CHAPTER 1
FANTASTIC FOOD BOXES
You’ll never look at a cereal, snack, or pizza box the same after you see some of the fun activities in the next few pages. Create a fun bean toss game from a pizza box (here), transform a cereal box into a fun elephant feeding game (here), or relive your childhood with ravenous hippos (here). Make characters come alive, practice dexterity, and learn shapes all while having fun with boxes.
Just when you thought that your leftover pizza box was making its way to the recycling bin, why not upcycle it at home instead? Turn the inside of the cardboard pizza box into an entertaining pompom maze. Create walls and a path to try to move the pompoms around the maze. This craft is super fun for kids, creative, and great for cognitive skills. A cardboard cutout that is the same size as the square pizza box Craft knife Craft glue or hot glue gun and hot glue sticks Scrap cardboard Paper tube Small pizza box Pompoms
Add pompoms on top of the maze and have kids move the box around to try to get the pompoms to drop inside the holes. Learning Skills Tips to Extend Play◁ PIZZA BOX POMPOM MAZE
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PROCEDURE
HOW TO PLAY
Fine motor skills, color recognitionInstead of a maze shape, you can omit the cardboard barriers and have kids try to throw balls inside the holes for a fun ball game. You can make larger holes and get bigger pompoms to make it easier for younger children.
Save the next empty food box that you have and turn it into a TV. Create an engaging puppet scene with this imaginative screen. Kids can help draw endless characters and themes to make their TV show come alive while they narrate story plots and twists. Craft knife Scrap cardboard Food box Craft glue or hot glue gun and hot glue sticks 3 food pouch lids Red and white cardstock Paint sticks or crayons Popsicle sticks
Move the sticks up and down like puppets to make the TV characters come alive. Learning Skills Tips to Extend Play◁ CARDBOARD BOX TV
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PROCEDURE
HOW TO PLAY
Fine motor skills, imaginative play, creative skillsInstead of a circus theme, create new learning themes (e.g., fruits and vegetables, ocean animals, vehicles). The possibilities are endless.
Kids love a good toss game, and learning shapes can be fun when you’re throwing them in the air. In this case, there’s a goal: Match up the right cardboard shape with the shape that’s cut out in the box. This is a fun and interactive way to learn shapes and colors. If tossing is too hard, that’s no problem. Your child can easily take the shapes one by one and put them directly into the matching shape holes, as well. Pizza box Pencil Craft knife 2 toilet paper tubes Craft glue or hot glue gun and hot glue sticks Scrap cardboard Paint or paint sticks
Have kids toss the cardboard shapes inside the right shape on the box for a fun toss game. Name the shapes and colors as they’re tossed. Learning Skills Tips to Extend Play◁ PIZZA BOX BEAN TOSS
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HOW TO PLAY
Shape and color recognition, cognitive skillsAdd numbers or letters to the shapes and call them out (e.g., “Can you put the ‘B’ in the circle?”)
Save your empty cereal box and turn it into a hungry elephant instead. Kids will love feeding peanuts to the elephant. Since this project calls for transparent plastic, kids will get a kick out of seeing the elephant swallow the food and the peanuts lying in its stomach. Blue, pink, gray, and black paper Scissors Clear plastic (e.g., a clamshell clear food package, commonly used for baked goods) Craft glue or hot glue gun and hot glue sticks Food box Peanuts
Feed the elephant peanuts through the opening and count as you go. Learning Skills Tips to Extend Play◁ FEEDING ELEPHANT GAME
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HOW TO PLAY
Fine motor skills, countingFeed the elephant other small objects, such as colored items, cardboard shapes, letters, numbers, or sight words, for additional learning.
Did you ever play the iconic Hungry Hungry Hippos game when you were a kid? It features four colorful hippos that retract their mouths to catch balls. You can make your own version with a food box. What’s great is that you can utilize two recyclable materials here: lids and food boxes. Kids will love practicing their fine motor skills and maneuvering the sticks to try to catch pompoms. Scissors Colored paper Craft glue or hot glue gun and hot glue sticks 8 googly eyes 4 6" (15.2 cm) dowel sticks (or use any strong sticks you can find such as thick paper straws) 4 lids (use colored ones or paint your own) Bottom of a food box Craft knife Colored cardstock for the base of the food box (optional) Pompoms
Add pompoms to the center of the cardboard base and have your child try to catch the pompoms inside the lids. This can be played with up to four players. Name the color of the pompoms as you’re catching them. Learning Skills Tips to Extend Play◁ FOOD BOX HIPPO GAME
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PROCEDURE
HOW TO PLAY
Fine motor skills, color recognition, cognitive skillsUse various sized pompoms to see which ones are more challenging. What else can the hippo catch? Make small cardboard shapes and add numbers and letters to them.
