Tag: Boxes

Block City

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BLock City (6)

No day like a snow day to build a whole city!

Save empty food containers (rectangles and squares work best, so set aside items like aseptic milk cartons, cereal boxes, cracker boxes, or pasta boxes ahead of time), and you’ll have a nice assortment when you’re ready to make the buildings for this game.

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We covered the boxes in bright construction paper, and then decorated. You can use markers and crayons, or tape on pictures from magazines – by the end, we had a fire station, gas station, trees, homes, and more.

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You’ll notice that my crafting skills are fairly abysmal – beauty wasn’t my goal here, just imaginative fun!

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Now it was time to make the road! I pulled out a sheet of butcher paper (an old tarp or any flat surface would work fine, too). While Travis arranged his buildings, I drew roads and scenery. I thought he’d want to use the markers on the paper as well, but he was more interested in driving around the cars I had set out.

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No reason we couldn’t add some real blocks in with our cardboard boxes, to round out the buildings in town!

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In sum, this ate up over an hour of a snow day – perfection!

You’ve Got Mail

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Travis loves everything about the mail – going to the mailroom with me, turning the key in the lock, putting letters to be sent through the mail slot, spotting mail trucks as we drive, you name it! So it seems only natural he should have his own mailbox at home. Toddlers will delight in this game, getting to send and receive “their” own mail.

Cut a slit in an old shoebox or package box, and let your child paint it however they like. Travis picked out blue and red for his mailbox, and loved mixing them together for a purple-ish final result. (I helped out with painting the sides, which were harder for him than the top).

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Once the box dries, you can decorate more with crayons or stickers, or just skip right to the business of mailing! Use any junk mail, old envelopes, or other slips of paper you have on hand as letters.

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You can re-purpose old stamps and glue them on with glue sticks, or buy stickers in the shape of stamps.

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Either way, Travis had so much fun “sorting” his mail, mailing it into the box, and then seeing what he received. He was very proud to “write” me a letter as well (heart melting…)

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If you have time, decorate a second box to be the grown up’s mailbox. Now you can send letters back and forth!