Discover why we prefer to use paper over plastic in this paper versus plastic experiment.

Do you know why we’re using paper straws and bags instead of plastic straws and bags? My 5-year-old asked me one night during bath time which prompted us to learn about paper versus plastic!
As a homeschooling family, we have the freedom to learn whatever our hearts desire; so when he asked about why we use paper straws, I felt it was my “duty” to teach them more about recycling.

We started off the next morning by watching two YouTube videos from two of our favorite channels: “How Recycling Works” from SciShow Kids and “Recycling for Kids” from kids Academy. They are so informative and have a good variety to choose from.

I explained to them mostly about how plastic is killing our ocean life and that’s where this “experiment” came in.

I gave them each a container with water, a piece of plastic and a piece of paper and let them play for a good 5 minutes.

After a while, they started commenting on how the water slides off the plastic but the paper started breaking. We then discussed which would be better for an animal to ingest.

We hope you enjoy trying this experiment with your kiddos to explain paper versus plastic! PS: Have you seen this DIY Lava Lamp Experiment?
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