Materials
Newspaper
Blender
Water
Serving spoons
Red food coloring
Framed screen that fits over a bin, tub, or bucket
Heart stencils
Markers
Instructions
1. Have the children rip the newspaper into small pieces, as close to 1" by 12" (3 cm by 30 cm) as
they can get.
2. Ask a child to place a handful or two of the torn paper into the blender. Add a cup of water, a
few drops of red food coloring, and blend (adult operates the blender).
3. Place the screen over the bin. Pour the mixture onto the screen, allowing the extra water to
drain into the bin.
4. Spread the mixture over the screen to form a thin layer. Make sure there are no gaps in the mixture.
You are making recycled paper.
5. Allow the mixture to drip dry. Then, place some newspaper, several pieces thick, over the mixture
and flip the screen over so that your recycled paper comes off the screen and is now on
the paper. Leave it there to dry completely.
6. The child can trace a heart stencil on the recycled paper and then cut it out, making a valentine
for the Earth (or for a friend).
More to do
Science: The children can also help the environment by collecting cans, selling them to a local
scarp yard, and using the money to buy a tree to plant "or just take them to the local recycle
collection site. The children could also take a litterbug walk. Pair up the children, give each pair a
bag and a pair of metal tongs, take a walk in the neighborhood and look for evidence of litterbugs.
Use the tongs to collect trash that is on the ground.
