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Teach Composting to Kids

Composting education drive is another way to ensure that you are able to pass on the legacy to younger generations. But packaging the teaching method is another aspect that the composting enthusiast must not overlook. There are various ways of teaching composting to adults, but children have different needs and may require more than the expertise of monitoring your heap’s temperature.

Here are different techniques for teaching composting methods to children. It can really be fun and rewarding to pass on the baton to younger kids once you have gotten the hang of composting, and it will really help bring about awareness to their parents and other members of the community.

Use Visuals

Nothing beats the boring feeling a kid gets from pure text. Unless the kid is inclined to enjoy pure words, visuals are your best bet into inculcating a love for composting. Make use of pictures, Powerpoint presentations and other technological devices you can use. If you are on an impromptu teaching class, use your words to help the kids visualize the scenario of composting. In any case, encourage the children to imagine the entire process.

Do a complete demo

The demonstration will be able to teach volumes to the children, way more than any discussion can. With a demonstration, you not only show them how it’s done, you also show them that you are well capable of doing what you are teaching them. Seeing the actions in real time will also eliminate the need for them to ask questions should their turn for trying it comes since they will be able to present their questions as you do your demo.

Track for feedback

Kids can get opinionated about things that they like. Strike their fancy even further by getting feedbacks from them from time to time. Also, ask them and encourage them to ask their questions to you. Removing their inhibitions will help you teach them more concepts than when you are dealing with an uptight bunch,

Entertain all questions and give ample time to answering each question.

Kids can get easily discouraged. So make sure that you are able to reserve judgment and entertain questions, no matter how “stupid” or minor they may seem to you. Remember, you are dealing with children here. If at all possible, have an assistant teacher who is also a kid to help you gain a better perspective of teaching composting to children.

Discuss benefits at the outset so they will know what composting is really for.
If the children are oriented from the outset that what they are doing has great significance, they are more likely to cooperate and do the tasks cheerfully. Ensure that you are fully able to help them understand how composting helps the environment and how it will make a positive difference to a majority of people.

Let them do it, and refuse to interfere if possible.

The main purpose for educating them on composting is to have them equipped with the skills they need to be able to do composting themselves. So, seeing them do the composting, even on a small pit for beginners, may help you see where potential problems may lie. You can also easily praise them and correct them as necessary.

In any case, encourage them for every form of progress made, no matter how small it is, so as to help build their confidence.

Common Materials for Composting from Your Own Home

In composting, you need not look too far to be able to obtain a viable set of materials to keep it up and functioning. the good thing about composting is that it completely transcends locations and resources because you can literally derive your composting materials from basically anything.

When you are at home, the best way to be able to get a hold of the best composting materials is by neatly categorizing the different parts of your home and sequestering all the possible candidates for composting. this will help you sort out which part of your home has the best resource for your composting and in cases where you need to activate your compost at the time that it grows more passive, you know exactly where to look.

Kitchen
Vegetables and fish that have been burned by the freezer can still be put to good use, as well as any container or bag made of burlap which you cannot find any good use for. even the ignorable lint that you find behind your refrigerator may be used for composting! Old condiments or spices may also be included, not for flavoring, but for organic purposes.

Dining Area
Paper napkins are the first thing that come to mind when you are trying to secure composting materials in the dining table. Leftovers at the dining table may also be classified as appropriate composting material.

Study Area
There is definitely a better way to make use of your Post it notes than putting them on a shredder after you have scribbled all over them. In your study area, all sorts of paper materials, including your colored and used Post it notes, are viable composting materials. In cases where you are unable to resist bringing food in your study area, you can also use the leftovers from your study area to help fill up the compost pit you have created.

Pet Kennels and Cages
Do you find pet hair irritating? The thing is, you can also use pet hair as part of the organic materials that you can use for your composting pursuits. Wood chips from your playful pets can also be collected and put in the compost bin. If you are dealing with a bird cage, even their used-to-be despicable droppings may be used to your advantage.

Backyard Garden
The backyard is one of the richest places with which you can find organic material like bee droppings, hay. Pine needles, match residues, leaves, herbs, chicken manure… the list just goes on and on. all you have to do is acquire some observant eye and a huge bag with which you can store the various discoveries you can find in your garden or backyard.

A Word of Caution
Despite the wide variety of items that can be considered for composting, there are still exceptions to organic materials. Never include diseased plants in your compost pit, as well as any form of weed. Also part of the list of things that you are not supposed to include as composting material include dead animals, feces of your pets, bread, meat parts, dairy products, grease, grains, cooking oil or any derivative of it.

Another thing to consider is the size of your compost and the ratios you need to be mindful of to make your compost alive and kicking all the time. This way, you will never have a dull moment in filling up your compost bin.