One of my favorite books to read during the school year is Not A Box by Antionette Portis. The kids love it and begin shouting out "it's not a box" as the story continues. The best part is then letting them loose with boxes, markers, colored tape, crayons, scissors, pipe cleaners , glue and anything else they can find to create their own "Not A Boxes"!
Making masks! One of my boys this year created masks a lot in the art center. He used paper plates, construction paper, coffee filters,etc. So I wasn't surprised that he also made one out of his box.
Pipe cleaners added fun and dimension. They were strategically placed by color by some of the girls.
This robot was a collaborative project that lasted several days before he was reluctantly taken to the recycling area of our school.
This was a parking garage with a ramp. This project required lots and lots of negotiation between 3 of my most behaviorally challenged kiddos. We were all so pleased with the end result.
Some of the materials we used. You have to be prepared when beginning this project that supplies will be used. Not putting limits on what they can or cannot use or how much allows them to compromise with each other and realize that when something is used up by another that means someone else won't get any. It was nice seeing them say things like, "here you can have some of mine".
I highly recommend reading this box and letting the children create!
