Recycled Paper Making

I just finished a recycled paper making workshop with the kids at the Easton Family YMCA's Day Camp.  We had a fanastic time making a bunch of recycled paperboard.  One of the kids asked if I had written instruction which got me to thinking I should write up what I do with this program and post it here on my blog (I also sent instruction on to the camp and I hope they can pass it on to interested kids - making paper at home with mom and dad is a fun activity).

There a plenty of websites and youtube videos that show how to make recycled paper.  This is what I do with large groups of kids.  Research, experiment, try different things out.  There is a whole world of recycled paper projects that can be done.

For example, many years ago a teacher told me about what her son did.  He got very interested in making recycled paper.  He'd go around and buy used blenders at garage sales.  He experimented and became very good at it.  For his senior thesis in high school he wrote a paper on Shakespeare.  He made his own paper which he do so it looked like old parchment paper.  He printed his thesis in an old style font on this old looking paper.  The end result was a paper that looked like it had been written a long time ago.

Use you imagination.  Experiment.  Play around.  Have fun!

The George Steele Method of Making Recycled Paperboard


Step 1 - collect paper to recycle. The two best options old newspaper and old homework or copy paper. Coated paper found in magazines and newspaper inserts do not work as well.

Step 2 - shred paper. It's most fun to shred by hand, but you could use a home office paper shredder.

Step 3 - soak paper in water. The longer you soak it the easier it is on the blender. I did not soak the paper with my presentation because of the time constraints.  Using newsprint and old homework paper results in a grayish paper very much like a typical cardboard egg carton.  Add color by adding some old construction paper.

Step 4 - blend paper in blender. The kitchen blender used a few times to make paper and then thoroughly cleaned afterwards does no harm. My blenders are dedicated just to paper making since I do it so often. An old blender bought at a garage sale could be used if there is concern about the family blender and future food preparation. BLENDER MUST BE USED UNDER ADULT SUPPERVISION!

Step 5 - this step is quite different than most recycled paper making instructions. Google recycle paper making and you will find many websites that provide more information, instructions and videos. For speedy paper production I pour the paper pulp on to the screens "convex" side, not the "concave"/cupped side. I use old handkerchiefs stretched on to an embroidery hoop. There are many different instructions on how to make a paper making screens and use them. Check the web for other techniques.

Step 6 - flip the screen with the paper pulp on to a flat surface. For my program I place a piece of wax paper on top of the paper pulp so that the paper can be moved to a dry area. You can flip the paper pulp on to a table. Use you hands to smooth out the pulp. Be careful not to press to much in one spot or you will end up with a hole in your paper. Use a sponge to soak up water. Use the sponge evenly around the paper screen.

Step 7 - Once you've removed the majority of the water let the paper on the screen dry. This might take a day or two. Once dry you can peel off the screen and pull up the paper.

This produces a thick paper board that can be cut and painted or colored with magic marker. It does not fold well.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.  The link to my e-mail is above.

Owl study at the Frothingham Library

I had a wonderful time giving my owl ecology presentation this past Monday at the Frothingham Free Library in Fonda, NY. About 30 children with parents and grandparents in tow had the chance to learn about owls. They dissected owl pellets to find out what owls like to eat. Here is what we found.




We took apart 13 pellets and found 34 mice and 1 shrew. There might have been a few more mice undiscovered as some of the pellets had not been completely dissected in the time we had. We did not find any evidence that the owls had eaten moles or birds.



We had a small sample, 13 pellets. By dissecting more pellets we might get a different picture of what the owl’s food preference might be. If you look through the archives of my blog you can find the results that other groups have found when dissecting owl pellets in my programs. In addition, I will be doing owl presentations at other libraries this summer, as part of the Summer Reading Club program. I will post those results here. Check my blog to see what other kids find.

Bird Survey at King Elementary in Warwick, NY

On June 16th I did a bird survey with 5th graders at King Elementary in Warwick.  The school has a wonderful diversity of habitat around the school including forest, wetland and field environments.  Because of this there is a wide variety of birds found there.  Here is what we found.

Mrs. Boccia’s class – 9:15 AM, 99% cloud cover, slight breeze out of the southeast, temperature in the low 60’s Fahrenheit

Black Vulture – 1
Turkey Vulture – 4
Mourning Dove – 1
American Crow – 1
Barn Swallow – 3
Tufted Titmouse – 1
House Wren – 1
Eastern Bluebird – 1
American Robin – 3
Gray Catbird – 4
Yellow Warbler – 1
Common Yellowthroat – 1
Chipping Sparrow – 3
Red-winged Blackbird – 10
American Goldfinch – 1
House Sparrow – 1

Mrs. Meehan’s class – 10:25 AM, 50% cloud cover, strong breeze out of the southeast, temperature in the mid 60’s Fahrenheit

Common Merganser – 4
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – 13
Turkey Vulture – 3
Mourning Dove – 3
Eastern Phoebe – 1
Blue Jay – 1
House Wren – 3
Eastern Bluebird – 2
American Robin – 2
Gray Catbird – 3
European Starling – 3
Yellow Warbler – 1
Common Yellowthroat – 1
Red-winged Blackbird – 3
Common Grackle – 1

Mrs. Digi’s class – 11:15 AM, 75% cloud cover, very light breeze out of the southeast, temperature in the high 60’s Fahrenheit

