Cardboard Worlds
Use your creativity as you imagine and make an environment with cardboard boxes.
Invite your child to create a pretend world out of cardboard. The Cardboard Worlds activity is especially good for children to develop their independent thinking skills and explore their creativity.
- Audience
- Caregiver
- Subject
- STEAM
- Age
- ElementaryKindergartenPre-KPreschool
- Languages
- Brazilian PortugueseEnglishHaitian CreoleSimplified ChineseSpanishVietnamese
- Materials
- Cardboard Box, Cereal Box, Tissue Box, Shoe Box, Scissors, Markers, Crayons, Tape, Small Toys
Tinkering is about exploring and problem solving using materials and tools. Tinkering often starts with simple questions, like “What can I do with this?” or “How does this work?”
The Cardboard Worlds activity is especially good for children to develop their independent thinking skills and explore their creativity.
Getting Ready
You might want to save up some boxes before doing this activity. You could also go to a nearby store to ask if they have any larger boxes you might have (refrigerator boxes are amazing!). To start, gather your boxes and art materials, and clear a spot on the floor for building.
Things to Try
- Invite your child to create a pretend world out of cardboard. Together, think of a plan for how to use the large and small boxes and other materials you’ve gathered to make a world on another planet, underwater, in a forest, or even from your own neighborhood. What buildings or structures will be in your world? What shapes will they be?Who (or what) might live inside them?
- Work together to build with the boxes. If your creations fall over, make a different plan and try again.
- Use the art materials to add windows, doors, and signs, and roads or train tracks for vehicles.
- Encourage your child to add some of their favorite small toys, like small dolls, animals, or cars, to their new world. Create stories together. What adventures happen there?
Things to Say
“What can you tell me about what you’re making?”
“What other buildings or structures does your new world need?”
“Take your time. Putting things together can be tricky.”
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