Tag upcycling

Rubbish? Don’t Throw It Away!

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Rubbish? Don’t Throw It Away!
Linda Newbery and Katie Rewse
Otter-Barry Books

Members of Dragonfly Class are having an upcycling day and they’re all excited. Lucy found lots of pine cones in her grandad’s garden and she and her friends decide to turn them into owls. 

Yasmin’s mum has donated lots of old coat-hangers – just the thing to use for making mobiles and paper plates are ideal for masks.
Ali’s dads have brought along a large sink and this makes a splendid pond; 

others have brought a leaf collection; this becomes a collage; Mohammed’s enormous box is perfect for a fort ; a length of fabric is fashioned into lots of different items. 

Christmas wrapping paper becomes all manner of funky hats 

and the parents and care-givers involve themselves in creating a mosaic for the garden; the garden is also where old tyres become planters while back indoors odd socks are super puppet bases and there are lots of clever ways to put other old items to use again too.

Not only have these children had terrific fun, they are never going to look upon ‘old rubbish’ without thinking, what can this be turned into?

This inclusive community of adults and children are a great demonstration of working together for the good of our precious environment. After sharing author and environmental campaigner, Linda Newbury, and illustrator Katie Rewse’s story, why not hold a similar event in your early years setting.
(Simple instructions for each activity are provided at the end of the book as almost all of them will need adult assistance.)

My Must-Have Mum

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My Must-Have Mum
Maudie Smith and Jen Khatun
Lantana Publishing

This smashing story is told from the perspective of Jake and shows the special close relationship he has with his much-loved mother.

Jake’s mum is an inveterate skip scavenger seeing an opportunity for upcycling almost anything and everything, hence he calls her his ‘must-have mum.’ How the two of them manage to get some of her acquisitions up to their fourteenth floor urban flat, look like pretty difficult tasks, but Jake is hugely supportive of his mum’s unusual collecting habit.
Once home, she straightway starts working, transforming other people’s throw-aways into exciting new things, even working outdoors if necessary.

There’s one person who is anything but enthusiastic about Jake’s mum’s activities and that’s Mr Price. Indeed when he sees her latest effort his comment, “There she goes again. Your mum won’t be satisfied until she’s changed every last thing in the world!” sets alarm bells ringing as Jake lies in bed that night. Suppose she decided to change him too. Best to leave before she has the opportunity to do so, so off Jake goes outside into the cold. And there he remains until morning when he wakes to find …

What his must-have mum says to her ‘one and only must-have son’ is both hugely reassuring and uplifting.

In tandem with Maudie Smith’s words, Jen Khatun’s upbeat illustrations are bursting with energy and full of vibrant detail. This is a book I’d definitely recommend adding to family and primary school classroom collections.