Celebrate Earth Day with Upcycled Paper Mosaic Collages!

Make beautiful collages from paper you might throw away — turning trash into treasured artworks. Along with helping children learn about repurposing, this Earth Day craft is a great way for children to practice early math skills such as sorting and matching.

You will need:

• Old magazines, catalogues, newspaper, food wrappers and packaging (make sure it is clean), wrapping paper — any colorful paper will work
• Plain white paper or cardboard
• Scissors
• Glue (if you don’t have any, make your own — see recipe below!)

1. Cut paper into small squares. Try to limit each square to one or two colors.
2. Sort paper squares into colors and/or pairs of colors.
3. Arrange the squares to make a picture on the paper or cardboard. “Build” color lines with more squares. Simple shapes such as flowers and rainbows work well. (Be careful not to move your paper as you build your collage!)
4. When you are satisfied with your collage, glue each piece down. Allow to dry.

No glue? No problem! Make your own glue with things you have in your kitchen.

You will need:

• Water
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoons corn syrup
• ½ teaspoon vinegar

1. In a small saucepan, boil 6 tablespoons of water with corn syrup and vinegar.
2. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with the 6 tablespoons of cold water.
3. Slowly add the cold mixture into the hot mixture, and stir constantly for one minute.
4. Remove from heat. When cool, pour the glue into a container that seals. Let it stand and thicken before using.