Cardboard Day

Recently my class participated in a school-wide Cardboard Day. We spent the entire day (when we weren't at recess or specials) creating. It was so much fun! My Kinders love to create & build things, so this day of STEM was right up their ally. 

For about three weeks students brought in boxes ~ I wish I had taken a picture of the huge pile of boxes that accumulated. It seemed like an overwhelming amount of boxes, but with the all the K-5 classes participating there wasn't much left over. In addition to cardboard parents donated lots & lots of duct tape. (I spent a lot of the day tearing strips of duct tape for the kids.)

Each grade level chose a task for their kids: kindergarten: something that you can fit in, first: something for their year-end camping theme activities, second: rocket ships, third: something that will hold a third grade, fourth: marble roller coaster, fifth: zoo animal habitat.

We began the day with some planning. Before starting we discussed some guidelines: only take the boxes you need, return what you don't use, don't cut corrugated with classroom scissors, etc. The kids were allowed to chose their partners/groups. Because this was a fun day of creativity I wanted to let the kids pick who they wanted to work with, and it worked out well. They pretty much split themselves into the same small groups & duos that they usually hang out with during play time.

These two pictures show the planning stage. The kids were instructed to discuss what they wanted to make with their groups & to sketch out a plan. 

The bulk of the day was spent creating. It was fun watching the kids figure out what to do when confronted with a problem. These girls are working on a wall for their house.

This group of boys started out making a fort, but ended up making a robot. Not exactly something that you can get  inside of, but, hey! we're in kindergarten, a very flexible kind of place.

This little girl and her partner made a musical "playground." The top of the box features some musical instruments (you have to love their imagination!). M is putting the finishing touches on the dance mat portion of their creation.

These smiling boys had a lot of fun creating an ever-changing project. 

They are the ones who ended up with the robot below.

The little guy in the picture below decided to work on his own to make this car. He was really proud of the fact that it was sturdy enough to hold his weight & had cargo space under the seat.

This girl and her partner worked on a house that featured a chimney, mailbox, and outdoor TV. They even  created a chair to relax in while watching television.

Another solo worker. This little guy made a comfy seat.

This day was tons of fun, but really tiring. One of my kiddos said, "I'm so tired." at the end of the day, and others agreed. It was so busy ~ the kids worked all day long! I think they could have done more than one day of "cardboarding." I guess they will have to wait for next year.