• Use crafts to teach kids how to reuse, reduce and recycle.recycling symbol icon. (with clipping path) image by Andrey Zyk from Fotolia.com
  
  Doing green crafts with kids is an opportunity to encourage their creativity while teaching them how to reuse, reduce and recycle. Teaching children the importance of recycling and caring for the environment at a young age will encourage them to embrace those values as they grow up. Reusing things that would normally be thrown away is one way to make a wide variety of crafts. For example, empty bottles, yogurt cups, and scraps of yarn can all be transformed into useful, yet fun craft projects.
  
  

Edible Birdfeeders

• Collect some pine cones from the yard. Tie a string around the top of the pine cones, and then use a spatula to cover the pine cones with peanut butter. Finally, roll the peanut butter covered in cones in birdseed. Hang the pine cones in your yard where the birds can get to them. MakePlayDough.com also suggests using oats or cornmeal in addition to the birdseed.
  
  Another way to make edible bird feeders with peanut butter is to make peanut butter clay. The amount of peanut butter and bird seed you will need will depend on how many bird feeders your child wants to make. Combine peanut butter with bird seed until you have a thick moldable paste. Use a rolling pin to flatten out the peanut butter clay onto a floured surface. Then use large cookie cutters to get shapes out of the peanut butter clay. Set those shapes onto a piece of wax paper and let them sit overnight so they dry out. The next day, use a needle to string a piece of thread through the top of the shape. Hang the birdseed ornaments on the trees around your house.
  
  

Recycled Crayons

• Collect the crayons bits and broken crayons that your children don't use anymore and put them all in a large bowl. Go through the bowl and make sure none of the crayons still have the paper coverings on them. You should also break any crayons that are larger than half of a full-sized crayon.
  
  Place a cupcake liner into each opening of a muffin tin and then fill each paper cup about ..." full with broken crayons. Once you've filled the muffin pan, place it in the oven set to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the crayons in the oven until they are completely melted, which should take approximately 15 minutes, but you should check it regularly.
  
  Once the crayons have melted, remove the muffin tin and place it in the freezer. Leave it in the freezer until they melted crayons are completely cooled. Then you can peel off the paper and use the crayons.
  
  DesignMom.com suggests using heart-shaped molds, available at baking supplies stores to make heart-shaped crayons.
  
  

Maracas

• Maracasmaracas image by Dwight Davis from Fotolia.com
  
  Save a plastic food jar with a screwtop lid. Wash it out completely and let it dry. Wrap a piece of white paper around the jar and cut the paper down to the size of the jar. Let the child decorate the paper using crayons, markers or paint. If they use paint, wait for the paint to dry before completing the maracas.Wrap the decorated paper around the jar and attach it with clear packaging tape.
  
  Pour ½ cup of dry rice, peas, or beans into the jar. Trace a line of white craft glue on the threads of the lid and screw the lid tight onto the jar. Let it sit for an hour while the glue dries. This will prevent the child from removing the lid from the jar.
  
  

Yogurt Cup Bracelets

• Transform used yogurt cups into bracelets your child can wear. Wash the cups out completely before cutting them in thirds horizontally. You should be left with two plastic rings and the bottom of the yogurt cup. Let your child choose the plastic rings that fit her wrist the best. Let her decorate the yogurt cup ring with stickers, self-stick gems, glitter or anything else that can be found in the craft box or around the house. Once the yogurt cup bracelets are completely decorated and dry, your child can wear them as bangles.