Still stuck at home trying to entertain the grandkids? One thing I have found that grabs their attention (holding it for longer than two minutes) and feeds their creativity is a large cardboard box.
Boxes can be collected from almost anywhere: deliveries, new furniture or appliances, a recent move or bought online. One large box can become a fort, castle, clubhouse, food truck or firetruck. The possibilities are endless. If you obtain a new box in these COVID-19 virus quarantine days, please sanitize them with disinfecting wipes, such as Lysol, before using.
Anything Goes
After the grandkids decide what they want to build, you can help them cut out windows and doors. Maybe you can add a steering wheel or ladder made from extra cardboard. Give them a box of crayons, some stickers and let them color and design their new box creation.
Cutting off the flaps on the box will give you the extra amount needed for decorations or to make a roof. Expand your structure to make it even bigger. Additional boxes may be placed side-by-side for extra rooms, or on top of one another to create a larger space to stand in.
To add more rooms, cut out one side of the initial box and add an additional box by taping it together. Strong packing tape works the best. Make doors to crawl through or cut large openings to create a larger open space so they can walk in.
Decorate inside walls with leftover wallpaper or wrapping paper, then apply stickers. To brighten up the inside of your box structure, hang light strings, either plug-in Christmas lights or small battery fairy lights. Tape them to the ceiling for a beautiful effect that will make the box feel special and magic.
A medium-sized box can become a boat or car. My four grandchildren loved making a boat and giving each other rides—pushing it around the “lake” kitchen, taking turns riding in front or back, and being the ship’s captain.
If you have a smaller box, just large enough to fit one child, make a race car or a car to take to a make-shift drive-in movie. I could not find four identically sized boxes (they must be the same!) so I bought four plastic storage containers.
The children used markers and many stickers to decorate their cars. I made steering wheels from black construction paper that they taped onto the inside front, plus four black wheels taped on the outside.
To take a trip to Grammy’s Drive-In, they drove their cars around the house and then parked them in front of the TV. The drive-In featured a favorite movie, candy and popcorn. We filled the bins with pillows and stuffed animals to make them comfier.
