Making Recycled Paper

My kid and I recently made a couple batches of recycled paper. Most of the steps involved in the process are very attractive to four-year-olds. Using a paper shredder, using the blender, making a tub of mushy pulp, then splashing around in it! What could be more fun than that?

We started by sorting through my paper scraps, making a pile of brown and black papers, and another pile of pink and red papers. This is a great way to recycle paper scraps that are too small for anything else. After the papers were sorted, we shredded them.


The black pulp was rather dirty to work with but that didn't bother my little assistant. The pink pulp, he thought, was very similar to a strawberry smoothie.


The results of our labour: several sheets of dark grey and pink papers. The grey paper has a secret ingredient as it is intended for a special project, but that's all I'll say for now - more about that later!