Cardboard Fun!

Kids love cardboard boxes.  Next time you are about to throw one away, think about something fun you can make out of it.  Here are a few ideas on cardboard fun!

For Thanks Giving, we wanted to have a unique playdate that had a different theme than making a turkey or leaves.  I invited our friends to come sail the Mayflower at our house.  As a craft activity, we had them make binoculars so they can spot Plymouth rock.  This construction took 7 rolls of duck tape, 7 large boxes and 21 hours.  A bit over the top but an amazing playdate!

---

For class, I built the kids a castle out of cardboard.  This only took an hour.   The kids played with the castle for an hour. 

---

After the kids were done playing, we had them paint the castle with real paint rollers.  The painting activity was the most successful of all paint projects yet.  The kids really took to the real paint rollers.  We used the smaller version so their little hands could easily work the roller.  My Liam still talks about his castle! 

---

Always opt for peek through holes!  The kids love them!

---

During story time today, I created this box and put a bear face on it.  As I read the story of the brown bear, the kids took the story cards and fed it the bear when prompted.  This is a great way to make story time more interactive!

---

To make learning letters fun and new, we created these mail boxes.  Each box had it's own letter.  You can use numbers and shapes too.  We gave the kids several envelopes with the various letters on them. The kids were asked to deliver the mail to the correct mail box.

---

Kids love sand related activities.  Here we changed it up by having them feed the frog oatmeal.  This keeps them busy for a while.  The room always goes quiet when we bring out the frog box.  It's a great way to wind them down!

---

The bigger, the better!  Here's a bus I created for the first week of class. 

---

Another great vehicle play day.  Set up an obstacle course with a bunch of ride on toys, make a box with huge red, yellow and green stick ons and direct traffic.  Kids have a blast while learning about street safety!

---

For the little ones, you can attach shower rings to plastic hooks on the box.  It's a great fine motor builder!  We found the plastic hooks and rings at walmart for just $1

---

With the same box, I converted it to a block drop using milk cartons.  Another fun activity to keep your toddler busy.

---

There's so many more things you can do with a card board box.  Just let your imagination take charge and save those boxes!