Boxes

Give children boxes and a wonderful thing begins to happen. They become architects, artists, mathematicians, educators, firefighters, police officers, flight engineers, scientists. The possibilities are endless. Give children boxes and they work together to set goals. They problem solve and become team members. They develop a vision and ask that all important question: “I wonder what…..?”

That’s exactly what’s been happening at FCCC-Loughborough, we haven’t been stepping “out of the box”, we have been stepping “into the box“. Boxes of all different shapes and sizes have been turned into a robot, a fire truck, and a snowman. In the school age room a haunted house is being built for Halloween fun. The preschool children are currently working on a police car, or maybe it’s an airplane. Last week it was a box full of soft puppets for everyone to snuggle with.    

Two girls in our school age room built a fire truck with their boxes, complete with ladder. They decided to pass this fire truck on to the preschool room. Maybe the preschool children will keep it as a fire truck or turn it into something else.

Each box opens a teachable moment. Each box is a learning opportunity. “How is a steering wheel attached to a car?” Let’s research it. It’s called a steering column. “How do we make a steering column?” “I wonder if a pencil would work.” “We can’t use glass for a window. What can we use?” “Let’s try saran wrap!” “We don’t have orange paint for the lights.” “What will happen if we mix colours?” “Can we make orange?” There are no wrong answers. Each question leads to experimenting, testing theories, starting over again, sharing ideas and learning!