Spring Cleaning - Environmental Super Hero Project for March

I don’t know how it happened, but March almost slipped away again without our Environmental Super Hero project! Here it is, the final day before spring break – the perfect time to get a little cleaning done. When we return to school, it will already be April, with just a few months left of this magical school year left. So hard to believe!

In March, with the start of Spring, we typically learn about "green" cleaning - ways to clean the house (or school) using all natural ingredients and reusable cloths. This is always one of the students' favorite projects. They love getting to decorate their own work aprons, mix their own cleaning solutions, and squirt, squirt, squirt. It is always good clean fun.

Each child got to go to the "scent bar". I set up some essential oils that they could smell and select their favorites. They could pick one (or two) that they thought would smell fresh and clean.

  

Once the scents were carefully picked out, small groups of children followed a very simple recipe to make the very simplest of solutions. They poured the mixture into their spray bottles and got busy!

Each child was allowed to take home their spray bottle, their apron, and their cloth (if desired).

Here are a few recipes, including the one we used today. I find that children love to clean (at least for a short time) if they can be part of the process. Happy Spring Cleaning, Everyone!

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER - this is the one we made!
one cup water
one cup vinegar
15 drops essential oils

TILE CLEANER
1/2 cup baking soda
Dr. Bronner's peppermint liquid soap
5 drops essential oils

WINDOW CLEANER
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dr. Bronner's liquid soap
2 cups water