To prepare for Earth Day and Arbor Day, we learned about conserving trees by recycling paper in our kitchen. Reading The Great Paper Caper, a silly mystery story, prompted this fun, hands-on science lesson.
Before we made our paper, we read a fun story about trees, the need for conservation, and making paper.
In The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers, the animals of the forest are perplexed when their tree branches and trees begin to disappear. Something is not right.
It’s a mystery, until they find the clues leading to Bear, who has been cutting trees to make paper so he can fly paper airplanes. With the help of the other forest creatures, he plants trees to make up for those now missing. Plus, with the help of the others, the animals are able to recycle all of his failed attempts when they make a huge paper airplane!
Although the plot and illustrations in The Great Paper Caper are silly and fun, it prompts serious discussions about tree conservation and recycling.
This story gave us plenty to talk about. Here are some items we discussed as we laughed at the pictures:
It’s a perfect stepping stone to a discussion about more serious issues: the disappearing rain forest, the habitats that depend on trees, the cost and time required to wait for a tree to grow. I think The Great Paper Caper is a perfect book for discussing conservation.
I made paper when I was in middle school. We even learned to bind it into a book. I must say that this, my first attempt to make paper as an adult, was not as smooth sailing as it had been when I was in a school art classroom with a special mold and deckle just for this purpose. I made everything myself here, and it was not as easy as I remembered.
First, I enlisted the help of my kids to rip paper into super small sizes. They tired quickly. But my preschooler helped mush the paper in the water to break up the fibers! I also used the meat mallet to work through it a little more. It was suggested online that we put it in the blender. But, on one website, it then said, “Don’t plan on using this for food again.” So I decided to spare the blender!
Once the paper mush had sat for a night in the water, I prepared a mold. I used some window screen I had. I stapled it to both sides of an old picture frame. This was a mistake! The window screen was much too flexible, so it was difficult to get it tight enough on the deck. Next time, I’ll have to buy some stronger netting. Nevertheless, I made it work. I submerged the deck in to the paper pulp, lifted it and let the water drip, and then placed on a towel to drip some more. From what I have since read, you should not use fiberglass window screen, and there are more steps I should have included!
When it was a little more dry, I used a piece of plastic to flip it over and remove paper from the mold. It took more than a day to dry! It is not as smooth as I had wanted, nor as pretty. But I think it turned out okay! It definitely has personality.
We ripped up old worksheets and coloring pages we'd made to try our hand at recycling paper. I made a mold and deck with a picture frame
Although my preschooler liked drawing on it, she is a little disappointed it is bumpy; it is not as she expected. Raisin thought it an interesting project and was quick to write a note on it. My toddler, Kitty, has enjoyed finding bits of paper everywhere on the floor since we made it.
We learned more about recycling paper and conservation of trees with these shows and activities.
Watching videos helps students that respond well to auditory and visual learning.
Deforestation and the Effect on Climate
The Amazon: Lungs of our Planet
Deforestation Time Lapse
Paper is made from trees
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