Valley Curbside Recycling

When I was a child, my favorite non-fiction* book was Make and Do from the Childcraft Collection. In retrospect, it taught me a great deal about using my imagination, following directions, creating, and finding fun in every day objects. The book is filled with instructions on how to make toys from normal household items - recyclables, if you will. I clearly remember making more than one kazoo from a toilet paper roll, a small square of wax paper, and a rubber band. Once in a while, I'd convince my younger brother and/or sister to join the band and we would parade around the house, putting on a show. I see the same curiosity in the children of my friends today. I've heard more than once, "it doesn't matter what toy we buy, (s)he always ends up playing with a cardboard box or a stick." That's living. Where did this trip down memory lane start? It started when I ran across Toys from Trash; an illustrated website filled with instructions on how to build educational toys from, well, trash. Making toys from trash is another way to recycle and teach your children numerous lessons at the same time - just like the lessons I still cherish from Make and Do. For the big kids out there who still enjoy this kind of thing, take a look at Make Magazine and Instructables. I can tell you from experience that they spark the same sense of joy that I had while marching around the house making "music" on my cardboard kazoo. *My favorite fiction book was anything with Encyclopedia Brown in the title.