Mrs. Turcon’s grade 5s and 6s at McKim Middle School are learning all about how they can make their lives more earth-friendly, and go Beyond Recycling. As part of the first unit of lessons on waste, the class learned how to make new paper out of old paper.
They started by tossing scraps of paper that would have otherwise been recycled into the blender with water. After the blender, the paper mixture got filtered, shaped, and rolled before being left out to dry for a few days. The dried homemade paper is great for crafting bookmarks, posters, greeting cards or holiday ornaments.
Making paper is just one of many hands-on lessons in Beyond Recycling. The class had loads of fun learning about closing the loop and using something old to make something new again.