Planting Seeds

• Encourage first grade students to go green with this seed planting project. Give each child a few bean seeds and a small water cup. Divide the children into groups and plant the seeds in an orderly fashion to avoid a huge mess. Have each child fill their cup three quarters of the way full with dirt and fertilizer. Have each child place their seeds in the cup of dirt and cover them with more dirt. Label each cup with the first grader's name and place them in a common location. After the entire class has finished planting their seeds, allow each child to water the plants at the same time each day to promote consistent growth.
  
  

Raise Monarch Butterflies

• Global warming is a serious threat to the monarch butterflies that make their winter home in Mexico. By raising monarch butterflies in your first grade classroom, it will educate children on the importance of repopulating monarchs. Find eggs outside by monitoring a monarch near wilkweed. Once the egg is found, place it in a large glass jar with enough milkweed to feed on when it hatches. Once the larvae hatch and is ready, they will crawl to the top of the cage and begin the process of forming the pupa which is also known as a chrysalis. They remain in this form for 10 to 14 days after which they will emerge as a butterfly. The butterflies can then eventually be released into the wild, adding to the population.
  
  

Turning Trash Into Treasure

• Encourage your first graders to recycle and reuse items that would otherwise be thrown into the trash by making something useful in your home. Gather empty yogurt containers and decorate them with the class to make pencil holders. Use an old shoebox to make a jewelry box or storage box for important photos or keepsake items. Use empty plastic milk jugs and milk cartons for planters. Gather all the items that the first graders created from recycled materials and display them for others to see.
  
  

Recycling Program

• Encourage first grade students to help you set up a recycling center within the classroom. Separate plastics, paper and cans into different types of containers. At the end of each week, weigh the amount of items in each container and use the weights to create a simple bar graph, showing the students how many pounds of items they helped recycle every week. Compare the graphs to the previous week's graph to see if the amount went up or down.This will encourage the children to recycle more each week, trying to raise the amount of weight in each container.