What’s in the boxes?
Dried penne pasta and spaghetti.
Coloured straws, chopped to varying lengths.
Thick, chenille pipe-cleaners, cut to different lengths.
Cardboard tubes of differing thicknesses, cut to different lengths and a few with curved edges.
A stack of empty egg cartons.
Some small, wooden blocks and shapes, both plain wood and coloured on some sides.
Foam shapes and letters from the window picture scenes and other shapes, come cut with small holes in.
Plastic, shiny, coloured, small eggs that fit together.
They happened to fit exactly on the shelves (phew!) and can be reached and taken down to play with by both girls.
They have loved using them so far and I have just let them get on with using and playing with the materials in any way that they like and, after initially just making a lot of mess, they are now beginning to do some interesting things with them! From using the tubes to make funny noses and blow trumpets to filling the gg cartons with various tid bits of “treasure”, they are having lots of curious fun!
One day I stumbled across the boxes emptied of their original contents, lined up on the sofa and arranged like this with the foam letters and some wooden people! Inside each box was a “birthday picnic” for all of the “friends” to share.
On another occasion Cakie started to thread pipe cleaners and straws through the foam shapes with holes in, making some lovely art work.
I think there will be plenty of opportunities for investigating and creating interesting play scenes and I look forward to seeing what they do next. I have some more materials ready and I may swap the contents of some boxes after a few weeks to see what they make of them.
Cakie: 2.10
Pop: 1.4
Learning Links:
- sensory: exploring and investigating materials and their properties using all of the senses
- maths: counting/ sorting/ ordering/ 2D & 3D shapes/ grouping/ building/ capacity/ problem solving
- literacy: language skills- vocabulary and describing words/ role play language and story-telling
- creative: telling stories through play/ making instruments / making 3D models/ large scale art
- motor skills: stacking/ rolling/ threading/ building/ balancing/ squeezing/ fixing together
- phse: working independently and collaboratively/ sustaining involvement in self-chosen activities
I love this idea, and I’ve done smaller scale activities with my 21 month old. But I’m curious – with so many bins of different objects, which all have lots of small pieces, how do you deal with the clean up factor? Are you able to teach the girls to sort and clean up as part of the activity (Montessori style)? Or is clean up just something you have to deal with as a result of this type of activity?
Thanks
We are working on teaching the cleaning up method, though if you know us you will know we are FAR from achieving it yet! I try to get them to pick things up while singing and sometimes it works a treat, others not so well!
I definitely think that the benefit of the type of free play far outweighs the annoyance of the mess, but on days where my tolerance is low I just reduce the number of boxes available. But yes, our living room floor is definitely messy for a good proportion of each day!
That’s great.We have some kinde of discovery boxees of our own,but it’s interesting to finde some new idea.For example,we don’t have foam shapes and letters,and since my daughter is allready 5, that could be so interesting for her.And all this boxes are interesting for toddlers and for older kids as well,I assure you ,my daughter was playing with wooden blocs just today,she was building the castle for lego figures 🙂
This are Great!
Very cool idea!
Those boxes look so inviting!
The children extend, and extend the possibilities!
I so enjoy your posts!
There is just so much fabulousness in your boxes! (That is too a word LOL)
Of course it is Christie! I use it regularly 😉 And thanks!
Huana- that sounds lovely! And I totally believe you about the blocks and lego. I imagine she will be playing with those until she’s at least 10 if not older, if left to get on with it!
This is such a great idea. I am going to be looking for some little boxes at the store this weekend. I think that my daughter will love being able to open boxes and discover what is inside.
I just found your blog, but I am very glad I did!
I have been working on something like this too – I love your boxes!!
I’m wondering where you got those wooden blocks/shapes? They are so perfect for this but I seem to only be able to find big, heavy ones! thanks.
I got these at the Early Learning Centre!
I got those wooden blocks in ELC in a lovely cloth bag for about £10/£12 for Pop’s Christmas pressie! They are really lovely, mainly plain wood but each has one side painted in a pastel colour.
Those boxes are such a perfect size! Do you know which Ikea ones they are? Would love to order a set. Also are they stackable when empty? By the way I should also say I love your blog it gives me endless ideas for free creative play with my daughter. So glad to have found it!
So sorry! Yes they are stackable when empty and also come with lids which is great. But the lids don’t click them shut, which is irritating! I don’t know which they are by name, so sorry, but they are the smallest ones they do and about £1/ $2
Hi
I would love to hear if you have changed any of the items and how that went. Thank you