So, you take a cardboard box….

By megret | July 15, 2008 at 7:01 am | 4 comments | Gardner, Learning and doing

Sometimes the coolest toys are the simplest.

Our son, in case you didn’t know already, has the most incredible fascination with all things, well, gear-driven/technical/complicated. He has a brain like his daddy’s. Needless to say, there are some activities which, well, I am just not the best person for. One of them is coming up with novel inventions. I can follow some directions something fierce, but when it comes to constructing something free-form off the top of my head, forget it. That’s where Ken shines….and obviously where G does and will, too.

Ken came up with the idea a couple of weeks back to make good use of some cardboard shipping boxes we had in our garage. My limited mind couldn’t even fathom their newfound purpose. (Boat? Fire engine? Submarine, maybe?) Oh, no, my friends. A FACTORY. A chocolate-then-turned pom-pom factory. Why? Why not. And because pom-poms have to be made somewhere.

I left them alone for two hours on a Saturday, tossing down into the playroom miscellaneous supplies called out from one or both. (“Toilet paper tube!” “Drinking straw!” “Masking tape!” “Cookies and milk!”) (Working boys gotta eat.)

When I surveyed the finished product, giddyness ensued. (More on G’s part, but still, I got excited in my own little way.) How cool was this? Left to their creative minds and around-the-house devices, my two guys created such a fantastic plaything.

The finished factory, lacking supplies and workers at the beginning.

It does help matters that Ken was a chemical engineer by trade once.

Pom-pom manufacturing process initiated.

Look – even a guy to haunt the top floor at night.

G enjoying his new diversion.

The possibilities are endless with a cardboard box.

Fort with a lean-to.

An entire house, maybe?

A high-pitched roof refrigerator box house (scroll down a bit).

A nice spaceship, perhaps?

A play kitchen!

And don’t forget to read the adorable story before embarking on any of these adventures….one of our children’s favorites on the shelf….Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.

Have fun!