Cardboard Box City Block

You will need

• Cardboard boxesClean food or household-goods boxes; wipe down; do not use chemical-product boxes; recycle when done

  Use only boxes that held food or household goods — never boxes that held cleaning products or chemicals.

• Clear tape or masking tapeOne or two rolls; masking tape is easier for kids to tear
• Washable markersFor drawing windows, doors, and details
• Child safety scissorsFor the child; adult uses regular scissors for thicker cuts
• RuleroptionalFor scoring fold lines
• White school glueoptionalFor gluing paper details on; let it dry before stacking
• Old newspaper or scrap paperoptionalFor roads and green spaces laid flat around buildings
• Aluminum foiloptionalFor a river or pond detail laid between buildings

Steps

1. 1

   Lay out the material supply

   Spread boxes, tape, and markers on the floor or a large table. Pre-cut window openings in two or three boxes so the child can see the technique right away. Tell the child they are building their own city and the floor space in front of them is where it will live.

   Tip: Showing two pre-cut boxes removes the hesitation about whether to cut into a box.

2. 2

   Help the child plan one building

   Ask what kind of building goes first — a house, a store, a tower. Once they pick one, help them choose a box that fits that scale. Prompt them to decide where the door goes before you or they cut it, so they commit to a plan rather than cutting randomly.

   Tip: Tall thin boxes become towers; flat wide boxes become houses or shops.

3. 3

   Cut the openings together

   Hold the box steady while the child uses safety scissors for light cardboard. For thicker corrugated board, score the line with a ballpoint pen and ruler first, then cut it yourself. Hand the box back as soon as the opening is cut.

   Tip: Score a fold line along the bottom of a cut flap to make a working door that swings open.

4. 4

   Let the child decorate and add detail

   Step back and let them draw brickwork, roof tiles, window boxes, or signs with washable markers. Respond to questions but resist decorating for them. When they are satisfied with one building, ask what goes next to it.

   Tip: If they are stuck, ask: 'What does every city need?' — roads, parks, a fire station tend to follow.

5. 5

   Help assemble the final layout

   Once several buildings exist, help arrange them into a city block on the floor. Tape flat pieces of scrap paper between them as roads if the child wants. Step back and let them populate the city with small figures or toy vehicles they already own.

   Tip: A strip of aluminum foil laid between two rows of buildings makes a convincing river.

Take it to the table

Materials checklist, the steps and the variations on one Letter page.