It's often said that the best toy doesn't come in a box. It is the box. Children attending Tots ‘n’ Tykes Nursery in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, found this out at the start of the year when they returned to nursery to find the majority of their usual resources had been replaced by loads of cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes.
‘After Christmas the children always come into nursery so excited and hyper because of all the fun and presents they’ve received,’ says nursery manager Yona Smith. ‘We wanted them to have an activity that would help them to ground and engage them. There is so much potential from simple boxes. We had no expectations of what the children would do with them, we just wanted them to explore.’
BENEFITS OF BOX PLAY
Boxes are a great starting point for creative and imaginative play because there are infinite possibilities.- Allowing children to use their imaginations and explore different possibilities encourages trial and error, innovation and problem-solving skills to turn their ideas into reality.
- Open-ended resources, such as cardboard boxes, enable children to focus on the process rather than a finished product.
- Cardboard boxes encourage physical play as children move them, stack them and climb inside them, which supports children developing their co-ordination and physical manipulation skills.
- Climbing into a cardboard box appeals to many young children's need for the comfort and security that comes from being in a small space. It also helps children to develop their spatial awareness.
- Using cardboard boxes in play introduces the concept of recycling and reusing and is an antidote to a consumer culture.
WHAT THEY DID
Staff asked parents to donate any unwanted boxes. They received a huge number which were replenished over the weeks as the children explored them.
While many of the usual toys and resources inside the nursery were removed, staff kept the resources outside the same.
Staff carefully planned which resources would enhance children's explorations of the boxes. They decided to keep loose parts and building blocks available along with mark-making materials so the children could enhance and decorate the boxes. Staff also considered how children could join the boxes together and provided tape and scissors.
THE CHILDREN'S RESPONSE
The majority of children were excited by the array of cardboard boxes, but a few were confused by them. One child with autism did not understand why there was a picture of a train on the box but no toy inside.
While many of the children did not need encouragement to start investigating the boxes, staff also modelled possibilities for the children to follow. They encouraged and supported the children who had their own ideas of what they wanted to do.
As hoped, the children explored the boxes in a wide range of ways – climbing inside them and hiding, breaking them up and reshaping them, decorating them and pretending they were other objects.
One boy decided to use the boxes to transform himself into a robot but was not sure how to go about it. A practitioner discussed his idea with him and they chose suitable boxes to fit over his limbs, body and head.
Another child wanted to construct the ‘biggest rocket’. ‘She found the boxes that she wanted to use and invited another child to help her to build it,’ Yona recalls. ‘They figured out together how to make the cone to go on top of the rocket and where to cut holes. They used tape to fasten the boxes together and figured out that they needed to use the masking tape because they would not be able to paint over Sellotape or parcel tape.’
Children developed their motor skills as they manipulated boxes, cut with scissors and accessed the different tapes – with many of them finding that the masking tape was easiest to find the end of and cut independently.
Other children decided that they wanted to dress up, but without access to the dressing-up clothes, they had to construct their own princess dresses from the cardboard. Staff supported them to flatten boxes and lie on them to draw the outline of their ‘dresses’. They then cut them out and decorated them before working out how to ‘wear’ their outfits.
BIG BUILD
‘At the end of the first week of box exploration we evaluated with the children and asked them if they would like to continue playing with the boxes or bring the indoor toys back,’ says Yona. ‘They decided that they wanted to continue with the boxes because they wanted to make something big, although some did want the toys back too which were then slowly reintroduced.’
Children wanted to collaborate and build a massive castle with the boxes; one that they could fit inside. ‘They really invested in the build by leading on what they wanted to do, planning the castle by drawing it on a whiteboard and then taking weeks to build it,’ adds Yona. Staff showed them pictures of a variety of castles to help them to think about how they wanted it to look. They particularly wanted two towers and a drawbridge.
‘Each process was a learning opportunity as they adapted their design to get what they wanted. They wanted to have a drawbridge but it needed to big enough for them to fit through, so it was decided that it was too tricky to also get windows in the main building. They decided the best way to form windows was to cut them out, which they did in the two towers.’
Staff introduced children to the technique of papier-mâché to make the walls of the castle sturdier. ‘Some children didn't like the feel of it because it was too sticky so we got rollers and paint brushes to apply the mixture with so that they could still be a part of the process,’ says Yona.
IN CONCLUSION
‘The box explorations have lasted longer than we anticipated,’ reflects Yona. ‘The boxes and the castle are still very much a part of the children's play four weeks on. Babies and toddlers are also enjoying playing with boxes.’
Staff have observed the children's PSED, communication and maths development – as they sorted the boxes by size and discussed their shapes – have all been supported by the investigations along with the Characteristics of Effective Learning ‘in abundance’.
‘The children were so motivated to continue using the boxes,’ Yona says. ‘It has been a project for everyone because it is so open-ended.’
BOOK CORNER
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
A box is just a box…unless it's not a box. The author captures the thrill of a child's imagination transporting them to other worlds.
The Nowhere Box by Sam Zuppardi
George commandeers an empty washing-machine box and goes to the one place his brothers can't follow: Nowhere.
What to Do with a Box by Jane Yolen and Chris Sheban
A poetic tribute to the magic of boxes.
Box by Rosalind Beardshaw
Four toddlers find some toys, but before long their attention turns to the boxes themselves.
Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
You can only truly fail if you quit. Perseverance is a skill Rosie learns she needs in order to follow her dream of becoming a great engineer.
The Dot by Peter H Reynolds
An inspiring story of self-expression and creativity. Vashti thinks she can't draw, but her teacher is sure that she can. She knows that there's creative spirit in everyone and we can all make a mark and follow it.
The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
The girl has a wonderful idea; she is going to make the most magnificent thing! She knows just how it will look and work. All she has to do is make it… which is where the problems start.
