What can you do with a cardboard box?

Rose and Julia took a closer look at the inside of the cardboard box.

We noticed we had many large, empty cardboard boxes after we recently received new wooden chairs for our classroom. The children investigated the boxes and had many ideas about how we could play with them: we could climb inside, build with them, and decorate them.


  

Sophie turned a box on its side and found she
could climb right inside. It was the perfect size! 

 

After discovering we could fit inside the cardboard boxes, the children asked the teachers to cut some holes in the boxes. Suddenly, we had "windows" and "doors" to climb in and out while we played.

 The children used the cardboard boxes
to open a pretend ice cream shop.

Ilan and Jack connected all of the boxes
to build a large tunnel to crawl through.

So, what can you do with a cardboard box? The children discovered there is no one way to play with a cardboard box. Providing the boxes as open-ended materials supported the children to creatively think about how to use the boxes, inspired imaginative play, and provided opportunities for constructing. The children used team work when moving and building with the boxes, and also negotiated space when multiple children decided to play in one box together.