Hello Educators
Let us talk about a few ways you can transform your childcare with boxes received from online deliveries. Educators are savvy and often improvise, saving a dime here or there. If you’re like me, online deliveries come in all the time. I operate a home childcare and welcome loose parts, which creates the best open-ended play. It’s no surprise that when we receive online deliveries, instead of tossing those boxes, we turn them into creative, cost-effective resources for our home childcare! Before heading to the landfill, these boxes become art canvases, play props, and even extra seating.
children playing in a large box
Here are some fun ways we use them, and so can you:
- Art projects: The kids love painting, drawing, and decorating them, turning simple boxes into colorful process art masterpieces.
- Hide and seek – envelope play schema: The perfect hideaway during playtime! Boxes bring an element of surprise and joy to the classic game and engage the children for days and weeks. Due to the weather in Illinois, I often store large outdoor boxes in my shed. It stays fresh longer, but we break it down and throw it in the trash when it gets wet from the rain or other precipitation; a soggy box can be unsafe.
children using boxes as a hide and seek fort
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- Storage: Whether for toys or materials, boxes help keep our environment organized without spending extra money on bins. I use small boxes for change of clothes storage.
- Seats and props: Some boxes are a little more sturdy and can support small children’s weight enough for them to sit on, carry their dolls, or even build forts.
- Imaginative play: Sometimes, the kids crawl inside, creating their own secret space. You know how children love to hide away in dens and forts. The possibilities are endless with large boxes.
children sitting on boxes
What’s even more beautiful is the awareness this creates in the children. Every time a package arrives in our home childcare, they excitedly ask if we can reuse the box. This awareness has even transferred to their homes, where they invite their families to reuse packages and materials. This creates a beautiful family connection as what happens at school transfers home. It opens up a whole new world of thinking about how to reuse boxes and many other things in our daily lives.
children using boxes as play materials
An eco-friendly choice: Beyond the fun and practicality, reusing boxes teaches children an important lesson about reducing waste. Every box we repurpose demonstrates a small path to sustainability – it’s a win-win for our daycare and the planet!
How do you reuse materials in your environment?
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children playing with boxes on a cold day
Adding boxes to your play environment is a cheap and easy way to create play and art.
Until next time, I am miss Sue your educator in the trenches with you. xoxo Miss Sue
