Skip to main content

A Gem of a Find....Boxes!

I was stopped dead in my tracks while prancing down the street the other day. There, in front of my eyes, was a most wonderful sight. A gigantic pile of cardboard boxes. Empty. Beautiful. All shapes and sizes. Unmarked. Not dog eared. Clean. Unscathed. And, free- as in available to use ( it happened to be in front of my friend's store as they unpacked their holiday shipment) and as in no cost ( always appealing to preschool teachers!). So, piled high on my arms, I left with many many many boxes to bring to school.

My mind swirling with ideas. Boxes....what can we do with boxes? Or rather what can't we do with boxes? Or what can boxes do?

Sure I had thoughts. Decorating. Puppets. Art work. Building. But I was interested what the children would do with them. Getting better each day at leaving my own visions to rest on the sidelines, I put the boxes out on the carpet without direction or words. Oh yes,  beside the boxes were a few rolls of masking tape.

A couple of children wandered over. Two children began to work together, one holding the tape roll while the other tried to tear off a piece of tape. Then more children came over. Soon, there was a focused frenzy ( yes, this IS possible) and soon there was tape, markers, chalk, crayons, glue sticks and scissors. The scissors were a game changer. First they were used to cut tape, then used to stab the boxes. I watched carefully. Very carefully indeed. We do not usually use scissors in this capacity and of course I started to wonder the question we must all wonder-is this safe? And, I decided ( and the other staff) that yes indeed it was safe. Children were being careful, in fact VERY careful. I loved that we could allow them to use this tool in a new way.

What came out of the boxes was absolutely wonderful. It became more than just the art work, the building, the creative use of the boxes. What emerged was this beautiful team of children, working together in a balanced, energetic and cohesive manner. There was a collective energy in the room. Children shared their knowledge, helped each other achieve their visions, offered advice to one another. Really it was so magical that I could not even take notes. I watched in admiration.






These holes became very important. Emma wanted to make caterpillars to go in and out of them, which provoked many others to want to do the same. In one of our recent visits to the farm we encountered many caterpillars (around 30 actually) and we grew quite fond of them. Is this Emma's way of processing these lovely creatures? Paying them homage through art perhaps?






















Interestingly and not surprisingly,  children soon were wanting to own the box, even though we talked about sharing them as a class. They invested time and energy into the box and wanted to bring it home. At first I wanted them to leave them at school but then we decided they could bring it home, use it over the weekend and then bring it back.  Would they remember to bring it back? Would they become too possessive of it to bring it back?

Well, this morning, most boxes were returned, shared and used again in new and interesting ways. Let's see what happens on Wednesday!

Emily



Comments

Alexis said…
Thanks Emily for sharing!! We have had tons of fun with cardboard boxes as well. They were homes, communities were built, passwords created...we poked holes too, and I added glowsticks in the holes.

My thinking is "Who needs toys when you have a box?"
4 November 2013 at 20:15
WRCC said…
Glowsticks..cool idea!
5 November 2013 at 13:32
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Year Old M/W/F Class – I Hear…I See…I Wonder…

We began one of our circle discussions with a question for the children, “What would you like to learn, wonder or hear about?” Here is what they said:    “Skateboarding, Soccer, Perches” (Connor) “Bikes” (Taylor) “Going outside to see if I left my toy” (Jun)  “The Sun” (Jack) “Rollerskating and Swimming” (Daniella)"Skating” (Noel) “Ball” (Sofie) “Scooter and Tricycle” (Masaki) “Shoes” (Ashlan) “When you put something under a pillow you can find it” (Tia) “Soccer” (Kyle) From my list I noticed quite a few of the children were interested in wheels, so at our next circle discussion we looked closely at a scooter and a pair of roller skates – as well as the wheels on a long board. The conversation brought up more questions and answers, which the children confidently discussed amongst themselves. One of the questions was “What makes this a scooter?” The conversation followed with “The scooter has a handle and a brake” and “I know how to ride a long board.” ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Social Responsibility: Down to the Core

Social responsibility- a term that has now become quite common in the field of education and has the potential to lose its meaning if we are not careful. As an early childhood educator, I have always placed great importance on the need to develop this way of thinking in young children. It is for this reason that we engage in activities that benefit others, such as volunteering at our local food bank, adopting an owl, or raising money for Variety Club. With the recent catastrophe in the Philippines, my mind was suddenly thrown into its own typhoon. I found myself asking questions around social responsibility and what it really means. What does it mean to me? What does it mean to my preschoolers? How far does it extend into the world around us? Can four year old children grasp these deep and complex concepts? What can they understand about their world? How can we teach them about being socially responsible to: ones self; ones family; ones community; ones province; ones country; ones worl...
6 comments
Read more

And We Begin

This week marks a new beginning for all of us. And, with all new beginnings, it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the past and think about what is to come. I have been going to yoga a lot this past while and one of the things the instructors mention at the onset of each class is to create an intention for your practice.  I thought a lot about this concept and decided that it would be interesting and important to apply it to my teaching on a deeper level than in the past. So, as I move into the year, I am hoping to set intentions, which I believe are different than goals. For me personally, goals are more structured and outcome driven. Intentions imply more of a journey. Balancing intentions with flexibility and openness will be the challenge.  I also want to explore the idea of children setting their own intentions. Can this work? Will they understand? Can we help support this idea without creating comparisons or pressure? I am really not sure. And so we begin...
4 comments
Read more