Here are some fun ideas about how to play with ice as we head into warmer weather!

Are you swimming in boxes? We are. What with the lockdown, we are having more things delivered, which means more boxes around the house!

You can build a box tunnel to crawl through by opening the tops and bottoms on several boxes and sliding the flaps from one box into the flaps on another. (You may need to tape or clip the box flaps together so they don’t fall down on unsuspecting crawlers!) The tunnel can be part of an obstacle course activity to keep busy bodies moving if you can’t go outside due to thunder and lightening.

One of my favorite books is Roxaboxen by Alice Mclerran, illustrated by Barbara Cooney. It’s based on a true story of what happens when children, imagination, time, and the materials at hand come together to form something magical. Whether it’s a mud kitchen in your backyard, laundry basket turtle shells, or a set of boxes. It’s hard to predict what will happen.

Check out this read aloud version of Roxaboxen. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! If you’d like something shorter, see What To Do With A Box, by Jane Yolen and Illustrated by Chris Sheran or another great option is Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis.

If you don’t have large boxes, small boxes will work just as well: combine items that would normally go in the recycling like cardboard tubes, egg cartons, cereal boxes, oatmeal containers, yogurt cups, etc. with whatever art supplies you have at home. Maybe you want to build a house for your pet rock? Or a boat to sail in rain puddles for when the lightening stops?

Here’s a picture from one of my boys’ birthday parties. A table with random boxes, scissors, markers, and other craft items from which to create!

Apparently I’m not the only one thinking in terms of building with boxes. See this recent article in the Washington Post about building forts. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/05/18/why-kids-love-building-forts-why-experts-say-they-might-need-them-more-than-ever/?utm_campaign=wp_on_parenting&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_parent

It’s a lot of fun to put a nature twist on an old favorite game like Tic-Tac-Toe. All you need is:

• a partner
• four sticks
• natural item playing pieces

The top of a turtle’s shell (or carapace) is covered with bony scales (called scutes) that have color patterns that help the turtle blend in with its habitat. Turtles are mostly slow movers so they need to be good hiders! You and your child can put your camouflaging skills to the test by creating your own turtle shells and hiding them.

• Collect paper bowls and something to cover them with. We used tissue paper squares and glue, but you could use paint, markers, tissue paper, or even found natural items like leaves and sticks.
• Decorate your turtle shell bowls so that they can blend in with a natural environment. We smeared glue all over our bowl and then added the tissue paper squares. We wanted to hide ours in the grass so we used greens and browns. You can also look at pictures of turtle carapaces for inspiration!
• If you want to complete the turtle look, you can use construction paper to make a head, limbs, and a tail- just tape these inside the rim of the bowl so that they stick out.
• Take your turtle shells outside and take turns hiding them with your child. We had fun making up stories about why the “turtles” were hiding different places- one was going to a friend’s house, another was trying to slide down the hill, etc.

Have fun playing hide and seek with your turtle shells!