Green Heron – 1
Black Vulture – 3
Turkey Vulture – 8
Red-tailed Hawk – 3
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 1
Tree Swallow – 2
House Wren – 1
American Robin – 3
Gray Catbird – 1
Cedar Waxwing – 7
Common Yellowthroat – 1
Chipping Sparrow – 1
Bobolink – 1
Red-winged Blackbird – 13
Common Grackle – 1
American Goldfinch – 1
House Sparrow – 2

Mrs. Shoock’s class – 1:15 PM, 70% cloud cover, very light breeze out of the south, temperature in the high 60’s Fahrenheit

Turkey Vulture – 3
Chimney Swift – 3
American Crow – 1
Eastern Bluebird – 1
European Starling – 5
Yellow Warbler – 1
Field Sparrow – 1
Song Sparrow – 1
Red-winged Blackbird – 5
Common Grackle – 8
American Goldfinch – 1

Mrs. Flynn’s class – 2:15 PM, 100% cloud cover, medium breeze out of the south, temperature in the high 60’s Fahrenheit

Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – 5
Turkey Vulture – 9
Chimney Swift – 1
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 2
Barn Swallow – 2
House Wren – 1
Eastern Bluebird – 1
American Robin – 6
Gray Catbird – 1
European Starling – 1
Cedar Waxwing – 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler – 1
Common Yellowthroat – 1
Song Sparrow – 1
Red-winged Blackbird – 1
Rusty Blackbird – 2
Common Grackle – 16
Purple Finch – 1
House Sparrow – 1

Here is a composite list of all the birds identified on June 18, 2012 at King Elementary school.

Common Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Chimney Swift
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
House Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

A total of 32 species were seen or heard in the habitats surrounding King Elementary. With a mixture of woodland, open field and wetland it is not surprising to get this number. Actually there are several other species that have been observed at King in the past that were not seen or heard today. These include several species of woodpeckers, the Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Wild Turkey, a few other hawks, some of the flycatchers, the Red-eyed Vireo, the Brown Thrasher, and the Northern Mockingbird. There is also a likelihood of one or two kinds of owls inhabiting the woods surrounding the school. It would not be impossible to get 40 or more species of birds in the school environment. An interesting project would be to compile a list of all birds that occur on the school grounds. Some of these birds would be migrants that travel through during the spring and fall migration seasons. The birds we found today are resident birds that have nests and young in the woods, fields and wetlands around the school.

To find what species have been counted at King in the past check out my blog, www.schoolyardnaturalist.blogspot.com. On my blog you can also find what birds have been found at other schools I have visited.

Ornithology at Lynnwood Elementary School in the Guilderland School District

In early June I had the chance to study ornithology at Lynnwood Elementary in the Guilderland Central School District.  I worked with 1st graders in doing a bird survey of the schoolyard and with 4th graders studying owls and their predator-prey relationship.


On Tuesday, the 5th and Wednesday the 6th, 1st graders were ornithologists with me doing a survey of birds of the Lynnwood schoolyard habitat.  Here is what we discovered in walking around the schoolyard looking and listening for birds.

Ms. Gabrielle’s class observed or heard:
Blue Jay – 1
American Crow – 2
Tufted Titmouse – 1
House Wren – 1
American Robin – 1
European Starling – 1
Ovenbird – 1
Common Grackle – 3
Brown Headed Cowbird – 2 
House Sparrow – 4

Ms. Tymeson’s class observed or heard:
Pileated Woodpecker – 2
American Crow – 1
Tufted Titmouse – 1
American Robin – 4
Ovenbird – 1
Northern Cardinal – 3
Common Grackle – 2
House Sparrow – 5

Ms. Uttberg’s class observed or heard:
Chimney Swift – 1
Tufted Titmouse – 1
Gray Catbird – 1
European Starling – 1
Ovenbird – 1
Northern Cardinal – 1
House Sparrow – 6

In the three classes that looked for birds over two different days we found a total of 14 different kinds of birds. Many other birds are likely inhabitants of the habitat surrounding the school. These include Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Eastern Bluebird, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker and Baltimore Oriole to name a few. We were not lucky enough to see them. Keep your eyes and ears open for them in the future.

Here is a composite list of the birds we saw in our two days of exploring.
Chimney Swift (the bird that nests inside the chimney of the school)
Pileated Woodpecker (the largest woodpecker of New York State)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tufted Titmouse
House Wren
American Robin
Gray Catbird (the bird that mimics other birds and usually ends it’s song with a meowww)
European Starling
Ovenbird (the bird that sings “teacher, teacher, teacher”)
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
Brown Headed Cowbird (the bird that lays its eggs in the nest of other birds)
House Sparrow (nesting in the school bell near the front door of the 1st grade wing)

On Tuesday, June 5th I did a lesson on studying owls.  As part of this lesson we discussed what owls like to eat.  To learn more about the owl predator behavior and what might be their most favored foods we dissected owl pellets.  Here is what we discovered.

Ms. Romano’s class took apart 11 pellets and found 32 mice, 0 shrews, 1 mole and 1 bird
Ms. Follansbee’s class took apart 10 pellets and found 26 mice, 0 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds
Ms. Janssen’s class took apart 110 pellets and found 23 mice, 2 shrews, 0 moles and 0 birds

These results support my hypothesis that mice are the most favored food, while shrews make up the second choice and moles and birds are tied for third place. The difference though between shrews and moles and birds is very small. It would be best to dissect more pellets to see if in fact shrews are eaten more often that moles and birds. Students might check the archives on this blog to see what other students have found in previous owl ecology sessions.  Add these findings to what we have found here at Lynnwood.  Does this new data support or contradict my hypothesis?