prefabricated homes for them to assemble themselves using glue and their imagination.

Once the home is assembled you should either laminate the paper houses or use contact paper to protect the paper from water damage. After laminating, you will tacky glue the paper houses to the carton directly above the planting box.  

Whalaa! 

Note: Because I was doing a large group project with preschool children, I used computerized images of windows and doors and allowed them glue.  

TOO CUTE!!!! Our preschool neighborhood:) Let's get planting!!

Allow the children to insert dirt, seeds and a small cup of water into the planting box in front of their homes:) It can take up to 4-5 days to begin seeing results, but once the grass is in full bloom you can allow the children to take scissors and give their lawns a nice little "mow" (trim.) 

CHILDREN AND PARENTS LOVE THIS PROJECT ALIKE!!!