School Project - McAllen,TX

I don't get it. Tell us more. You have to use cardboard and old cans to make something useful? Like a birdfeeder?

If that's kinda what you're looking for, I say make a bird feeder out of old bean cans glued together for walls, scraps of wood for the platform perhaps?

Or make a nice little jewelry holder out of an old egg crate.

(if you use old cans, buy the can opener that they sell at the grocery store that has a smooth cut on it. It took some getting used to (it is harder to use) but when you open a can, the lid is smooth and the can edge is smooth.)

I am the Queen of using recycled items for arts and crafts. Is there a theme for the project?

Your post is a little vague but look around the house and see what you have (egg cartons, tp rolls, clothes pins, felt, newspaper, milk jugs... then google that item with crafts for kids. ie, milk jug crafts for kids... click images on your search browse and cruise through pictures to get an idea of what you might like to try or a few you want to merge into your own idea. Here is one to check out http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/milk-jug-crafts.html

My daughter had a project like that in 2nd grade.

The MAIN thing, was that the child made it, with the parent as assistance. That is was their idea.

Just gather up things you have in your house. Paper bags, twist ties, glue, tape, plastic bags, egg cartons, branches, leaves, paper plates, paper, cardboard, old boxes, shoe boxes, etc.
And make something.

You didn't finish your question. You said you have to use recycling material, and be able to use at home.... (and then your sentence was not finished). So does that mean you have to use at home things, (not buying it), or that you have to be able to use the project at home for something useful????

You could decorate a tin can and use it as a pen/pencil holder. You could use cardboard and make/decorate a reuseable kleenex holder, remote caddy, or napkin holder. You can cut off the top half of a pop bottle and make the bottom half a planter.

Drum made from an oatmeal container? Bird feeder from milk carton?

Here's a good website with a ton of ideas:
http://www.kinderart.com/recycle/

Google "school projects from recycled items" for more sites & ideas.

I think you're saying that the project needs to be made of items your child has recycled, and needs to be something that can be used at your home. Is this correct?

My first thought is of the neat desk accessory one of my sons made me once, fabricated out of three food cans of various sizes. I imagine you could simplify the design and use just one or two cans if you needed to. Your six-year-old can't do every bit of the work, but he/she can certainly help in the planning and in every step.

The cans - I think there was a 6-oz. tuna can and two different sizes of veggie cans - were cleaned, had any sharp edges eliminated, and were covered on the outsides. If you have any leftover paint from another home project, you could use that, as long as you use a high-adhesive primer first so the paint will stick to the metal cans. (Rustoleum spray paint would also probably work, if you have any leftovers of that.) Then you will have to help your child fasten the cans to a proper-sized scrap of wood that he/she has sanded smooth and painted or stained. I think my son used short screws that started their journey by going through the bottom center of each can, but weren't long enough to go through the depth of the board.

It wasn't designer-classy, but it was my son's gift to me and I LOVED it. And useful? I used that thing to hold pencils and doodads for years until it finally fell apart.

You can make an easy bird feeder out of an old milk carton or 2 liter bottle.