Homeschooling: Green Your Classroom

September isn't always a big month of changes for homeschooled kids. Many homeschoolers learn year-round, and others work on a unique schedule. Nevertheless, the change from summer to autumn affords a natural segue from playtime to study time, and there's no better time to overhaul the "classroom" than a change of season.

Greening your classroom—whether it's the kitchen table or a dedicated study room—is an important step in teaching your kids about going green in day-to-day living.

Cut Paper Use

Paper use is a big issue in any classroom, whether it's in a school or at home. When it comes to eco-friendly paper, 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper is king, and if you can find a brand that hasn't been bleached with chlorine, even better. Once you find eco-friendly paper, look for ways to reduce your use of it.

Computers can be very helpful because information can be repeatedly reorganized without using a new piece of paper. Invest in a double-sided printer and you can print essays and study notes on both sides of the page to cut your paper use in half.

Whenever possible, use dry-erase boards or chalkboards for "practicing" exercises, such as printing and cursive for little children or complex math problems for teens.

Another alternative is scratch paper—paper that has information printed on one side only. You can maximize the paper's use by working on math problems or jotting down ideas for essays on the unused side of the piece of paper. Sources of scratch paper include junk mail, recycling bins near photocopiers in libraries and other public spaces, and pages that have been printed only to discover an error. For long-term use, make a notebook with scratch paper.

Of course, when you want to discard paper, recycle it so it can be made into paper once again.

Think Reusable

Looking for reusable items will also help you green your classroom.

Rather than loading up on disposable pens, invest in refillable pens. If you're worried about the increased cost, find out if there is a way to recycled the body of the pen or find a new way to use the pen.

Pencils may seem like a good alternative, but unless they're made with a recycled material such as paper or denim, your kids will be eating through wood pretty quickly. Another thing to keep in mind: Some pencil manufacturers, such as Ticonderoga, include an antibacterial agent in pencil coatings to cut down on the spread of germs.

Another supply to reconsider is staples. Rather than wasting metal on single-use solutions to hold notes together, opt for paper clips bulldog clips or rings that can be used multiple times.

Non-Toxic is Best for Everyone

Stocking your classroom with non-toxic and all-natural products is the best thing you can do for the health of your children, yourself, and local wildlife.

Many inks are now made with soy and vegetable dyes, so the big concern is now over the paraffin used to make crayons. Paraffin is made with the sludge left over in the oil refining process. While beeswax crayons are an alternative, they're pricey, so your best bet may be vegetable-ink markers or thick pencil crayons made for little hands.

When you're hunting for glue for craft time, make sure you look for a non-toxic brand. As a hint, if it smells, it's probably not good for the brain. Coccoina glue, which has been used in schools in Italy for decades, is non-toxic, non-solvent and acid-free, and comes in paste and glue stick forms. Just keep an eye on the little ones-the almond oil-infused paste smells delicious.

Turn Trash to Treasures

Art class is all about creativity no matter what materials you have at hand. Instead of focusing exclusively on drawing, painting and sculpture, why not let your child's creativity go wild by creating collages and sculptures with objects that would otherwise end up in the trash?

When it comes to turning trash into treasures, just about anything goes: Think packaging from foods, images and text from magazines and newspapers, beeswax drippings from candles, scrap cloth, bits of string, even Barbie dolls that have met an untimely demise.

Dedicate a bin for collecting objects and materials so everyone in the family can add items as they are finished using them, and you'll never need to scramble to collect items for art class.

Other Ways To Green Your Classroom

• Use natural, eco-friendly cleaning products

• Invest in green furniture

• Create your own green furniture: Upcycle two two-drawer filing cabinets and an old door into a desk

• Refresh walls with no-VOC paints

• Keep pens, markers and other supplies organized in soup cans

• Help filter the air with a few plants