The spring cleaning challenge
Image: A range of cleaning products laid out.
Trashion show
Challenge the creativity of the pupils in your school, all while highlighting the importance of waste reduction and sustainability, with a trashion show! The concept is simple: ask the children to make outfits out of rubbish and model their creations on a trashion show runway.
If you’re going to hold the whole process in the school, from outfit making to catwalk, you’ll need to provide clean, household items that would usually be thrown away, such as plastic bags, sweet wrappers, crisp packets, plastic bottles and sponges. You’ll also need craft materials such as scissors, tape, string, glue, staplers and clips. Give the children a set time to complete their outfits and have the trashion show when they’re done. Alternatively, you could ask the children to make their outfits from materials they find at home for a trashion show held at a later date.
If a simple trashion show is not enough of a challenge for your school, consider setting a theme for the outfits, such as leisurewear, prom or superheroes. You could give prizes for the best and most unique outfits, and even glam up your school hall with decorations made from rubbish!
Make the trashion show the event of the season by selling tickets to family and friends and having refreshments available. And what could be more fitting (pun intended) than a professional photoshoot during and after the show?
It’s worth asking your school if there are any lessons on recycling or the environment planned that you could tag your trashion show onto, making it a memorable learning experience for the pupils. If not, perhaps ask if there are any learning materials you could provide them with.
After the show, help the children dismantle their outfits (if they don’t want to keep them) and dispose of the materials responsibly.
From tableware to art fair
Did you know chipped and cracked plates can trap bacteria, making them unhygienic to use? Luckily, there are many ways your PTA can turn broken plates into profit!
For plates that are only a little chipped, you could set up a plate hospital and charge for repairs, or teach your supporters how to fix their own and sell mini repair kits. The kits will need to include epoxy putty and a glaze, which you can get from most hobby shops. There are lots of YouTube videos that show the process step-by-step.
For something a bit more special, you could hold a kintsugi session with your school community. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with a lacquer mixed with gold, silver or platinum. It’s all about embracing imperfection and seeing the beauty in the incomplete. You can buy relatively cheap kits online that contain everything you need.
If the plates in question are beyond repair, smash them! You could use them for a crockery smash stand as part of a bigger event, or broken and sanded-down pieces of ceramic are perfect for mosaics. You could hold an after-school mosaic art class for the children, for parents (mosaic and wine, anyone?) or for whole families to enjoy.
Finally, there’s the option to repurpose. Old, chipped plates could become jewellery stands, plant holders or art, you just need some ceramic paint.
Resew for rescues
When we think of waste, we don’t often think of fabric waste, such as clothes, bed linen, tea towels, flannels and that musty jumper that’s been sat in lost property for years. So what can you do with it? Not everyone has the skills to make new clothes out of old fabric, but anyone can learn how to sew some pieces together to make pet bedding!
Many animal rescues across the UK are crying out for cosy bedding for the animals in their care. Reach out to your local rescue and ask if they would be happy for you to make a job lot of pet bedding for the fluffy, feathery or scaley friends waiting for forever homes. You could also reach out to vet hospitals, sanctuaries and wildlife charities to see if they have any use for bedding.
Once you know where to send the bedding, ask your community for washed fabric donations, preferably things that can’t be sold or donated (old pillows would be perfect as they can’t be recycled either). Once you’re stocked up, it’s time to get everyone together!
The results don’t have to look Pinterest pretty, they just have to be cosy enough to comfort an animal friend. Ask the rescue or charity what they need and if there is anything you need to consider when making the bedding. If they don’t have any preferences, the easiest approach would be to have two pieces of fabric of a similar size, sew three sides together, turn it inside out, stuff soft material inside and sew up the final side.
Your handy helpers will need refreshments, so why not approach local businesses, such as a cafe or restaurant, to see if they will offer drinks and food in exchange for free advertising? You could also sell your best-looking bedding to pet parents to get a little bit of extra cash for your PTA.
Once the bedding is made and has been sent off, ask the rescue to send photos of the animals enjoying it to share with your community, or better yet ask if you can take photos of your volunteers giving them the donations. It’s great publicity for your association!
Find your repurpose
Do you have more handy crafters in your school than fashionistas? If so, why not organise a competition for the most inventive way to repurpose an unwanted item?
Ask the children to choose an object that is either deemed rubbish, broken or no longer needed, and challenge them to give it a brand-new purpose. They can make the object something functional or turn it into art. You could ask your school community to donate a range of items for the children to choose from or ask the children to find something at home.
Once the children have repurposed their object, you could set up a display in the school hall so the children can explain the idea behind their repurposed object to a panel of judges. To make it a free event for your PTA, ask your school community or local businesses for prize donations.
Image designed by Freepik
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