Multiple Benefits of Recycling

Since I drive my recycling to the recycling center, it tends to accumulate quite a bit between visits...

This ridiculous amount of stuff is hugely embarrassing to me, since I often help friends de-clutter their homes. decluttering blog My family knows that it's easier for me to "preach" tidiness than it is to live it out in daily life.

There would have been even more to stuff into my car this morning if I hadn't been taking my juice and detergent bottles to one of my high schools for a special project.  I've been trying to provide opportunities for students to practice pre-vocational tasks that will help them with grasp strength, work hardening, sequencing and organization.  Today was the day to prepare the saved-up bottles for use next year.

Fill clean bottles with water, then add a few tablespoons of  white vinegar.  Using a little white vinegar might keep the water fresh for a few weeks or longer.  Leave a few inches of airspace at the top.

Apply a ring of hot glue around the inside of the cap, where the threads of the bottle will connect with the cap.  This will slow down a student opening the bottle but don't count on it preventing spills.

Some students will carry just one or two bottles at a time, from a table or from the floor, then stock them on a shelf or counter.  Other students will be able to carry a crate of bottles for stocking.

I asked the teachers to vary the heights at which the bottles are kept and stocked--perhaps picking them up from the floor and placing individual bottles on waist-high or chest-high shelves.  I hope it will provide an opportunity for students to tilt their heads in different planes, to provide the same vestibular challenges they will encounter on some jobs or in everyday life.  We all know some students who like to keep their head position very static and this can interfere with different tasks.

The teachers understand that some students don't use good body mechanics, and they should make sure that the students are not carrying so much weight that they might injure themselves.

Our two-week break starts in about 3.5 hours--I'll be having a wonderful Christmas and I hope you do, too!  Talk to you next year.