Fun with Boxes!
Boxes of all shapes and sizes are transformed into decorations and toys for kids. Projects range from making a pirate hat to building a train or a castle. In addition to boxes, projects usually require paint, glue, and scissors. Some will incorporate other items, such as googly eyes and drinking straws.
Parent Perspective:
There are some fun projects that will give kids room decorations (aquarium) and hours of pretend play (pirate ship, dragon). The desktop bins project is cute, too. Overall, the projects skew a little older than the Paper Plates book. There is more "wait time" for glue or paint to dry before assembling.
Unlike its partner book 51 Things To Make with Paper Plates, this book requires a bit more planning. You'll need to have a stash of boxes of various types (shoebox, Kleenex, cereal), toilet paper and paper towel rolls, and for some projects, corrugated cardboard. [The kind that is used in packing/shipping.]
Makers will have a field day with a variety of projects in this book. In addition to animals, there are seasonal projects, objects that can be the start of imaginative play, and practical items, too.
Several of the projects use round boxes. They are not as common an item as cereal, facial tissue, or shoe boxes. Projects also have more angular cuts, so it would be helpful to have templates or larger-sized patterns to work with.
This book is part of a series of recycling household items to use for kids' crafts.
You'll need a stash of boxes and some other crafty supplies (like googly eyes). From marine animals to insects and mammals, you can make lots of different animals to go with your science or social studies curricula. Tap into kids' curiosity and love of all things pirate with several projects. There's even a project for creating cute houses to hold your desktop supplies.
If you're doing this project together with your preschool- or Kindergarten-aged child, talk about some of the shapes. The projects often incorporate more than one.
unknown
10 and Up
4 to 10
If you're a cardboard collector and love crafting with kids it is a buy.