You can use plastic milk jugs--those are real easy to cut with cheap scissors or saw them with a steak knife.

T

The Black and decker electric sissors work great and are so worth the $13-15 investment if you are cutting a lot of containers. I would not put them in the hands of very young children, but they could certainly be used by the 10+ crowd with good supervision.

The other electric tool folks use often is a soldering iron or wood engraving tool to burn through the plastic to make drainage holes. I actually wouldn't want kids doing this though - on top of the burning hazard, the fumes are very bad - out side is best. Maybe set up some way to hold the container securely (in a vise of some kind?) and let the kids use a punch tool and hammer to hit it through.

Perhaps some parent volunteers could help out? I'm envisioning a production line kind of thing where the adults are handling the container prep and the kids then fill, water, sprinkle seed, pat down, label, seal up with tape and bring them outside.

Nancy

You know, my m-n-l has been trying to convince me to get those electric scissors. I've never used them, but you guys think they'd be okay for 7th grader to use? I just want the kids to have the whole experice. I have noticed that the off-brand bottles are easier to cut than Coke bottles, for instance.
Nan, that's a GREAT idea, but we don't really have many volunteer-type parents if you know what I mean.

In our districit 7th graders take shop and use all kinds of electric woodworking equipment - I think the electric sissors, with good instruction and supervision, should be fine. Just make it clear that the consequence of using them on anything else besides the containers is to sit out for the whole project! (it would be REAL tempting to give someone a quick haircut..)

The only snag I have run into with the sissors is that you need a "start hole" - a place to insert the blades. I just burn one with my solderer while I'm doing step one (making dranage holes in the bottom)right in the middle of a milk jug and then cut around. Takes about 15 seconds.

Do you have an industrial arts teacher the building? I bet they would be a great consultant on the project in terms of "how to teach the safety rules".

I have winter sown with my daughter for about 3 years now (she's just 7). I got away from the gallon milk containers some time ago. We use plastic yogurt cups (she goes through enough of them). They're a good size, okay for little hands and don't require herculean strenth to poke holes in the bottom!

Also - as part of our science curriculum on Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - we use newspaper pots and toilet paper tubes. Yes, they'll require more attention to watering come spring but if you're doing this project for a large class size, you may WANT something smaller (less soil and fewer seeds).

Do they still serve milk in little cartons at the school? If so, get the kids to collect and save them to use.

I love those electric scissors! But, they won't help you make drainage holes. On 2L bottles, I find that a drill bit slides off and is dangerous. Knives, too. I do use a large drill bit, though--1/4". Starting with a small bit and then using the large one might work ok. I use a sharp pair of scissors, snip the bulges on the bottom, then poke the scissors in and twist a nice big hole. I think it's much easier to do this with milk jugs, you could start the slit in the side and let the kids cut around, and maybe put slits on the bottom that the kids will turn into holes.

Or, maybe cottage-cheese containers or orange-juice cartons would be easier for the students to deal with. The cottage ch. containers can be stacked and drilled several at a time. For the juice cartons, I would use a utility knife to start a slit and let the kids finish the cutting. (I use the utility knife to start 2L bottles, too, then use the electric scissors to make the hemispherical cut)

My junior high had a woodshop. When I was in 7th grade, every student alternated between gym and either sewing, cooking, or woodshop--and we had to take all of them. Then the state mandated daily gym, and those classes became elective. Too bad, but I'm sure the gym thing was important--although we only had 1 obese kid in the school back then. What does it look like now, Ashley? And, do jr highs still teach hands-on stuff?

I was glad to see your post and get an update on the school project. We will look forward to more news later on. Thanks