As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am one of the small group stations the prek kids rotate through in each classroom. Each rotation lasts about 6-7 minutes, and this activity is perfect for that length of time. Side note: The pictures are from my office area, but I used the activity in the classrooms!
I grabbed these FREE Earth Day Recycle Sorting Mats on TpT and grabbed some recyclable items from my home and office, and I was done! (Be sure to leave her some feedback if you download!)
We started out by talking about what recycling is & how it works, then we moved on to this activity. I had all the items in a bag, and had the kids each pull out an item. We talked about what each item was made out of, and then they had to put it on the right mat. Preschoolers love getting to pull anything out of a bag, so something even as simple as this seemed to be a hit with many of them!
We had discussions about glass vs plastic (like what would happen if you dropped a glass bottle vs a plastic bottle) and I also had them come up with other foods that would come in a cardboard box (like crackers, Cheez-Its, cookies, goldfish, fruit snack packs, etc...) or in a can (like canned fruits and veggies), as well as other drinks that would come in a plastic bottle (juice, water).
