We ask our students to get creative with their crafts and projects. Let’s get creative with how to manage these fun assignments sustainably.

1. Ditch the plastic markers! What benefit do they provide that can’t be met with crayons, colored pencils or paint? If you feel like you can’t live without them, Crayola does accept used markers for recycling, but have temporarily halted the program due to the pandemic (as of June 2020).

2. Upcycle art supplies. Allow what you have on hand to inform craft choices. Request supplies from families, specifically asking for clean materials that can be repurposed like paperboard cereal boxes, plastic bottles, bottle caps, buttons, etc. If you live here in the Triangle area (NC), make sure a visit to the The Scrap Exchange in Durham is on your summer to-do list. You’ll be inspired!

3. Reuse crayons. They can be turned into all new creations or melted down to form new crayons.

4. Bulk paints reduce the amount of plastic tossed when a bottle runs dry. Stick to primary colors with a bottle of white and maybe another bottle of black. Have the students mix their own colors. When my boys were little we used ice cube trays for an inexpensive dish to mix paints in to avoid tossing plastic or paper cups and plates away after every project.