Boxes, boxes, & more boxes

A few of the different shaped boxes that we have received

This post is going to be short and simple.  Tis the season for extra boxes hanging around the house from the holidays.  I have kept every size of box from small to large that we received as gifts or through purchases.  I basically keep them until they are no longer stable enough to take a pounding from my kiddos.  Boxes can open the door of imagination for kids, and also extend on so many developmental milestones.

Smaller boxes: (such as cereal & food boxes)

The different variations of these types of boxes are very simple.  Your child could line them up according to size and learn about seriation, stack them inside one of another and learn about basic math concepts such as volume and sequencing, or treat them like stacking blocks and learn about cause and effect and develop some of their large and fine motor skills.

Medium Boxes: (such as the boxes on the bottom right hand corner in picture)

These boxes are good for kiddos to sit in mostly or sit on top.  If your kiddos are light enough, they could also stand on them and practice climbing up.  I sometimes stuff the boxes with extra paper that was inside the box when shipped or even extra plastic baggies that you receive from grocery stores.

My son climbing...

My daughter sitting on the box and using the other box as a drum

Larger boxes: (Christmas tree box, kitchen set box, longer skinnier boxes)

These types of boxes are just good ole' fashion fun boxes.  These boxes are good for climbing in and out of, playing "peek-a-boo" from inside the box with the flaps, and pretending they are a fort.

Inside the box

Hanging out inside the box

Peek-a-boo

The longer skinnier boxes we received when we ordered curtain rods online.  I like to use the boxes as a balance beam for the kiddos mostly.

  

We also integrated the boxes as a tool for them to practice jumping off of and over.  Today, though, my son decided to use it as a race car track for his cars.  Such a cute little imagination! :-)

Boxes can be used for so much and honestly, kids enjoy these so much more than the toy itself!

"Pick a Card" Math Game

Last year, my husband started playing poker and really enjoyed it.  For his birthday party, I planned a poker theme and bought several decks of cards.  During the party, they were highly used and after that, not so much.  I left them in a box in the basement thinking I would probably never use them again, but to my surprise I have thought of a great use for those extra cards!  I am going to teach you a simple math game that you can create using one deck (or more) of cards and a few extra items you find around the house.


While playing this game, your child will learn:

• Number recognition
• Sorting and classifying skills
• Counting
• Shape and color reinforcement
• Social skills, such as turn taking, if he/she is playing with another friend

The materials you will need include:

• Plastic cups - doesn't matter which color they are
• Black permanent marker
• A deck (or more) of playing cards

First, count out at least nine cups.  Unfortunately, with a deck of cards you will not be able to teach ALL the numbers from 1-10, but you will be able to teach most of them.  *If you want to, you can take a A, K, Q, J card and tape a piece of paper over it and write the number one on it to make your own "one" card for the game*  

Next, take your cups and the permanent marker and place the numbers 2-10 on the cups.

Once there is a number on each cup, place them in any order that you feel is developmentally appropriate for your child.  Then give your child the deck of cards. *If this is the first time you are completing the activity, start with half the deck and you can work up to the whole deck*  Encourage your child to sort through the cards and you can also help as needed.

After the cards are displayed for the child, encourage him or her to name the number on the card, and then place into the appropriate numbered cup.

  

This activity is a great math activity and yet so simple to make!  If you don't have plastic cups available, you can use plastic/styrofoam plates or bowls as well!

Have fun!

Extension Idea:

So what to do with those A, K, Q, J cards?  Go ahead and make cups for those as well!  You can either combine the two activities together or separate them.

Rubber band Pull and Stretch

Have you ever purchased one of those big balls of rubber bands and thought to yourself, "What am I going to do with all of these?"  As a matter of fact, there is more than one purpose for rubber bands other than for office use.  Through the activity, children are able to use those extra rubber bands and also other objects that you find around the house that can help build their fine motor skills.

During this activity, children will develop:

• Fine motor skills - for those future writers!!

• Eye-hand coordination

• Math skills that help children recognize colors and sizes.

• Patience!

What will you need to make this fun activity:

• First and foremost, you must collect a variety of rubber bands to make this activity work.  As I mentioned before, I had one of those giant balls of colorful rubber bands sitting around my house that I rarely used.  All you need is a few rubber bands from the ball, I prefer some that are similar in size with maybe a few that vary in size.

 

• Plastic lids of different sizes 

 

Basically, there are no steps in making this activity.  You are able to engage in this activity with your child the moment you are able to gather the materials.  Just give your child the pile of rubber bands with the lids and encourage him or her to start stretching the rubber bands over the lids.  To make it easier, you can cut slits in the sides of the lids to help the rubber bands fit more securely, but WARNING - that may leave sharp edges!  In addition, discuss with your child the different colors of rubber bands as well as the different sizes.  Building their math vocabulary through this activity is an extra bonus!

Extension Idea:

Rubber bands can basically fit around anything, plus if you want to make the activity easier for younger children, you might want to find different objects.  Other great items to collect include plastic juice jugs, yogurt containers, cups, etc.  Again, these items are also very easy to collect, plus it puts your recyclables to great use!

Any other ideas?  Please share!