How does recycling help improve children's skills?

Right now we have more time than ever to learn new things during this period of lockdown.

Surely many of us already tend to recycle...but for those who don't, now would be a good time to start, let's take advantage of it: May 17th is World Recycling Day.

Why don't we dedicate a little time to establishing the habit of recycling?

• Recycling is just as much a priority as it is important to reduce the amount of waste, so you could start by reusing bags, since we have to try to go shopping only once a week, let's try to minimize the use of bags.- Many of us are at home all day, it is important as parents to set a good example. Children learn by imitating their parents, which is why children should see how parents turn off the light whenever they don't need it or whenever we leave a room, or how we don't waste water and turn off the taps as you see.- Involving children in recycling tasks from a young age will make them responsible children.

How to involve them in this task?

• We can set rules and establish routines to teach them this and any other habit.- Decide as a family how we want to contribute to the environment so we can carry it out and thus also encourage communication among everyone.

#### Guidance:

• We can make a poster-type sign so we can know which container is the right one for each material, so that from the youngest to the oldest, everyone will know how to do it and where to throw each object.- We all follow certain hygiene habits, so we can save water, when we wash our hands or our teeth, if we are not using the water at those moments we must turn off the tap. If the children are young, we can put up "reminder signs".- Save energy, turn off the lights in the rooms every time we leave them.- Play and do activities with recycled materials or things we are going to throw away, with cardboard boxes we can build a thousand new games and thus encourage creativity and imagination.- Do crafts to make use of leftover material and also foster the imagination, creativity and fine motor skills of children through the use of scissors, glue, cardstock…

There are so many popular festivals like the Sant Jordi festival, why not create a rose with pieces of fabric or colored paper? Make a dragon with an egg carton?..., let's take advantage of family anniversaries and the various festivals to use recycling to create countless gifts with imagination.

The internet is full of ideas!! Let's research and create!