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Easy Cardboard Box Projects

Kids love a cardboard box. Just last week, two of my son's friends used one to make a playground for our hamsters.

I got to watch - the boys did a great job of solving all the problems that came up as they worked. How were they going to hold the shelf up? How was the hamster going to get up to the shelf? How could they make the sloping tube down from the shelf have a flat bottom so the hamster could enter easily?

They must have spent a good hour on the project, and then they had a great time watching the hamsters use the playground they had made.

Boxes, simple to complex

Of course, sometimes just coloring on a box turns it into something special. Your kids can try it online on this site, using the Box Doodle Tool:

http://www.neu-e.de/

Then they can make their real-world box doodles and e-mail them to the site to be displayed in the gallery.

If your kids want a little more structure to their box-craft projects, here are a few good resources:

Cereal Box Boomerang: http://ketc.org/kids/ThingsToDo.asp?ThingToDo=2831
Cereal Box Sandals: http://jas.familyfun.go.com/
Box Barn: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/box/barn/
More box projects: http://www.mycraftbook.com/List.asp?subcategoryID=50

And for some cool techniques for a kid-grownup collaboration, this nice-looking table looks pretty easy and fun to make.

http://www.jimsgraphix.com/recycle/table_1.htm

   

 

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